Port of Portland headquarters, PDX parking nearly complete
Updated Jan 10, 2019; Posted Feb 10, 2010
By Amy Hsuan, The Oregonian
View full sizeDoug Beghtel/The Oregonian The new long-term parking structure at Portland International Airport is part of a $241 million project that is nearing completion. The work includes a new headquarters for the Port of Portland, which owns and operates the airport. The parking structure will provide 3,500 new spaces.
When the Port of Portland's new home opens in May, the 200,000-square-foot headquarters will be heated and cooled by 200 geothermal wells.
Its 10,000-square-foot eco-roof, sprouting plants and grasses, will overlook Portland International Airport.
And $560,000 worth of artwork, commissioned from Pacific Northwest artists, will grace the walls.
Four years in the making, the $241.2 million headquarters building and parking garage at PDX, is one of the most expensive -- and complex -- capital construction projects ever undertaken by the Port of Portland.
On Wednesday, Port commissioners unanimously approved $2.75 million of add-ons for Hoffman Construction Co., raising the general contractor's total to $193.75 million.
Agency officials say they've managed to squeeze some savings, mostly in administrative costs, out of the project, which is running about $2.2 million under budget.
They're spending the extra cash on bells-and-whistles, from additional meeting and storage rooms to motion-detected moving walkways, the first such installation in the country, claimed Karl Schulz, project manager.
"Mainly, we've been able to find savings," Schulz said. "This doesn't represent an increase in the total budget."
But the economy has changed dramatically from the time the agency started construction on the project in October 2007. Three years ago, people were flying and the marine terminals bustled with ships from overseas. The public agency reaped record profits from air and marine traffic in 2007.
Doug Beghtel/The Oregonian Skylights and an open-air atrium allow natural light to enter the Port of Portland's new headquarters, scheduled to open May 3. The $85 million building features sustainable designs that agency officials say will cut electricity use.
Since then, the recession has delivered a huge hit to the agency. In 2009, the Port laid off 25 employees and implemented furlough days to cut $7.5 million from its budget, now at $240 million.
About 3 percent of the agency's budget comes from taxpayer dollars. But the new headquarters building and garage construction is not paid for by taxes. The project is being funded by agency revenues and airport revenue bonds.
"Obviously, conditions have changed since when the project began," said Bill Wyatt, the Port's executive director. "It's like getting on an elevator on the 12th floor and going down ... and now we have to walk back up."
The new headquarters replaces the agency's offices at 121 Northwest Everett Street, which were built for $20 million in 1999 and sold for $29.2 million in 2007 to Washington Real Estate Holdings, a private company.
Port officials have long argued that moving the headquarters to the airport would save them money in the future, despite the high cost in the short term. The $85 million building, with 478 work spaces, will consolidate the agency's downtown and airport offices into one location, which would save the agency an estimated $3 million a year in duplicated costs, such as reception areas and security in separate buildings.
It's completion, however, comes at a time when international trade and airport traffic remain in the doldrums. In 2009, airport traffic, a growing part of the Port's revenues, fell flat. As of December, marine containers were down as much as 30 percent.
"It's safe to say that last year was just awful," Wyatt said, "... but we're looking forward to 2010 bringing in new business."
Questions hang over whether business will pick up soon. Agency officials proposed the new $156 million parking garage when the airport's existing parking lots were packed to the brim.
Parking is a big money maker for the agency, and in 2008, revenues from the garage, long-term lot and economy lot brought in $1.05 million. In 2009, revenues fell by about eight percent to $963,000.
When it opens March 8, the new garage's 3,500 spaces will double the indoor parking capacity.
Winter storms in 2008 and added work will push the completion of the headquarters building back by about six weeks to April 18. But the delay won't impact the move-in date, scheduled for the last two weeks of April.
Before then, the agency will spend $47.6 million on furniture, architect fees and other costs. Not to mention, getting LEED-certified by the U.S. Green Building Council will cost upwards of $3,000, according to Ashley Katz, a council spokeswoman.
At the foot of the air traffic control tower, the construction of the new headquarters and parking garage required Federal Aviation Administration approval and more than 360 construction workers.
"It's been a challenging project," Schulz said. "It's fast-tracked and tightly controlled in timeline and budget. We're in the final stages."
Amy Hsuan