Naito Development

A private lift for public spaces

Naito Development LLC — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 17:13:30 +0000

Published: Thursday, August 09, 2012, 5:59 PM Updated: Thursday, August 09, 2012, 11:06 PM

As anyone who has been to the Keller Auditorium in downtown Portland knows, the boxy building may bore but the fountains across the street rock. Sheets of water roll off cascading concrete blocks into a pool at the base, as if the hard surfaces played to some ancient rhythm and as if the natural world itself had crept in to disrupt urban order. Care for a dip, anyone?

Yes: twice. That’s what the late landscape architect Lawrence Halprin had in mind in designing the Forecourt Fountains, now known as the Ira Keller Fountain for the man who championed Halprin’s work and who dared his own Portland Development Commission to stretch its imagination in the urban renewal-crazy 1960s.

But time, depleted city budgets, shifting development priorities and a new generation of Portlanders unaware of Halprin’s work have taken a hard toll. The Keller Fountain, despite an overhaul in the 1990s, suffers for proper maintenance.

Less visible are Halprin’s precursor spaces to the Keller Fountain — the Source Fountain, Lovejoy Fountain and Pettygrove Park. All are situated nearby, walkable to the south along Southwest Third and Second avenues. And they, especially, have fallen into disrepair. Yet together the four Halprin installations form an uncommon sequence: urban spaces informed by nature — as if they were their own watershed — and one in their attempt to engage people in play and contemplation.

On a good day, the Halprin parks still succeed on those counts. And while they look a bit frayed, they are credited internationally with changing the conception of what’s architecturally possible in cities.

But fame, perhaps more so when it’s elsewhere, never paid bills. And upkeep for the parks stymies three cash-short city bureaus — parks, transportation and water.

That’s where several Portlanders have stepped up to make the difference. Among them are developer John Russell, whose building at 200 Market St. is situated next door to Pettygrove Park; developer Bob Naito; and The Oregonian’s former architecture critic, Randy Gragg. All worry about not only the condition of the parks but the values of surrounding properties.

Gragg years ago spearheaded the formation of the nonprofit Lawrence Halprin Landscape Conservancy, whose sole purpose was and is to find the money to fix and maintain the parks. The thinking is plain though nobody quite says it: If Rome assures that the Trevi Fountain and Piazza Navona endure, then why can’t Portland find a way to safeguard its best publicly shared treasures?

The conservancy has logged nearly $2 million in needed repairs at the four sites. Russell has pledged $200,000 and already engaged in tree-pruning and lawn-rebuilding. Others, among them Greg Goodman, are contributors. The city’s recent clearance to the conservancy — that it provide the added layer of maintenance it cannot — clears the way for things to really start happening.

But the let’s-just-get-it-done ethic is no stranger here. Years ago the Pittock Mansion, in its perch overlooking the city, was at risk. The city bought the property in a spasm to save it. But it took private citizens who formed a nonprofit corporation to raise money for the Pittock’s overhaul, upkeep and management. That’s why the mansion is such a tidy, flourishing place today — not to mention the venue Portlanders like to show off to out-of-towners.

Portland’s commissioner of parks, Nick Fish, effuses over the private push to restore and oversee the Halprin sequence. “It’s the next big thing in our system,” he says. “We provide only a baseline of services, and unless highly motivated citizens step up, we just can’t take on (all the repairs).”

The sentiment is clear-eyed in a time of fewer public dollars. It embraces the public-private partnerships that will increasingly make the difference as public budgets are stretched and as citizens reclaim responsibility for shared assets.

And good things tend to be shared. At the opening in June 1970 of what is now Ira Keller Fountain, a formally attired Halprin told a free-form, anti-war, post-Kent State gathering: “As you play in this garden, please try to remember we’re all in this together.” And then he jumped, fully suited, into the pool beneath the falls.

Thankfully, that seems to be what any number of private citizens are doing to save his work.

Portland nonprofit pays for private contractors to refresh historic parks

Naito Development LLC — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 20:00:08 +0000

via oregonlive.com

Published: Monday, August 06, 2012, 5:44 PM Updated: Monday, August 06, 2012, 6:37 PM

The grass at downtown Portland’s Pettygrove Park is green for the first time in years thanks to an unusual partnership.

After years of lobbying, a group of developers persuaded the Portland City Council to let their nonprofit tend to a string of park spaces created by the late renowned architect Lawrence Halprin: Pettygrove, Keller Fountain Park and Lovejoy Fountain Park, plus Source Fountain.

Normally, city-employed union workers must do parks maintenance. But the developers — John Russell and Bob Naito among them — argued that the Halprin parks are works of art in need of specialized care that regular maintenance workers can’t provide.

The City Council finally agreed, signing a contract with the nonprofit Halprin Landscape Conservancy last year. Now Russell and the conservancy, in addition to working to revive public interest in the Halprin parks, can raise money and hire outside contractors to help maintain the parks. Work got under way at Pettygrove a few weeks ago and will begin at Lovejoy Fountain Park next spring.

In coming years, the conservancy plans to establish an endowment to take care of the sites. It has raised $200,000 so far. The group’s contract with the city runs indefinitely, but city officials can cancel it any time.

Last spring, the conservancy drew up detailed plans for $1.5 million to $2 million in repairs at the four sites. Repairs — ranked from urgent to low priority — include everything from fixing cracked concrete to replacing lighting.

“We’ll help to maintain them above and beyond what the city is able to provide,” said Marcy McInelly, the conservancy’s chairwoman. “These parks are a modernist legacy.”

The parks, plazas and fountains span eight blocks of downtown and are connected by shaded promenades. They are quiet yet urban, similar to Halprin’s other work, including the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Not everyone likes the agreement to fix the parks. Richard Beetle, business manager of Laborers Local 483, which represents parks maintenance workers, filed an unsuccessful grievance over a 2009 deal that allowed Russell to hire outside contractors to prune trees at Pettygrove Park. He recently filed a grievance protesting the new outside hiring at Pettygrove, too.

“That’s our work,” he said.

But city Commissioner Nick Fish, who oversees the Portland Parks Bureau, said union work isn’t being taken away. Given his bureau’s shrinking budget, he said, the work at Pettygrove, Keller Fountain and the other sites wouldn’t happen without the conservancy. He added that such partnerships are part of a national trend.

“We could not maintain the gold-medal system we do without these private-public partnerships,” Fish said. “We just haven’t had the money to make the investment of maintenance we wanted to” for the Halprin parks.

Portland parks receive volunteer hours and money from about 120 friend and nonprofit groups. The Halprin Landscape Conservancy, though, is among the few groups authorized to draw up plans and pay for its own contractors semi-independently. The Portland Japanese Garden and Pioneer Courthouse Square are maintained under a similar structure.

Reaching agreement wasn’t easy, though. Russell said it took him 18 months to persuade the city to let him bring in workers to prune the trees at Pettygrove, which is next to his 200 Market St. building.

He sees maintaining the Halprin parks, built in the 1960s and early ’70s, as a way to keep up his own property values — and protect what he sees as high art. On a recent walk though Pettygrove, he pointed to broken concrete, trees that need pruning or removal, and berms abused by dirt bikers.

“In desperation, I said I’d fix Pettygrove myself,” he said. “But the city wouldn’t accept my free gifts.”

Naito, who walks through Lovejoy Fountain Park to his office on Southwest Harrison Street every day, had a similar experience. In 2009, he found 3 feet of water in a basement vault at his building because of a clogged storm drain system at the park. After initial resistance, he persuaded the city to let him hire contractors to fix the drains.

The value of the parks can’t be overstated, said Randy Gragg, a board member with the Halprin conservancy and editor of the 2009 book “Where the Revolution Began: Lawrence and Anna Halprin and the Reinvention of Public Space.”

“Halprin changed the game for urban landscape architecture here,” said Gragg, also the former architecture critic for The Oregonian. “A park and a plaza and a sculpture were three different things in the history of American design — until he built this.”

Now, the conservancy’s agreement with the city will enable it to help protect the legacy of Halprin, who died in 2009.

“We’re taking a longer and wider view of the whole thing,” Gragg said. “The conservancy enables Halprin’s vision to take a big step forward.”

– Chase G. Hall

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Naito Development LLC — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 02:48:44 +0000

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One Waterfront Place

Naito Development LLC — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 12:00:07 +0000

One Waterfront Place is located on NW Naito Parkway between the Willamette River and Portland’s thriving River District. Designed by BOORA Architects to the demanding standards of the USGBC’s Platinum Certification, this 270,000 square foot office building will provide a high performance workplace that increases employee comfort, is sensible, cost-effective and socially responsible—all while using 50% less energy than most competing buildings. The project is scheduled to break ground in mid-2012 with occupancy in 2014. One Waterfront Place is the first LEED Platinum precertified project on the West Coast.

Building Features

• Platinum-level precertification by the US Green building Council’s (USGBC) LEED® for Core & Shell program (LEED-CS).
• Ideal solar orientation combined with ultra high efficiency glazing.
• Maximum energy efficiency, individual tenant HVAC controls and superior indoor air quality.
• Raised access floor system on every office floor.
• 360° views of the city skyline, river and mountains
• Willamette River protected from storm water runoff – rainwater is filtered and absorbed through bioswales and ecoroofs
• Suburban parking ratios combined with excellent access to transit.
• Secure bicycle parking, locker rooms and showers.
• New pedestrian bridge connecting to the Pearl District restaurants, retail shops, streetcar, housing and parks.

Project Description

Location: River District, Portland Oregon

Owner: One Waterfront Place LLC

Developers: Jim Winkler and Bob Naito

Completion: 2014

Project cost: $102 million

Program: Twelve-story, 270,000 square foot Class A office building and 540 car parking structure

Architect: BOORA Architects, Inc.

Contractor: R & H Construction Company.

Leasing: Melvin Mark Brokerage Company

Project Website: www.onewaterfrontplace.com

Nichols Landing

Naito Development LLC — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 12:00:12 +0000

The town of Hood River Oregon is located 60 miles east of Portland on Interstate 84 in the heart of the Columbia River Gorge Scenic Area. The area is rich in natural resources with agriculture, timber and recreation as the major sources of economic activity. Fruit grown in the Hood River Valley is of such exceptional quality that the county leads the world in Anjou pear production. Cultural and recreational activities abound including windsurfing, kiteboarding, scenic parks, mountain bike trails, fishing, camping, whitewater rafting, year-round skiing and snow boarding, historic tours, festivals, museums and art, cultural and civic organizations. The climate in Hood River is mild with less than half the annual rainfall of Portland.

Nichols Landing is located on an embayment of the Columbia River within walking distance of downtown Hood River. The end of the spit separating the property from the mouth of the Hood River provides some of the best kiteboarding on the Columbia. The launch site for the windsurfers is immediately west of the basin.

The four-story, 88-room Hampton Inn & Suites will be the first new hotel to be built in Hood River since 1997. Catering to both the business and leisure traveller, the hotel’s freeway visibility, waterfront location, on-property amenities, access to downtown shopping and restaurants, coupled with Hilton’s worldwide sales and marketing, assure its competitive positioning. In 2011, Hampton was the #1 franchise in the world according to Entrepreneur magazine.

A mixed-use 20,000 square foot, commercial building will contain a restaurant & bar, retail and office space.

Project Description

Location: Hood River, Oregon

Owner: NBW Hood River LLC

Developer: Naito Development LLC

Completion: Spring 2014

Project cost: $15 million

Program: 88-Room Hampton Inn & Suites and 20,000 square feet of commercial space located on an open cove to the Columbia River within walking distance of downtown Hood River.

150 Harrison

Naito Development LLC — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 12:00:47 +0000

Built in 1966, this small office building is situated on grade above a full-block, three-story parking structure. The building was designed in the International Style by Skidmore Owings & Merrill to provide retail space above parking for the adjacent 504-unit apartment towers. The Portland Center was the cornerstone of Portland’s first urban renewal project, the South Auditorium Urban Renewal District.

The building is located on the Portland Streetcar line and within two blocks of the Portland Transit Mall and Max Light Rail. It fronts on the Lovejoy Fountain, part of the internationally recognized Portland Open Space Sequence designed by Lawrence Halperin.

In March 2009, the property was acquired to house Tarlow Naito & Summers LLP and Naito Development LLC. The balance of the office space would be leased to general office tenants. The first tenants moved into the completed building in November 2009.

Working with the architects and engineers, an analysis was performed to evaluate the costs and benefits of LEED certification. The existing building envelope had no roof insulation and the exterior walls were comprised almost entirely of floor-to-ceiling glass – most of which was single-pane. The existing mechanical units and roof had remaining lives of 10-15 years. The analysis demonstrated that the building could achieve an over 50% energy savings and that LEED Platinum certification was not only achievable, but made overall financial sense.

The 150 Harrison Building offers all of the sustainability benefits of a new LEED Platinum Class A office building at less than two-thirds the rental rate.

The LEED Platinum features included a sophisticated HVAC system with 100% outside-air-economizers, CO₂ monitoring and heat recovery systems. The single-pane glazing was replaced with thermal-pane units. Rigid insulation was installed under a new roof membrane.

The leaking concrete courtyard deck was replaced with a new waterproof membrane and drainage system with a decomposed granite surface and Corten steel planters.

Building amenities include a shared conference room and coffee bar located in a pavilion off the courtyard. Parking is available 24/7 (secured after business hours) and the building entries and common areas are controlled by a card access system.

Project Description

Location: South Auditorium Urban Renewal District, Portland, Oregon

Owner: Harrison & First LLC

Developer: Naito Development LLC

Completion: 2009

Project cost: $3.6 million

Program: LEED Platinum rehabilitation of 19,000 square foot office building originally constructed in the 1960’s as part of the Portland Center urban renewal project.

Architect: Surround Architecture Inc.

Contractor: R&H Construction Company

Financing: Self-Financed

Energy Oregon Business Energy Tax Credits

Incentives: Energy Trust of Oregon Grants

Federal Energy Tax Credits

Federal Section 179D Energy Efficient Building Depreciation

NW Regional Reentry Center

Naito Development LLC — Sat, 01 Jan 2005 12:00:51 +0000

The Northwest Regional Re-entry Center (NWRRC) is a non-profit organization that provides correctional services to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, United States Probation Department, and United States Pre-Trial Services. The NWRRC houses up to 125 federal correctional residents who are in transition from incarceration, serving sanctions for probation violations, or who are awaiting adjudication of federal charges. NWRRC, formerly the Oregon Halfway House, has been in operation since 1976.

In 2004, Naito Development partnered with the owner of the existing office building to convert the building into a residential facility and lease it to the NWRRC in a long-term net lease.

The project was completed on budget and schedule and the first residents moved to the facility in January 2005. Naito Development served as the developer and is the managing member and an equity investor in the project.

Project Description

Location: Portland,Oregon

Owner: OHH LLC

Developer: Naito Development LLC

Completion: 2005

Project cost: $6 million

Program: A build-to-suit 125-bed detention facility (work-release) for federal prisoners net leased to the Northwest Regional Re-Entry Center, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit.

Architect: Waterleaf Architecture

General Contractor: R & H Construction Co.

Construction Financing: ShoreBank Pacific

Permanent Financing: Bank of the West

Delta Society Headquarters

Naito Development LLC — Thu, 01 Jan 2004 12:00:16 +0000

The Delta Society is an international non-profit organization dedicated to improving human health through service and therapy animals. In 2003 Delta was in the middle of a capital campaign to build a national headquarters and training center in Federal Way, Washington. Delta had purchased the site and started construction of the site improvements. From the inception of the project in 2000, the projected cost of the land and building had escalated to $7.3 million and the capital campaign from $6 million to $14 million (including a $5 million endowment). By late 2003, the board had raised $6 million and was faced with the decision to start construction of the building with an $8 million shortfall in the capital campaign.

One of the board members was referred to Bob Naito as a developer with experience working with non-profit boards of directors who could quickly review the project and make recommendations. Bob recommended that the Federal Way project be terminated and a search for an existing building closer to Seattle be initiated. The board adopted these recommendations and hired Bob to carry them out. By then it was critical for Delta to relocate to the new facilities before the expiration of its existing lease in July 2004.

“Investing in the experience and talent Bob brought to this project was the wisest investment our board could have made.”

–Larry Norvell, President/CEO

Working closely with the executive and facilities committees of the board, Bob developed a matrix of building and location criteria that governed the search. He quickly assembled a development team that included a Seattle-based commercial broker, architect, interior designer and general contractor. During the search, a number of existing buildings and potential sites were evaluated.

After Delta had selected the building, Bob was instrumental in negotiating the purchase, securing bridge financing pending the sale of the Federal Way property, and remodeling the space to meet the expectations of the board members and major capital campaign donors.

When the original lender pulled out of the deal in the eleventh hour, Bob was able to replace the financing and close on the purchase of the building in less than two weeks. Delta moved into their new headquarters before their lease had expired.

In terms of numbers, the building was purchased for less than $3.5 million and the remodeling cost was under $300,000. Compared to the original plans, Delta was able to live within their original capital campaign budget, meet their schedule, and relocate to Bellevue, which was clearly a much better location than either their old offices in Renton or the abandoned Federal Way site.

Project Description

Location: Bellevue, Washington

Owner: The Delta Society

Developer: Naito Development LLC

Completion: September 2004

Project cost: $6.5 Million

Program: Acquisition, tenant improvements and landscaping a 24,000 square foot office building to create a national headquarters and training center

Architects: OTAK Architects and Edelman Soljaga Watson

Contractor: GLY Construction

Financing: Pacific Continental Bank

Website: www.deltasociety.org

Jean Vollum Natural Capital Center

Naito Development LLC — Mon, 01 Jan 2001 12:00:08 +0000

Originally constructed as a warehouse in 1895, the Natural Capital Center building was acquired in 1998 by Ecotrust, a Portland-based environmental organization, for redevelopment as its headquarters and a center for the conservation economy.

“With our ambitions outlined, we knew we needed an experienced developer to turn our objectives into a fundable and profitable building program and development plan. We turned to Bob Naito, an experienced and creative developer who had been involved in many historic rehabilitation projects in Portland.”
–Bettina von Hagen, Managing Director of the Natural Capital Fund

The project broke ground in February 2000 and was completed 18 months later. Patagonia, the outdoor clothing company known for its environmental ethic, is the retail anchor, opening its first Oregon store and the largest of its retail outlets. The 70,000 square foot building also houses Ecotrust’s headquarters and a mix of non-profit and business tenants gathered around the themes of sustainable forestry and fisheries, green building, and financial investment.

The Natural Capital Center has maintained the character of the original 1895 structure while incorporating environmentally innovative techniques which resulted in the project becoming the first LEED Gold certified historic rehabilitation in the United States.

Project Features

• 98% of construction debris reclaimed and recycled – a city record.
• 32% water savings achieved through low flow fixtures.
• 20% energy savings achieved through efficient windows, fixtures and ventilation system.
• FSC-certified, sustainably harvested wood used throughout
• Willamette River protected from storm water runoff – rainwater is filtered and absorbed through bioswales and an ecoroof.
• Environmentally innovative interior materials – recycled paint, wheatboard cabinets, rubber flooring from recycled tires.

Project Description

Location: Pearl District, Portland, Oregon

Owner: Ecotrust Properties LLC

Developer: Naito Development LLC

Completion: 2001

Project cost: $12.5 million

Program: Historic rehabilitation of 70,000 square foot warehouse into retail, restaurant, office and conference facilities

Architect: Holst Architecture P.C.

Contractor: Walsh Construction Co.

Financing: Ford Foundation
Bank of America
Bank of the West
Portland Development Commission
Guilford Capital (historic tax credit syndication)

Project Website: www.ecotrust.org/ncc/

Simon Benson House

Naito Development LLC — Fri, 01 Dec 2000 20:00:27 +0000

Built for lumberman and philanthropist Simon Benson around the turn of the century, this once proud Victorian had sat vacant for decades until it was finally condemned by the Bureau of Buildings in 1991. The Benson House was slated for demolition to make room for a condominium tower when City Commissioner Gretchen Kafoury secured a $650,000 grant from the Portland Development Commission to relocate and save this landmark structure.

PDC contracted with Heritage Consulting Group to serve as project manager and historic rehabilitation consultants.

Through Heritage Consulting, Bob Naitoworked with PDC, PSU and the Friends of Simon Benson House to acquire and move the house to its new location on the PSU campus in January 2000.

Bob Naito’s work included incorporating and recruiting board members to the Friends of Simon Benson House; negotiating the purchase of the house; recruiting the architects who did the work pro bono; assisting with the selection of the contractor; and soliciting major donations including a $100,000 in-kind contribution from Home Depot.

Following an extensive rehabilitation of the structure including restoration of many of its historic features, the Simon Benson House reopened as the home of the PSU Alumni office and visitor’s center.

Project Description

Location: Portland, Oregon

Owner: Portland State University

Project Manager: Bob Naito and John Tess

(Heritage Consulting Group)

Completion: December 2000

Project cost: $2 million

Program: Acquire, move to the PSU campus and rehabilitate the historic home of one of Portland’s first citizens.

Architect: SERA Architects AIA PC

General Contractor: P & C Construction Co.

Funding: Portland State University

Portland Development Commission

Friends of Simon Benson House