OPUS NW LADD.
qxd:Layout 1 1/19/09 12:48 PM Page 140
OPUS CORP. NORTHWEST DIVISION – LADD TOWER
Upon completion in 2009, the Ladd
Tower will be a 23-story residential
development located in the Cultural
District of downtown Portland.
Opus hired a moving company,
Northwest Structural Moving, to move
the house about five blocks away from
the site and into a vacant parking lot. “It
took six weeks to prepare and two days
to move,” Koerner notes. “It involved
steel I-beams inserted into the existing
foundation of the house, underneath
the floor joists. And, in the intersection
of those I-beams are hydraulic jacks [that
were used to] slowly jack up [the house]
off the ground. The jacks had wheels
on them that allowed the wood framed
building to simply be hooked to a big
tow truck and pulled.”
Moving the Ladd Carriage House in a
busy downtown area took coordination
with the city officials and the neighbors,
Koerner adds. “It was a challenge, consid-
ering there was only eight inches of clear-
140 ■ WWW.CONSTRUCTION-TODAY.COM ■ FEBRUARY 2009
ance on the street for the house to squeeze
between the neighboring buildings,” he
states. “We moved it and stored it for a
year in the middle of downtown. We
worked hard with the city and with the
Friends of the Ladd Carriage House, a
group [dedicated to] preserving the
Ladd House.”
Open to Changes
Challenges did not end once the Ladd
House had been moved off site. “The
building was originally a condominium
project,” Koerner says. “Opus opted to
change it to a market-rate project, so we
had to modify the design significantly
and bring the average size of units down
to be in line more with apartment living.
“It was a significant challenge we were
given to make the design changes to the
building: adding two more floors, reduc-
ing the floor-to-floor height from 10.5
feet to 10 feet, bringing in exterior walls,
while keeping the same square footage
from the [original] design as approved by
the city of Portland. We had to redo the
design while starting construction and
maintaining the original schedule.”
Teamwork pays off when working on
a demanding project like this, Koerner
adds. “Our designers, architects, engi-
neers, the city and everyone involved
[work as a team] to make the changes
and still continue on with our original
schedule,” he stresses. “We will have
temporary occupancy by March 1, 2009,
which is about 20 months from the start
of excavation to turning over the units.
We have been successful in convincing
the subcontractors and the city that we
can build faster than anybody else has in
Portland to date.”
Qualified Contractor
The project is running ahead of schedule,
thanks to everyone’s hard work. “One of
the key factors in Opus’ success on this
project is the fact that we are a fully inte-
grated design/build firm who excels in
maintaining our design, quality and
schedule within budget,” Koerner says.
“Our construction team manages the
design of the project from the onset. All
the details are closely reviewed by our
field superintendents for constructability
as we develop the design.”
Koerner also credits its qualified subcon-
tractors. “Maintaining mutually respectful,
long-lasting relationships with them is
a huge factor why we are successful from
both the budget, quality and schedule
standpoint,” he says.
Still Busy
Although the Portland market has slowed
down, construction in the city is still “pret-
ty busy,” Koerner says. In fact, Opus is
working on another apartment – Park
19 – situated near entertainment and
retail centers in the Northwest District.
The 94,727-square-foot project will
house 101 units and is scheduled to be
completed in May 2009.
“If you’re in Portland, you can see 10
cranes in the downtown area if you look
around,” Koerner states. “What I hear is
that everybody is still busy. ■