BREITUNG BUILDING

AFFORDABLE APARTMENTS : PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING FOR VETERANS

PDX // OR

Sometimes you just need to find somewhere with people that get you, a place to feel sustained as you sort out the challenges of life. The Breitung Building is the kind of place that lets veterans rest easy knowing they have a place to call home in a cool modern apartment; with supportive community all around. Friendships are formed here with others sharing similar struggles – you can sit in the community room and have a cup of coffee with new friends - or make your way to the nearby rose garden for a bit of exercise and head clearing.  With support from Do Good Multnomah, this is a place to find rest, healing, and the path forward in a context of safety.

+ WHY IT MATTERS

So many things can take a person down, but a supportive community can help lift you back up. For many veterans, finding a place not just to call home but to really be at home in and connect with yourself, the community, and even all of the public spaces of the city is transformative. This is a place where stepping out of survival mode to find peace and potential actually becomes possible.



+ HOW IT IS DONE

Never underestimate a collaboration of service providers, architects, developers with a mission! Determined to see this project successfully supporting our veterans, each member of the team was challenged to find resources and creative paths to help the project succeed. Sharing the goal to provide permanent housing for veterans who are “over represented and underserved” in the houseless population as quickly as possible drove us to design modular right to ensure rapid completion on site. We pursued LEED certification and energy reductions that also mean the residents don’t have to pay utility bills. That neat trick came through leveraging the electric utility’s solar grant followed by Energy Trust’s path-to-net-zero program that provided extra money for some unique energy efficiency measures. In the end, construction costs were competitive with the low end of typical costs and shaved 6 months off the total design and construction timeline.



+ KEY FEATURES

  • PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING FOR VETERANS
  • DESIGN AND COORDINATION OF MODULAR CONSTRUCTION ELEMENTS TO REDUCE ON-SITE WORK
  • OFFICE AND STORAGE FOR SERVICE PROVIDERS, SUPPLY DISTRIBUTION, AND COUNSELING
  • 1,000SF OPEN COMMUNITY GATHERING TERRACE
  • ALL ELECTRIC BUILDING WITH CO2 HEAT PUMP WATER HEATING SYSTEM
  • INTEGRATED ARTWORK VIA MURALS DESIGNED BY ARTISTS WHO ARE ALSO VETERANS
  • LEED FOR HOMES (TRACKING PLATINUM) GOLD TARGET
  • ETO PATH-TO-NET-ZERO - 70% LESS ENERGY USE THAN CODE
  • 44KW PHOTOVOLTAIC SOLAR PANEL ARRAY VIA PP&L BLUE SKY SOLAR GRANT AWARD



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PROJECT STATS

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CLIENT // NORTHWEST VENTURES

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KEY PARTNERS // DO GOOD MULTNOMAH (SERVICE PROVIDER) 

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SIZE // 16,000 SF // 28 UNITS

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MODULAR CONSTRUCTION

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BUILT // 2020

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COMMUNITY ASSETS // EXCELLENT TRANSIT ACCESS, WALKING DISTANCE TO PARKS AND SERVICES, AND PUBLIC ART

 

PHOTOS BY // MJP PROP. MGMT.