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Park Place Tower - Portland, OR Park Place Tower - Portland, OR Park Place Tower - Portland, OR

Park Place Tower

Park Place Tower is an eleven floor midrise condominium with thirty-six units located in Portland’s Goose Hollow Neighborhood. Built in 1983, all of the exterior wall components at Park Place Tower had reached the end of their useful life and were in need of a full replacement.


The original siding was an Exterior Insulation and Finish System (EIFS) that had been applied directly to the exterior wall sheathing. Over the years, the EIFS system allowed water into the building walls and trapped it which resulted in heavy water damage to the wood windows, exterior gypsum sheathing and metal framing. After repairs were completed to the underlying framing and sheathing, a new Sto Quick stucco system was installed. This stucco system was installed on a Cascadia Clips which provides a rainscreen and a thermal break between the new exterior stucco system and the newly installed exterior wall sheathing and waterproofing. The original windows and doors at Park Place Tower were wood and had sustained heavy damage, so these were replaced with new high performance fiberglass units. All privacy decks and railings were demolished and replaced with new deck waterproofing and face mounted aluminum deck railings and the main roof was also completely replaced.


Of particular concern was the condition of the exterior stairs leading from the elevated terrace to the parking garage below. The original stairwell was left unprotected and allowed water to cascade from the terrace into the parking garage below. Charter addressed this issue by building a fully roofed and vented shelter around stairwell which eliminated the future egress of water.


This project did present several challenges for Charter. First of all, Park Place Tower was a fully occupied building located downtown on a steep incline on the corner of a high traffic intersection, so there was limited space for Charter to manage deliveries and storage of onsite materials. To accommodate the surrounding community, materials were delivered in smaller orders as needed during times when traffic was lighter. In regards to material lead time, both the new fiberglass windows and the new rain screen system were manufactured in Canada. This required careful monitoring of the shipping schedule to ensure the project schedule was not impacted by material delays. Lastly, the majority of our work was performed during a record breaking winter season. Because the building was fully occupied during the entire construction process; temporary walls, complete with insulation and a viewing window, were framed three feet in from all existing exterior walls. This allowed Charter to completely demo the windows, doors and exterior walls finishes (inside and out) while ensuring that the interior units remained properly heated and the occupants properly protected while this job was in progress.


The Charter team successfully managed all of these challenges and still managed to deliver a high quality project with a high performance envelope, crisp architectural aesthetics and a very happy client.

Architect: RDH Building Sciences
Location: Portland, OR
Park Place Tower Video