An electricians pension fund is financing construction of an urban office campus at Northwest Front and 17th Avenues in Portland, assuring that it will be built with all union labor.
A ground-breaking ceremony was held Oct. 26 for Field Office, a two-building, six-story development that will offer 300,000 square feet of office and retail space.
Project developers envision a campus hub for high tech and creative companies that will provide office space with connections to the natural environment. The buildings will be clad in dark brick, and feature green roofs and other sustainable amenities. There will be 17 outdoor spaces, an underground parking garage for 355 cars, communal areas, and a commuter lounge.
The $100 million project is being financed by the National Electrical Benefit Fund (NEBF), a pension fund of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the National Electrical Contractors Association. Developers are Portland-based project and National Real Estate Advisors, a real estate investment firm out of Washington, D.C. National is wholly owned by a subsidiary of the NEBF. This is their first project in Portland.
Lease Crutcher Lewis is the general contractor on the all-union project.
Willy Myers, executive secretary of the Columbia Pacific Building Trades Council told the Labor Press that union pension funds currently have more than $1 billion in play in Oregon, financing 28 projects (Field Office is the 28th.)
Field Office is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2017.
