The first year of construction on the new 5 MLK mixed-use development in Portland, OR is now complete. Demolition of the five existing structures, excavation for the three-story basement, construction of reinforced concrete foundations, and the first few elevated levels represent a substantial volume of work that is not visible to most. To the average driver on Burnside or MLK, little work is visible other than the 300-plus-foot-tall tower crane. With the construction of the first above-grade floor slab at the end of the year, the stage has been set for this highly-visible tower to rise as a complement to the controversial Yard building across Burnside.
Here are some of my favorite images from the first year of construction:
Formwork and rebar for the tower crane footing.
Tower crane erection at 5 MLK, with the Towne Storage building in the foreground.
Formwork and rebar for the first shear wall and column footings, and grade beams.
Formwork and rebar for the elevator core are installed as excavation progresses on the west portion of the site.
Shear wall boundary element rebar cage for an elevator core wall at 5 MLK.
Rebar for the first two levels of below-grade parking of the elevator core.
View inside a shear wall boundary element prepared to be filled with concrete at the core walls at the base of 5 MLK.
Column footings are poured at the base of the excavation.
View from the Burnside Bridge, as column footings are poured at the bottom of the excavation, below the third below-grade parking level.
The first two levels of elevator core walls with concrete poured.
Elevator core walls in the basement of 5 MLK with the yard building rising in the distance.
Formwork for the first elevated slab, lower level 2, and rebar for the core wall extension up to level 1.
View of the 5 MLK elevator core from the parking ramp at lower level 3 up to level 1, with the Yard building rising across the Burnside Bridge.
View from the Burnside Bridge, as post-tensioning cables are installed for the first elevated slab.
Elevator core reinforcing and lower level 2 slab cables.
Concrete is placed in the elevator core up to level 1, as the lower level 2 slab is prepared.
View from the Burnside Bridge, as columns are poured between lower level 2 and lower level 1.
Vertical work approaches grade level after the first elevated slab pour.
The elevator core is poured up to level 1 as the parking ramp slabs prepare to rise to the lower grade level along SE 3rd Ave.
Post-tensioning cables, rebar, and electrical conduit are prepared in the lower level 1 slab, as work begins on the elevator core above level 1.
Formwork and rebar installation at the southeast corner of level 1.
View of lower level 1, level 1, and level 2 from the Burnside Bridge in late December, 2018.
Formwork for level 2 encloses a double-height retail space at the corner of SE Ankeny and 3rd.
Parking ramp at lower level 3, where the basement walls are prepared for shotcrete installation.
Completed concrete work inside the PGE Utility Vault.
Intersection of parking ramp slabs with a stair shaft and the elevator core at lower level 2.
Formwork for level 3 is installed above level 2.
The tower crane lifts a section of formwork for the level 3 slab off of the completed level 2 deck.
Columns rise from levels 2 to 3, framing the Yard building.
Preparation for the western level 2 slab pour with a view of the Towne Storage building and downtown Portland as sunset approaches.
View to the six-story buildings surrounding 5 MLK from the level 2 deck.
View into the double-height retail space at the corner of SE Ankeny and 3rd from a future mechanical room at level 1.
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