One Pacific Square, also known as the Northwest Natural Gas Building, is a high-rise building located at 220 Northwest 2nd Avenue in Portland, Oregon, United States.[1] Construction was completed in 1983.[2] According to Bart King's An Architectural Guidebook to Portland, it has been nicknamed the "R2D2 Building".[3]

One Pacific Square
The building in 2011
One Pacific Square is located in Portland, Oregon
One Pacific Square
Location within Portland, Oregon
General information
TypeHigh rise
LocationPortland, Oregon, United States
Coordinates45°31′30″N 122°40′19″W / 45.525°N 122.672°W / 45.525; -122.672
Current tenantsNW Natural
Construction started
July 1981
Topped-outJune 1982
OpenedApril 1, 1983
Cost$23 million
Height
Height188 feet (57 m)
Technical details
Floor count13
Design and construction
ArchitectRichard A. Campbell
DeveloperHayden Corp.
Main contractorH.A. Andersen

History

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Planning for the structure began in 1974, with construction beginning in July 1981, with plans for completion in December 1982 for the $23-million project.[4] It had received a height variance for the neighborhood, as it was to be 14-stories and 188-foot (57 m) tall.[5] The building was designed by architect Richard A. Campbell,[6] developed by Hayden Corp.,[7] and built by general contractor H.A. Andersen (now Andersen Construction Co).[8] It was to be part of a four-building complex of similar towers, one to be 20 stories, one at 27 stories, and the tallest at 28 stories.[9] A dedication ceremony was held on April 8, 1982 for the building, at which time a time capsule was buried.[10] It topped out in June 1982.[11] One Pacific opened on April 1, 1983,[12] with an opening ceremony on July 11, 1983, and at that time NW Natural leased approximately 55 percent of the building.[13]

One Pacific was sold in 1997 for $33 million to Equity Office Properties Trust, and then sold for $48 million to Ashforth-Pacific Inc. in August 2006.[14][15] The building attained Energy Star certification in 2007.[16] Menlo Equities purchased the property in 2015 for $48.5 million.[17] In 2017, NW Natural announced plans to move out when the company's lease expires in 2020,[18][19] after using the building as its headquarters for 30 years.[20] NW Natural then moved in 2020 to 250 Taylor in Downtown.[21] Owner Menlo sold the tower for $52.1 million in 2018.[17]

Details

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The eight-sided tower is crystal-shaped, with the upper floors at a 45-degree angle.[9] Standing 13-stories, it occupies the entire block bounded by Davis, Everett, First, and Second in Northwest Portland.[9] The building contains 230,000 square feet (21,000 m2) of space inside a glass envelope.[9]

References

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  1. Hammill, Luke (December 23, 2015). "Portland's most expensive building sales of 2015, a record-breaking year". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on 2018-05-18. Retrieved 2018-05-18.
  2. "One Pacific Square". Emporis. Archived from the original on May 17, 2018. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  3. Stout, Heidi J. (May 26, 2002). "Feral cats in the junk pile at Gotham Building". Portland Business Journal. Archived from the original on June 18, 2012. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
  4. Oregonian (Portland, Oregon), July 18, 1981: 37. Work begins on gas company headquarters.
  5. Oregonian (Portland, Oregon), November 21, 1980: 50. Old Town project shows signs of life.
  6. Oregonian (Portland, Oregon), May 1, 1986: 83.
  7. Oregonian (Portland, Oregon), December 19, 1986: 1.
  8. Oregonian (Portland, Oregon), December 6, 1987: 55.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Oregonian (Portland, Oregon), September 25, 1983: 33. Alan R. Hayakawa. One Pacific Square: Form planned to outlast passing fashions
  10. Oregonian (Portland, Oregon), April 9, 1982: 23. Office tower dedicated in Old Town.
  11. Oregonian (Portland, Oregon), June 15, 1982: 65. RISING SKYLINE.
  12. Oregonian (Portland, Oregon), August 30, 1983: 96. G.E. Mortgage signs large office lease.
  13. Oregonian (Portland, Oregon), July 12, 1983: 79. Up, up and away.
  14. STEVE MAYES. "INVESTORS WILL SELL SIX BUILDINGS NEAR PIONEER COURTHOUSE SQUARE." Oregonian, The (Portland, OR), April 23, 1998: E01.
  15. RIVERA, DYLAN. "Ashforth-Pacific purchases NW Natural's home base." Oregonian, The (Portland, OR), August 24, 2006: D01. NewsBank: America's News – Historical and Current.
  16. Kensok, Tim. "Energy-saving opportunities in green buildings: all buildings-even high--performing ones--have room for efficiency improvements." Heating/Piping/Air Conditioning Engineering, vol. 81, no. 9, Sept. 2009, pp. 26+.
  17. 1 2 Bach, Jonathan (May 22, 2026). "Could this Portland office tower become a data center? Silicon Valley acquisition signals new era". The Oregonian/OregonLive. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
  18. Redden, Jim (March 21, 2017). "NW Natural to move out of Old Town headquarters". Portland Tribune. Archived from the original on 2018-05-18. Retrieved 2018-05-18.
  19. Redden, Jim (October 13, 2017). "NW Natural to move downtown". Portland Tribune. Archived from the original on 2018-05-18. Retrieved 2018-05-18.
  20. Gallivan, Joseph; Redden, Jim (February 16, 2017). "NW Natural explores move from Old Town". Portland Tribune. Archived from the original on 2018-05-18. Retrieved 2018-05-18.
  21. "A big deal for Old Town Chinatown." Daily Journal of Commerce [Portland, OR], 15 May 2020. Gale Business: Insights.
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