The Union Apartments—recently re-named from the Harrison Apartments—officially kicked off construction earlier this month at 2750 NW Harrison Boulevard. The apartments are a collaborative effort between local partners including Portland-based real estate developer Project^, and Samaritan Health Services.
“Our focus on this effort was a design and name that reflects and commemorates the heritage of Oregon,” said Anyeley Hallova, a partner and professional urban designer with Project^.
Although it was replaced with “She Flies With Her Own Wings” in 1987, “The Union” was previously the motto of the state of Oregon, and it’s still part of Oregon State University’s official seal.
The four-story, 68-apartment complex will contain a total of 221 bedrooms and 151 parking stalls. While nearby residents may reasonably worry that parking could become more difficult, they can rest a bit easier with The Union in their backyard—the location of the apartments (a mere three blocks from campus) and the inclusion of on-site car-sharing and bike repair facilities will very likely off-set much of the potential parking crunch.
According to Project^, “Residents can walk to the center of campus in less than 10 minutes.”
Perhaps most importantly, The Union will be Corvallis’ first LEED certified apartment complex—the developers are targeting a silver certification at minimum, with the goal of achieving gold. With this in mind, Project^ has proposed a lengthy list of sustainable initiatives for the building, such as giving preference to building materials that contain recycled and locally-sourced content, installing fixtures that will reduce over-all water usage by 40% compared to similar buildings, utilization of non-toxic finishes (with little-to-no VOC content) in interior spaces, building to maximize natural lighting, and landscaping with drought-tolerant and native species.
Developers anticipate that the complex will begin leasing apartments in January 2013 with move-in dates in September 2013.
by Genevieve Weber
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