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. Construction was completed in 1983. According to Bart King's An Architectural Guidebook to Portland, it has been nicknamed the "R2D2 Building".
History 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.Oregonian (Portland, Oregon), July 18, 1981: 37. Work begins on gas company headquarters. It had received a height variance for the neighborhood, as it was to be 14-stories and tall.Oregonian (Portland, Oregon), November 21, 1980: 50. Old Town project shows signs of life. The building was designed by architect Richard A. Campbell,Oregonian (Portland, Oregon), May 1, 1986: 83. developed by Hayden Corp.,Oregonian (Portland, Oregon), December 19, 1986: 1. and built by general contractor H.A. Andersen (now Andersen Construction Co).Oregonian (Portland, Oregon), December 6, 1987: 55. 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. A dedication ceremony was held on April 8, 1982 for the building, at which time a time capsule was buried.Oregonian (Portland, Oregon), April 9, 1982: 23. Office tower dedicated in Old Town. It topped out in June 1982.Oregonian (Portland, Oregon), June 15, 1982: 65. RISING SKYLINE. One Pacific opened on April 1, 1983,Oregonian (Portland, Oregon), August 30, 1983: 96. G.E. Mortgage signs large office lease. with an opening ceremony on July 11, 1983, and at that time NW Natural leased approximately 55 percent of the building.Oregonian (Portland, Oregon), July 12, 1983: 79. Up, up and away.
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.STEVE MAYES. "INVESTORS WILL SELL SIX BUILDINGS NEAR PIONEER COURTHOUSE SQUARE." Oregonian, The (Portland, OR), April 23, 1998: E01.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. The building attained Energy Star certification in 2007.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+. Menlo Equities purchased the property in 2015 for $48.5 million. In 2017, NW Natural announced plans to move out when the company's lease expires in 2020, after using the building as its headquarters for 30 years. NW Natural then moved in 2020 to 250 Taylor in Downtown."A big deal for Old Town Chinatown." Daily Journal of Commerce [Portland, OR], 15 May 2020. Gale Business: Insights. Owner Menlo sold the tower for $52.1 million in 2018.
Details The eight-sided tower is crystal-shaped, with the upper floors at a 45-degree angle.Oregonian (Portland, Oregon), September 25, 1983: 33. Alan R. Hayakawa. One Pacific Square: Form planned to outlast passing fashions Standing 13-stories, it occupies the entire block bounded by Davis, Everett, First, and Second in Northwest Portland. The building contains of space inside a glass envelope.
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