Healthcare Construction in Portland, Oregon
“Exceeded our expectations.” Animal Care Center Veterinary Clinic, Salem, clinic renovation
“Professional, competitively priced, with excellent communication.” MK Phelps, primary care clinic build-out
Modern Northwest builds healthcare spaces across Oregon and Southwest Washington: primary care clinics, dental offices, veterinary hospitals, behavioral health offices and ground-up outpatient buildings. Most of the work is inside existing buildings, turning an office suite, a retail space or an old use into a clinic that passes inspection and works for patients and staff. Some of it starts from bare ground. Either way, one general contractor runs the permit, the trades and the inspections.
Healthcare Work We Have Built or Are Building
- EyeHealth Northwest, Aloha: a 10,000 square foot ground-up eye clinic on SW 185th Ave, with full site development, a parking lot and off-site improvements. Under construction, scheduled through mid-2027.
- Uptown Family Dental, Beaverton: converting a former blood bank on SW Canyon Road into a dental office, design-build, 2026.
- Orenco Family Medicine, Hillsboro: a 5,618 square foot primary care build-out in Tower 2 on Cornelius Pass Road, finished January 2026.
- Western Vet Partners, Salem: a 3,600 square foot veterinary clinic tenant improvement, finished February 2026.
- LifeStance Health, Hillsboro and Vancouver WA: behavioral health office renovations, late 2025 and early 2026.
The Healthcare Projects We Build
Medical Offices and Clinics
Primary care and specialty clinics: exam rooms, nurse stations, labs, restrooms and waiting rooms. Full detail on our medical office construction page.
Dental Offices
Operatories, sterilization, imaging and the plumbing, vacuum and air lines a dental chair needs under the floor. Full detail on our dental office construction page.
Veterinary Hospitals
Exam rooms, surgery, kennels, isolation and wash-down finishes. Full detail on our veterinary construction page.
Behavioral Health Offices
Therapy offices need quiet more than equipment. The work is sound control between rooms, private entries and waiting areas, and finishes that feel calm, like the LifeStance Health offices in Hillsboro and Vancouver.
Ground-Up Outpatient Buildings
A whole clinic building from site work up: grading, utilities, parking, the off-site street work the city requires, then the shell and the clinic inside. The EyeHealth Northwest eye clinic in Aloha is this kind of job.
Clinic Conversions
Turning a space built for something else into a clinic, like the former blood bank in Beaverton becoming Uptown Family Dental. See converting retail space to a dental office.
What Makes Healthcare Construction Different
Most outpatient clinics are a Group B, business occupancy under the building code, the same as an office. That is why a clinic can go into an office or retail suite. A surgery center where patients are put under is an ambulatory care facility and carries extra fire and smoke separation rules, so the use decides a lot before design starts.
Healthcare suites carry more inside the walls than an office: more plumbing, more power circuits, dedicated lines for equipment, and in dental and vet work, vacuum and compressed air. That is where a clinic budget moves, so we price it from a walkthrough of the real space.
Accessibility is checked hard on clinics. Restrooms, door widths, exam room clearances and the path from parking to the front desk all get inspected, so we plan them in from the first layout.
Imaging rooms are their own topic. In Oregon, dental and medical x-ray equipment falls under the Oregon Health Authority x-ray rules (OAR chapter 333, division 106), and the state lists shielding plan review as optional. So we settle with you and your equipment vendor what shielding the room needs before framing, because lead-lined walls go up with the studs, not after.
Washington is different. Clinics in Vancouver and Clark County build to Washington code under our Washington contractor registration, MODERNI888R7. X-ray equipment is registered through the Department of Revenue Business Licensing Service and inspected by the Department of Health under WAC 246-225. New or remodeled medical X-ray rooms must submit shielding calculations and floor plans before construction, while dental, podiatric and veterinary X-ray rooms are exempt from that submittal but still inspected. Inside Vancouver city limits the permit goes through the City of Vancouver Community Development Department; in unincorporated Clark County it goes through Clark County Community Development.
Many clinics open inside occupied buildings. Water, power and HVAC shutoffs for the new suite get scheduled with the landlord after hours, so the other tenants keep working while the clinic goes in.
Orenco Family Medicine, Hillsboro
A 5,618 square foot primary care clinic built out inside an existing office tower and finished in January 2026. Superintendent Tony Rieger and project manager Justin Stangel ran the job.
See the ProjectAnimal Care Center Veterinary Clinic, Salem
How a Healthcare Project Runs
Walk the Space or the Site
Before you sign a lease or buy land, we look at what is there: plumbing locations, electrical capacity, the slab, access and parking. In a clinic those decide the budget.
Layout With Your Equipment
We work from your architect or run it design-build, like the Uptown Family Dental conversion in Beaverton. Your equipment list goes into the plans early, because chairs, imaging and sterilization set where the plumbing and power go.
Permits
We handle plan review and pull the permit with Portland Permitting & Development or your city, including the change of occupancy review when a space is turning into a clinic.
Build and Inspect
Rough-in inspections happen before the walls close, so the plumbing, medical gas or vacuum lines get checked while they are still visible. Then finishes, equipment hookups and final inspection.
Open on Schedule
We plan backward from the day you need to see patients, so the move-in date in your lease or your loan is a real date.
Healthcare Construction Questions, Answered
What kinds of healthcare projects do you build?
Primary care and specialty clinics, dental offices, veterinary hospitals, behavioral health offices and ground-up outpatient buildings, in Oregon and Southwest Washington.
Can a clinic go into an office or retail space?
Usually yes. Most outpatient clinics are the same business occupancy as an office under the building code. The plumbing, power and accessibility work is what changes, and a change of use gets its own code review.
Do you build ground-up medical buildings?
Yes. We are building a 10,000 square foot ground-up eye clinic for EyeHealth Northwest in Aloha, including the site work, parking lot and off-site improvements.
Do you handle permits and inspections?
Yes. We handle plan review, pull the permit with Portland Permitting & Development or your city, and schedule every inspection.
Does an x-ray room need lead in the walls?
Often, depending on the equipment and what is on the other side of the wall. In Oregon, x-ray equipment falls under the Oregon Health Authority x-ray rules. We settle the shielding with you and your equipment vendor before framing, since lead-lined walls go up with the studs.
Do clinics in Washington have different rules than Oregon?
Some. In Washington, medical X-ray rooms must submit shielding plans to the Department of Health before construction, while dental and veterinary X-ray rooms are exempt from that submittal. In Oregon, shielding plan review is optional. Permits in Vancouver go through the City of Vancouver, and in unincorporated Clark County through Clark County.
Where do you build healthcare projects?
Across the Portland metro and beyond. Recent healthcare jobs are in Hillsboro, Aloha, Beaverton, Salem and Vancouver, WA.
Related Services
Serving the Portland metro, including Portland, OR, Beaverton, OR, and Vancouver, WA. See our full service areas in Oregon and Washington.
Planning a Clinic or Healthcare Build-Out?
Tell us the space or the site and when you need to open. We will set up a walkthrough.
Request a Free Consultation