Multifamily Construction in Portland, Oregon
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Modern Northwest builds multifamily housing in Portland and Southwest Washington: apartment buildings, townhome rows, fourplexes and mixed-use buildings with shops below and homes above. We also remodel and convert existing buildings into apartments. Multifamily sits between home building and commercial construction. It is built to the commercial side of the code, with fire separations, accessible units and site utilities, but every unit still has to work as someone's home.
Multifamily Projects We Have Built
- 2425 NE Alberta St, Portland: a 4-story mixed-use building, October 2023 to February 2025.
- 55th Apartments, NE 55th Ave, Portland: a 16-unit apartment building, finished December 2024.
- 46th Townhomes, NE 46th Ave, Portland: two 6-unit townhome buildings, east and west, finished September 2024.
- 73rd fourplex, SE 73rd Ave, Portland: a 4,045 square foot new fourplex, finished April 2025.
- Cherry Park, Troutdale: an 80-unit adult care facility converted into affordable apartments, finished April 2025 (see the Cherry Park project page).
Multifamily Work We Do
Apartment Buildings
Apartment buildings from site work to turnover, like the 16-unit 55th Apartments in Portland. Our project managers have run multifamily jobs from 12 to 109 units.
Townhomes
Rows of attached homes with separate entries, like the two 6-unit 46th Townhomes buildings. Each wall between units is a fire separation that has to be detailed and inspected.
Middle Housing and Fourplexes
Duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes, like the 4,045 square foot fourplex we built on SE 73rd. See the Portland middle housing rules below.
Mixed-Use Buildings
Retail or office space on the ground floor and homes above, like the 4-story building on NE Alberta. Two uses in one building means two sets of code requirements and a separation between them.
Conversions and Rehabs
Turning an existing building into housing, like the 80-unit Cherry Park conversion in Troutdale. See our commercial remodeling page for more change-of-use work.
Site and Utilities
Sewer, water and storm connections, frontage improvements and parking, the parts of a housing job that happen before the first wall goes up.
Building Middle Housing in Portland
Portland's Residential Infill Project went into effect on August 1, 2021. It opened single-dwelling zones to middle housing, such as duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes and townhouses, on lots where only one house used to be allowed. The city reports permitting more than 1,400 ADU and middle housing units between August 2021 and June 2024.
For a developer, that means a standard Portland lot can now carry several units, and the job looks more like a small commercial project than a house: more units, more utility connections, fire separations between units and a bigger permit set.
The rules, setbacks and unit counts depend on the zone and the lot. We check them with Portland Permitting & Development before design is final, so the unit count you are planning is one the city will approve.
Federal fair housing rules add their own layer. Under the Fair Housing Act, buildings with four or more units built for first occupancy after March 13, 1991 must meet accessible design requirements: every unit in a building with an elevator, and the ground-floor units in a building without one. That shapes door widths, routes from parking, kitchens and bathrooms from the first layout, so we design for it instead of fixing it at inspection.
Between units, the building code requires fire-rated walls and floors and sound control. Those assemblies are detailed in the drawings and inspected before the drywall goes on, which is why multifamily framing schedules run differently from a single house.
55th Apartments, Portland
A 16-unit apartment building on NE 55th Ave, built from February to December 2024.
See Our WorkWho Runs a Multifamily Job
Development
Sergey Marandyuk, VP of Development, oversees everything from small remodel permits to large multifamily and subdivision projects, and holds a Master of Architecture from Portland State.
Project Management
Justin Stangel manages new and remodel multifamily projects from 12 to 109 units. Allen Murray specializes in wood-framed and post-tension multifamily buildings.
Field
Superintendents run the site day to day: framing, inspections, trade scheduling and safety. General Superintendent Tony Rieger coordinates the superintendents and foremen across jobs.
Permits
We handle plan review and permits with Portland Permitting & Development, Clark County or your city.
Turnover
Final inspections, punch list per unit and closeout, so units can be leased or sold.
Multifamily Construction Questions, Answered
What kinds of multifamily projects do you build?
Apartment buildings, townhomes, fourplexes and other middle housing, mixed-use buildings and conversions of existing buildings into apartments.
Can I build a fourplex on a Portland lot?
Often, yes. Portland's Residential Infill Project, in effect since August 1, 2021, opened single-dwelling zones to middle housing. The exact rules depend on the zone and lot, so we check them before design.
How big are the multifamily jobs you take?
From fourplexes to 16-unit buildings and 80-unit conversions. Our project managers have run multifamily jobs up to 109 units.
Do multifamily buildings have to be accessible?
Yes, in most cases. Under the Fair Housing Act, buildings of four or more units first occupied after March 13, 1991 must meet accessible design requirements in every unit if there is an elevator, or in the ground-floor units if there is not.
Do you build mixed-use buildings?
Yes. We built a 4-story mixed-use building on NE Alberta St in Portland.
Related Services
Serving the Portland metro, including Portland, OR, Beaverton, OR, and Vancouver, WA. See our full service areas in Oregon and Washington.
Planning Apartments or Townhomes?
Tell us about the lot or the building and how many units you are planning. We will walk it with you.
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