Economics of Mixed Use
Mixed use is an old idea that presents new economic opportunities


BY DANIEL G. GEORGE Planning Solutions Inc.
September 14th, 2007

All things old are new again. A time-honored land use practice, mixed use, ismaking a comeback in cities across the country. Developments from Addison Circlenear Dallas, Texas, to Santana Row in San Jose, Calif., as well as The Roundin nearby Beaverton, Ore., are discovering that mixed use is a viable solutionto an ever decreasing supply of buildable land. Locally, developers have becomeincreasingly interested in the added profit potential provided by mixed use projects.

Mixed use, or the practice of allowing multiple land uses to coexist in a singledevelopment, has the potential to avoid many of the pitfalls of modern life,including the dreaded commute. The goal of mixed use developments is to bringhousing, retail, commercial and office uses into close proximity within a pedestrian-friendlyenvironment. Lucky residents could find themselves in the enviable position ofavoiding a high-traffic commute, while enjoying increased physical activity.The luxury of found free time also awaits residents who trade an hour’scommute for a five-minute stroll.

There are two distinct forms of mixed use projects: horizontally integrated andvertically integrated. Horizontally integrated projects require more land sincethey typically incorporate several individual buildings within the project. Anexample of a horizontally integrated mixed use project could include a commercialbuilding with retail on the ground floor and professional offices on the upperstories, surrounded by a mix of single family attached and single family detachedhomes. The various uses would be linked to each other by pedestrian paths, pocketparks and plaza spaces.

The European-influenced vertically integrated form of mixed use is finding morefavor in urban areas where buildable land is scarce. Integrating uses verticallyinto a single multiple-story structure provides opportunities for extremely efficientland use resulting in higher profit potential. For example, the same land thatmight support 12 single-family homes could also support a five-story mixed usebuilding providing 20,000 square feet of retail space plus 20,000 square feetof office space, as well as 40 luxury residential condominiums. From an economicstandpoint, the revenue generated by the initial sale of 30 residential condominiumsalone could potentially cover the development’s initial costs. This leavesthe developer with a long-term revenue stream of rental income associated withthe retail and office space. Examples of vertically integrated mixed use developmentsabound in the Portland and Vancouver area. Among them are: The Pearl District,McCormack Wharf, Riverwalk and Esther Short Park.

Whatever form mixed use developments take, they are usually marked by highlylandscaped common areas, pocket parks, attractively designed streetscapes thatinvite pedestrian use and amphitheaters to encourage social interaction amongresidents and visitors. Transit hubs for public transportation are also a commonand highly desirable, feature.

Daniel G. George, Licensed Landscape Architect, is the owner and managing principal at Planning Solutions Inc., a Vancouver-based architectural and land use planning design firm. He can be reached at 360-750-9000 or psi@planningsolutionsinc.com.

Community Pride Design Awards recognizes innovative collaboration
BY JODIE GILMORE For the VBJ
October 26th, 2007

Completed in July, Evergreen School District’s newest school, Union High has integrated the best of educational technology into the school’s design.
At Union, said Vaughn Lein, Principal of LSW Architects PC, which designed the facility, “instead of learning from technology, the students learn with technology.”

 

Innovative Union High School was completed this summer in part through of a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

For the kids
Wireless hot spots are available throughout the campus. So, a student can bring a laptop to the gym to record heartbeat rate changes, or to the theater, or anywhere else – they are not limited to a static desktop PC.

Career and Technology Education students interested in producing prototypes of inventions can take advantage of a special kind of 3D laser printer that acts like a CNC milling machine – except that it uses plastic instead of metal. Chris Tschirgi, Evergreen School District’s manager of educational technology,said that the printer allows students to inexpensively experiment with the ideasthey draw with CAD/CAM programs.

All students at Union High can use the school’s on-demand video server, where they can search for a video clip on a specific topic such as polynomial equations. The product is called Safari Montage, and Tschirgi called it “pure teaching content.”

For the teachers
Another way Union High uses technology is installing projectors in the ceilings of every classroom, along with a “document camera.” The camera can take a picture of virtually anything – a chapter outline, or even a rock collection, and project the picture onto a screen at the front of the room. The pictures can also be saved and displayed on the computer screen.

Classrooms also sport a “voice enhancement system” that enables teachers to be heard at the back of the room without straining their voices. Lein said that such a system not only lets the kids at the back of the room learn better, but studies show that teachers using such a system lose less time due to illness.

Synergy leads to recognition  
Tschirgi emphasized that most technologies are implemented across the board at Evergreen schools.

But what is unique about Union High is the synergistic innovation that comes from collaboration between developers, architects, builders and community members. As such, the school won one of the 2007 Community Development Department’s Community Pride Design awards.
At the heart of Union High’s approach to education are “small learning communities.” These smaller communities focus on specific areas of interest for students:  Engineering and Environmental Sciences; International Studies; Visual and Performing Arts; and Leadership and Business. Each learning community accommodates about 400 students, and functions as an independent school. Studies have shown that these smaller, more intimate learning environments result in higher test scores, attendance and graduation rates, and school safety.

“The architecture is beautiful,” said Marian Anderson, community relations manager, Clark County Community Development, but more importantly, she said, “the small learning communities are new and will benefit the students.”
The separate communities share a gym, common area, auditorium and media center.

Lein said because Union’s small learning communities allow the students to stay within a group of students and teachers for a period of two to four years, teachers can learn more about the students and serve them better.

Efficient and effective
Certain aspects of the architecture also create the best possible learning environment, said Lein. For example, studies show that the more natural light in the classroom, the better students learn. In fact, a 1999 study in California found that students exposed to increased natural light scored up to 25 percent higher on standardized tests than other students in the same school district. In many Union High classrooms, said Lein, the glass wraps around the corners, creating almost an outdoor feel to the room.  

More natural light also means reduced energy costs in lighting. Other areas where the school has tried to be cost-efficient is in the choice of building materials – lots of easy-to-maintain brick, glass and metal – and in high-tech systems such as HVAC and security.

Reg Martinson, executive director of facilities with the Evergreen School District, said that their security system supported changing access to an entire building or just a portion of it from a remote site using a laptop. In the case of lost access cards and keys, such a flexible system can be critical.
Union’s HVAC system has built-in intelligence that can learn from previous experience. It stores data such as outside temperature and humidity, time the equipment started, and how long it took for the building to come up to optimal temperature – then it uses that data to “learn” when to start up so that the building comes up to temp “just in time,” thereby saving energy costs.
According to Anderson, it’s Union High’s combination of innovative educational philosophy with modern architecture and technology, creating an environment that fosters a better learning experience for students, that earmarked the $62 million project (funded in part by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) as one of “those projects that add to our sense of community and our legacy of quality, innovation, design, and sustainability that can be enjoyed now and for generations to come.”

TAKING PRIDE IN INNOVATION
Besides Union High School, five other local projects won Community Pride Design Awards for their “thinking outside the box” and their positive contribution to the community. The Community Pride Design Awards were held on Oct. 26.

Center for Community Health

Kiwanis Park wins Design Award

Kiwanis Park wins Design Award. Battle Ground Public Works has entirely rethought the family park theme, offering innovations such as a climbing boulder, water-play feature, and a picnic trellis. The newly renovated park also sports new restrooms, a play structure, basketball courts, paved trails, an informal sports field and a completely redesigned Kiwanis Club building designed by Planning Solutions, Inc..

Center for Community Health. In a sweeping effort at making quality health care and services easily available, the new 175,000 square-foot facility on Fourth Plain Boulevard near Fort Vancouver Way is home to an array of public and non-profit partners:  Lifeline Connections, Community Services  NW, Veterans Affairs, Clark County Public Health Department, Clark County Dept. of Community Services, and Cowlitz Indian Tribe Health and Human Services; in addition, the Veteran’s Administration hospital is situated nearby.

Southwest Washington Medical Center Firstenburg Tower

Southwest Washington Medical Center Firstenburg Tower. Innovative both in its architectural design and in its use of technology, the tower adds form and function to the hospital. A new dedicated Heart and Vascular Center is housed in the tower, featuring five state-of-the-art cardiac labs and two open-heart surgery suites.

Battle Ground Skate Park

Battle Ground Skate Park. Also in Battle Ground, the 25,000-square-foot skate park offers a way to grow Battle Ground’s revenue base as the park continues to grow. Planned improvements include a new community building, a farmers’ market, and the ability to hold large skateboarding competitions.

Bruce and Judith Wood Home

Bruce and Judith Wood Home. Next to Arnada Park at the end of “H” Street in Vancouver, the house, once run-down and a detriment to the neighborhood, now is a community highlight, with its authentic early 1900s design both inside and out. The Woods won a Community Pride Design Award in 2006 for a similar project.

Business Growth Awards recognizes 15 finalists
BY SAM BENNETT
April 13th, 2007


Fifteen Vancouver-based businesses will be recognized at the Vancouver BusinessJournal’s 2007 Southwest Washington Business Growth Awards. A winner ineach category will be named at the May awards dinner.

Start-up of the Year
Big Al’s Inc., at 16615 S.E. 18th St. Big Al’s is a multi-purpose entertainment facility, with bowling, billiards, an arcade and sports bar and grill.
World Premier Realty Group Inc., 13115 N.E. Fourth St., Suite 100. World Premier has 40 real estate agents working in offices in Vancouver, Portland and Lincoln City, Ore.
Kazoodles, 575 W. Eighth St., is a downtown business specializing in "kid-poweredtoys."

Fastest Growing
One to Five Years
U.S. Funding Group, 14300 S.E. First St. U.S. Funding Group continues to grow quickly, with 12 branch offices and about 500 loan officers.
Barrett Business Services Inc., 8100 N.E. Parkway Drive, Suite 200. Provides staffing services and professional employers services.
Techjet Imaging, 12613 N.E. 95th St., D-100. Techjet is a premier large format digital inkjet producer.

Fastest Growing
Six to 10 years
Bank of Clark County, 1400 Washington St., Suite 200. Along with its parent company, Clark County Bancorp., Bank of Clark County has achieved record earnings.
nLight Corp., 5408 N.E. 88th St., Building E. nLight’s mission is to be a leading supplier of high-powered laser diodes.
Miller Nash LLP, 500 E. Broadway, Suite 400. The law firm focuses on Northwest businesses and clients, with offices in Vancouver, Portland, Seattle and Central Oregon.

Fastest Growing
More than 10 Years
Riverview Communty Bank, 900 Washington St., Suite 900. The company posted record profits in the year that ended in March 2006, as fee income increased 36 percent over the prior fiscal year.
Columbia Machine Inc., 107 Grand Blvd. With customers in more than 100 countries, Columbia Machine is a leading manufacturer of concrete products equipment.
Planning Solutions Inc., 1601 Broadway St, is a multi-disciplined development services company, including architecture, land-use planning and landscape architecture.

Innovator of the Year
New Tradition Homes, 11815 N.E. 113th St., Suite 100. One of the largest homebuilding companies in Clark County, New Tradition Homes leads in sustainable design and energy efficient homes.
Instructional Technologies Inc., 14511 N.E. 13th Ave. Instructional Technologies helps commercial driver license holders by offering a computer-based safety training program.
Infinity Internet, 1101 S.E. Tech Center Dr., Suite 150, is a regional provider of data and Internet access solutions.
The awards will be held on Thursday, May 10 at the Hilton Vancouver Hotel and Convention Center, 301 W. Sixth St. Finalists’ exhibits begin at 5 p.m. and dinner is at 7 p.m. Cost is $75, with advance registration. Tables of 10 are $700. For information, call 360-695-2442.
—Sam Bennett

A new village
Local planners work with national developers to create “community”
BY MEGAN PATRICK VBJ Staff Reporter
August 31st, 2007


Within the next year, Vancouver could see the emergence of a new urban village.

With the help of Vancouver-based Planning Solutions Inc., California developer Harper Communities Inc. is gearing up for the final design phase of The Village at Old Trolley Square, 353,360-square-foot, mixed-use urban village near Sifton.

The 12-building project on 13.86 acres will be a mix of more than 90,000 square feet of retail space, 102,500 square feet of office, as many as 75 condominiums and a 50,000-square-foot church – all built around a central plaza and fountain.

The $50 million project will rise from now-vacant land on the north side of Fourth Plain Road between Northeast 127th and Northeast 131st avenues.

Creating a community
Developers envision a central, pedestrian-focused urban streetscape where residents, shoppers and tenants can mingle, lingering at sidewalk cafes and boutiques that open directly onto the sidewalk.

Planners have designed it to create a community and bring the outside community together, rather than encouraging a strip-mall mentality of driving from destination to destination.

“We’re hoping for more of a series of events – people coming after work for a drink during happy hour, having dinner at a restaurant then maybe seeing some live music in the plaza,” said Dan George, a principal with Planning Solutions. “A place where you park once and can spend an evening or a Saturday afternoon.”

The three- and four-level buildings will have different aesthetics to give the feeling of an older development and avoid feeling like Disneyland – although George said Harper Communities has developed at the theme park in the past.

The corridors between buildings were highly scrutinized to maintain a view of Mt. Hood, and painstaking attention was paid to wind-reducing landscaping and maximization of light, an important detail in soggy Southwest Washington, George said.

“With lighting, we can encourage people to stay and extend their day,” he said.

Meeting market demands
Harper Communities designed the concept and Planning Solutions helped refine the vision through the project’s theme. The layout and design will definitely fit in the Northwest, George said.

Planners employed Eric Hovee, principal of E.D. Hovee & Co., a Vancouver-based economic research and development firm, to further tune the project to local market demands.

The streetscape will be centered on Kerr Road, a planned private street that will cut diagonally across the northern half of the development and connect with the county’s existing road network.

In the past, this road has been a hindrance to development at the site, George said. The developers scored points with the county for integrating it into the project design.

Krys Ochia, a team leader for the county’s Community Development Department, said the county quickly grew to like the project because the developers came to the table with the community’s interests in mind and were willing to work with the county regarding design elements.

Both sides compromised on the privatization of Kerr Road, the presence of arched entryways on both ends of Kerr Road and sidewalk widths.
No development process is smooth, Ochia said, but the developers and county planners were both open, communicated well and worked cohesively.

“We appreciate the ability of the developer to come up with something different and the willingness to exceed the minimums,” he said.

The project itself is not unusual in Southwest Washington, but the level of awareness regarding how it would impact the community and willingness to compromise was different, Ochia added.

Harper Communities is looking to make it a regional project, attracting folks from Battle Ground, Camas, Fishers Landing and Northeast Portland.
“We’re hoping to reach across the mythical divide of the Columbia River,” George said.

Vancouver’s growth during the last few years has come to the attention of most national developers, he said.

“This area accepts this kind of development,” he said.

The developers bought some of the land from WinCo Foods and private landowners. To the west is undeveloped land with higher density to the north, light industrial to the east, commercial development to the south and a lumberyard to the southeast.

George said the hope is for Old Trolley Square to become the nucleus of the area.

Connectivity at the forefront
The development’s sidewalk system and roadways will connect with those of the surrounding area, and will encourage people close by to walk or bike to their destinations.

The final design will incorporate sustainable features, and planners are aiming for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Features such as multi-level buildings that utilize land and energy efficiently and a streetscape design that incorporates a bus stop, numerous benches and bike racks help to reduce the project’s impact on the environment.

Planners also paid close attention to the positioning of 877 onsite parking spaces. George said the parking was uniquely designed so that different uses will use the spaces at different times throughout the day.

This way, less land had to be devoted to parking, he said.

BPA Selects Energy Smart Prototype
Vancouver office project chosen as BPA prototype
BY MEGAN PATRICK VBJ Staff Reporter
December 7th, 2007

Schlecht Construction, with offices in Longview and Vancouver, is in the developmentstages of a state-of-the-art two-story, Class A office building near Sifton thatis set to be so environmentally friendly, it was chosen as the prototype forthe Bonneville Power Administration’s Energy Smart Design Office program.

The 26,000-square-foot project, to be called 157th Plaza, will have space for up to 16 tenants and is expected to save more than $8,000 per year in energy costs.

“Everybody is saying we’re green, we’re LEED, but just because you’re green doesn’t mean you’re energy efficient,” said Bryan Halbert, vice president of Schlecht Construction. “This building is energy smart.”

Halbert, along with Schlecht Construction President Larry Schlecht, Larry Bonife of Vancouver-based Cornerstone Masonry and Jim Lovelace, are managing partners on the project.

Planning Solutions Inc. rendering

Schlecht Construction is planning 157th Plaza, which could save $8,000 a year in energy costs, and is geared toward medical tenants.

The $6 million project, designed by architect Mark DiLoreto of Vancouver-based Planning Solutions Inc., will meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards.

The Energy Smart Design Office program emphasizes the need to consider a project’s efficiencies at the start of the building design process because most of the cost savings of using energy conservation measures can’t be captured as cost effectively as retrofit measures, said Katie Pruder, BPA spokeswoman.
Bonneville Power Administration offers a 50-cent per square foot incentive for buildings that qualify for the region-wide program.

To qualify, buildings must be served by a participating utility – in this case, Clark Public Utility will serve 157th Plaza – and be a new building, an addition to an existing building or a major office renovation.

It must be three stories or less, less than 100,000 square feet and have 30 percent or less window-to-wall area ratio. The project also must include an efficient cooling system, effective window U-value, solar heat gain coefficient windows, an integrated design of an HVAC system and efficient lighting.
The incentive helps to cut down on the up-front costs, but to remain competitive in an aggressive leasing market, the lease rate has to be competitive to attract tenants, Halbert said.

Typically, triple net costs are 44 cents to 55 cents per square foot on top of a building’s base rent. Halbert expects 157th Plaza to be able to operate on less than 40 cents per square foot triple net.

The full-service price will be $24 per square foot – less than some LEED-certified projects are charging now, Halbert said.

“We’ll be able to charge less for triple net up front, and as energy costs rise, our costs will go up more slowly,” he said. “There is about 15 percent vacancy in Class A office right now, so I have to be competitive.”

157th Plaza was chosen as the prototype nearly by happenstance, Halbert said.

Schlecht was already discussing the energy-saving features when the BPA’s program came along, and the project’s engineer, Matt Todd of Longview-based Entek Corp. was in touch with the BPA.

The design is nearly 90 percent complete and moving into the permitting stages.

As of now, the location may seem remote, but there are several developments planned near the site, 15710 N.E. 65th Ave.

“It may be the first leasable space in that area,” Halbert said.
Schlecht is looking to lease the building to medical tenants.

“There is a higher consciousness about their environment, and that area is somewhat underserved,” Halbert said. “Kaiser just built a new facility down the street. Now it’s a little out of the way, but it’s going to be a hot, hot area.”
Schlecht Construction is expected to break ground on the project in March and be completed within a year.

SETTING THE PROJECT APART
Coated exterior windows with sun shades will bounce light in, but keep heat out. The windows have a U-value of .29, which reduces the thermal value by 75 percent.

Because less energy is needed to operate the building, designers were able to reduce the building’s mechanical unit for 60-tons to 50-tons.

Rather than using a traditional hot tar roofing method that can double the temperature radiating off of the roof, 157th Plaza will have peel-and-stick TPO roofing.

The TPO is durable white PVC plastic that is welded to the roof using heat. On a 90-degree day, its reflected heat is 92 degrees, reducing the “heat island effect,” said Bryan Halbert, vice president of Schlecht Construction.

It also allows the use of smaller conduits and wires so the mechanical unit doesn’t have to work as hard, reducing energy consumption.

Pervious concrete allows water drainage and cleans microbes from runoff before it’s absorbed into groundwater will be used for parking lots.

Architectural block reradiates heat so there are no temperature swings in the building – usually associated with woodframe buildings. It also acts as a better sound barrier, Halbert said.

Digital Addressable Lighting Interface controls draw on natural light coming in and supplementing with electrical light only when it’s needed.

Each electrical ballast is addressable and programmable, making it possible to communicate directly to the components in the fittings. The controls can monitor ambient light and “tell” the ballast how much light it needs to output, saving energy.

The system can easily be reconfigured as tenants change and fixtures never have to be rewired – it’s all done by computer.

Halbert estimates a $3,000 lighting bill could be reduced to $600 using the controls, known as “light harvesting.”

A fully integrated, web-controlled HVAC system will be monitored remotely for troubleshooting.

“Because IT techs can troubleshoot remotely, they don’t have to drive out and reset the system, which saves money and vehicle emissions,” Halbert said.
He estimates the cost savings could be $3,000 per year on top of the energy cost savings.

FITTING THE PIECES TOGETHER
Architect Mark DiLoreto of Vancouver-based Planning Solutions Inc. is a problem solver for a living.

In the case of 157th Plaza, he had to take a handful of sustainable building practices and design a comfortable, attractive building that is financially viable for the owners.

The most difficult piece is usually the financial one, he said.

“You always have to show developers what their return on investment is going to be,” DiLoreto said. “If it’s not affordable, it’s not going to work.”

Products like concrete, steel and masonry are long-lasting and low-maintenance.

“That makes it really easy for us because we can show the economic value without pushing the tree-hugging side,” he said. “They love to see the benefit to their bottom line.”

From the beginning, design is a balancing act.

Planning Solutions’ philosophy is to use as much natural light as possible. The downside is heat transfer.

But at 157th Plaza, the windows are coated and have a U-value of .29 and will have metal sunshades that bounce light in but keep heat out.

Luckily, the design work was a team effort between the owners, Schlecht Construction and the designers.

The design team wanted plenty of large windows. Bryan Halbert, vice president of Schlecht Construction, discovered the Digital Addressable Lighting Interface system and the owners wanted to use masonry.
Because the DALI system draws on natural light entering the building and only supplements with electrical light when needed, DiLoreto was able to add more windows to the design.

DiLoreto said the clients who generally come to PSI are not looking for projects their going to turn around and sell in two years, so the quality is expected to be high and buildings are made to last for 50 to 100 years.
“Architecture is problem solving,” DiLoreto said. “You take all of these design principles and use your creative skills to make them fit.”

Megan Patrick can be reached at mpatrick@vbjusa.com

Firm plans 'village' in Orchards

CAMI JONER Columbian staff writer  
August 27, 2007; Page E1

A California firm plans to break ground next spring on a $50 million complex of upscale retail, restaurant, office and residential space in Orchards. The Village at Old Trolley Square will also be the area's first church-centered European-style village. Planned by San Diego-based Harper Communities, project plans call for several three- and four-story buildings surrounding a central plaza, said Dan George, a principal with Planning Solutions Inc. The Vancouver firm helped design the 13.8-acre complex, planned for the north side of Fourth Plain Road between Northeast 127th and 131st avenues.

He said developers chose the site to be near the growing residential communities of northeast Vancouver, Brush Prairie, Hockinson and Battle Ground.

"It's also designed to be a destination for people from all over the region, including Portland," George said.

No large anchor tenant
Envisioned as a "streetscape" community, plans for The Village at Old Trolley Square call for building-lined streets with ground-floor retail shops and restaurants, George said.

"We're not looking to anchor it with a large grocery or other type of store. It will be smaller to mid-sized specialty shops and possibly cultural markets," George said.

He said Harper Communities could be ready next month to announce some of the project's first tenants, which he expects will move in by late 2008. The project could reach full build-out over the next two or three years, depending on tenant interest.

City Harvest Church
Developer Ron Harper called the project unique to the Clark County-Portland area for its 50,000-square-foot church, planned for the congregation of City Harvest Church, now at 8100 N.W. Ninth Ave. in Vancouver.
As part of the center's more than 350,000 square feet of building space, the church "is a very European concept as a cornerstone of the community," Harper said.

"We want to make this a community and churches can be a great part of that," said Harper, president of Harper Communities.
The San Diego-based developer has been involved in more than $200 million in mixed use projects, many of which tap into the demographic of church-going consumers. Harper Communities' counts the $1 billion San Diego redevelopment project Liberty Station among its largest projects. The company partnered with development firm Corky McMillin and the city of San Diego on the mixed-use development, which includes The Rock, a 3,500-seat nondenominational church.

With sanctuary seating for a congregation of 1,200, the church within the Village at Old Trolley Square could draw after-church patrons to stroll, shop and dine and provide extra parking during peak shopping hours.

"It will also allow for shared parking in what would otherwise be off times," George said.

A New Workplace, By Design

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Natural light streams through banks of high windows and skylights, illuminating the work area for Annessa Smith, foreground, and David Weston, employees of Planning Solutions Inc. (JANET L. MATHEWS/The Columbian)

By CAMI JONER Columbian staff writer

Downtown Vancouver seemed desolate in 1993 when Dan George opened a two-man office in the city's urban core.

"You could have rolled a bowling ball down the middle of the street," saidGeorge, founder and principal of Planning Solutions Inc., a land-use planningand landscape architectural firm.

But downtown offices -- near city and county development agencies -- made sense, George said.

The company blossomed, just like the downtown core.

Planning Solutions now employs 12 offering such services as land-use planning, architecture and interior design. The firm handles between 80 and 100 projects a year, a diverse portfolio that includes landscape design projects on single buildings to master-planning large developments.

"We feel like we're part of the renaissance," George, 50, said, of his company's renovated offices at 1601 Broadway.

Planning Solutions purchased the former Tymer's Photo and Imaging building in May 2005, after owners of the longtime family business announced it would close.

Redesigning the structure's 7,000-square-foot interior for offices allowed Planning Solutions' employees to practice their craft on themselves.

"We've basically recycled the building," George said.

The company invested approximately $600,000 to purchase and renovate the 1950s-era building, a process that took about one year. A core group of Planning Solutions' designers fed input to staff architect Mark DiLoreto.
"It's actually the same process we would go through on any project," Georgesaid.

Designers' dream

DiLoreto's design transformed the dark, low-ceiling space into offices that use natural light from banks of high windows and skylights. Balanced lighting is conducive to the design firm's work environment and makes the building more energy efficient.

George says the work has produced energy savings of between 60 percent and 70 percent, through a combination of efficient light fixtures, a reconfigured heating and cooling system, and additional insulation.

Pivotal project

While Planning Solutions' growth imitates downtown revitalization, the company was launched on key projects situated outside the urban core. Landscape architecture work on the 300-plus-acre Columbia Tech Center in east Vancouver proved pivotal, for example.

The 30-acre mixed-use development of light industrial, office, retail, and residential space is recognized beyond the region, George said, acknowledgment that helped Planning Solutions grow its client base outside the Vancouver and Portland area.

"It definitely adds to our portfolio," he said.

That recognition has helped the company attract work up and down the West Coast. Planning Solutions takes on its own projects, but also works in collaboration with a list of other local firms. While the company competes against several local architecture firms, George said most aren't as focused on the land-use planning and landscape architecture.

George expects Planning Solutions' gross revenue to double this year from 2005, despite cooling trends for commercial construction.
"There's a lot of things still going on," he said.

Planning Solutions expects to add six new employees by 2007. The new space has 1,500 square feet for expansion.

"We plan to be here for a while," George said. "The more people we see living and working downtown, the more we want to be a part of that."

Cami Joner covers real estate. Reach her at 360-759-8018 or cami.joner@columbian.com.

Planning Solutions Inc.
What: Vancouver land-use planning, landscape architecture, architecture, graphics and interior design firm.
Owner: Dan George.
Established: 1993.
New location: 1601 Broadway.

Looking ahead: The business expects to double gross revenues this year and add six new employees.