Medallion Apartments
Located in NW Portland, the Medallion Apartments provide comfortable, stable, affordable housing for seniors and people with disabilities.
Project Details
Location
Portland, OR
Client
Home Forward
Year Completed
2020
Project Size
54,200 sq. ft.
90 units
Land Recognition
We have a responsibility to not only acknowledge but also elevate Native communities and their needs. This project sits in the area currently known as Portland, which encompasses the traditional village sites of the Multnomah, Wasco, Cowlitz, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Bands of Chinook, Tualatin Kalapuya, Molalla, and many other tribes who made their homes along the Columbia River.
Educating ourselves is an important action. We encourage you to explore the stories of these communities through Native-led resources like David G. Lewis, PhD’s The Quartux Journal and Leading with Tradition.
Reinvigorating Affordable Housing Across Portland
Holst has worked with Home Forward on renovating and preserving its portfolio of existing affordable housing buildings, with a particular focus on those serving our community’s most vulnerable populations. The Medallion Apartments, Holst’s fourth renovation as part of this work, serves people aged 55 and over and people with disabilities.
Extending the Life of the Building
Substantial upgrades to extend the life of the building included new exterior cladding on top of the existing CMU-block walls, the replacement of the roof and windows, and an updated HVAC system.
Enhancing Spaces for the Tight-Knit Community
Residents at the Medallion Apartments had fostered a tight-knit community that cherished the building’s community spaces. Holst’s occupied renovation allowed the community to stay intact, and our design had a focus on enhancing the community spaces to better serve residents now and into the future. The design team reconfigured ground-floor spaces, moving the community room to the primary corner of the building, which made space for it to open to a new plaza. This new indoor/outdoor room is a place for residents to gather for services, cooking classes, and informal events. In the community garden, we added a new site wall and planter boxes to better define the space. A new covered structure at the main entrance creates a protected, gracious approach to the building.
