Bronaugh Apartments

The renovation and seismic upgrade of the Bronaugh Apartments improved a historically-significant building in Portland’s Goose Hollow Historic District west of downtown. Even more important was the fact that the 1905 masonry structure provides 50 units of housing to very low-income residents in an area of rapidly escalating property values. The financing for the project included historic tax credits in addition to low-income housing tax credits. Jessica shepherded the project through the state and federal historic review process for the tax credits and provided the documentation needed to complete the Section 106 compliance review.

One of the most challenging issues to navigate through the historic review process was related to the seismic improvements. The masonry facade needed to be anchored to the structure with helical ties; however, the mortar joints on the Bronaugh’s brick are exceedingly narrow and could not accommodate any drilling without chipping the bricks. Working in concert with the architect and structural engineer, Jessica was able to convince the National Parks Service of the need for the anchors and how they would be installed without harming the historic facade. Ultimately, a lot of planning and careful consideration led to an interior-side installation that left the mortar and the brick face untouched.