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Valley Times - Lofts at The Round get needed facelift
04/10/10 15:00 Filed in: News Releases
Lofts at The Round get needed facelift
Completed construction ends litigation with condo homeowners and water intrusion problems
The Beaverton Valley Times, Aug 25, 2010
You might have noticed the new look of the north side of The Round at Beaverton Central.
The Lofts at The Round now sport a new façade and exterior cladding system to keep water from seeping into windows and decks and wreaking structural havoc. Charter Construction recently completed a 10-month remediation project on the three floors of condominium space above ground-floor restaurants at the downtown development.
As the general contractor for the project, the firm installed new metal siding, fiberglass windows and doors. This involved removal and replacement of the existing vertical walls and windows. The project’s completion marks the end of the troubled development’s latest round of litigation problems – this one with homeowners, who had to deal with dry rot and extensive framing and interior
finish damage.
Originally constructed in 1998, The Lofts at The Round represents one component of the transitoriented development anchored by TriMet’s MAX Line in the heart of Beaverton. The Lofts consists of 65 units with a utility connection to the city of Beaverton’s central plant in an adjacent commercial building at The Round.
In 2007, The Lofts at The Round Homeowners’ Association commissioned Western Architectural to conduct a full analysis and assessment of the project’s building envelope, which was experiencing water intrusion at the windows and decks.
For more than two years, the firm served as an expert witness and on-site expert, working closely with Ball Janik LLP, the law firm representing the association. Ball Janik’s team, led by Phillip Joseph and Jim Prichard, successfully represented the plaintiffs in obtaining a settlement that enabled the homeowners to fully repair the construction defects.
Western Architectural performed forensic testing and inspections for those construction defects, water intrusion and mold damage. The Portland firm also provided expert opinion services, defined the repair protocol and oversaw repairs.
The homeowners’ association selected Charter Construction to do the reconstruction. “This has been a challenging but rewarding project, one we’ve been closely involved with from initial inspections and litigation, through completion of the building envelope rehabilitation,” said Nick Dente,
Western Architectural’s principal in charge. “We’ve very successfully collaborated with Charter Construction, the HOA and their legal representatives in finding a cost-effective, long-term solution to the water intrusion problems that have plagued The Lofts at The Round since their inception.”
Throughout the construction process, the condominiums were occupied. Construction was also scheduled to accommodate the businesses in the retail space, which were able to stay open during the entire process.
“This was a complex project, but we felt privileged to be able to work for the homeowners,” said Eric Jackson, Charter Construction’s vice president of Oregon operations. “The combination of the strong financial settlement that Ball Janik obtained, and Western Architectural’s waterproofing and design work enabled us to make the homeowners whole – to construct for them the home that they thought they bought in the first place,” Jackson said.
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