Portland, Ore.—The City of Portland’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS) is expanding its pioneering work in deconstruction with support from a grant provided by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.
The Reduce, Reuse, Reimagine: Materials Management Grants Program will fund BPS’s work to explore commercial sector deconstruction and provide important data to promote the use of salvaged lumber in new construction.
“We are grateful for the state’s support as we continue Portland’s leadership in deconstruction,” said Donnie Oliveira, deputy city administrator for Community and Economic Development. “This work reduces waste and creates opportunities to grow a local industry that supports Portland businesses, reduces environmental impacts, and generates good, sustainable jobs in our city.”
Driving Deconstruction in the Commercial Sector
While deconstruction has become more common for residential homes thanks to Portland’s first-of-its-kind policy, it’s still rare for commercial buildings.
BPS will use grant funds to support up to 10 commercial building projects in identifying valuable materials that can be salvaged through deconstruction. Eligible commercial buildings include retail, office, warehousing, light manufacturing, places of worship, and schools.
The information from these projects will be used to create case studies that provide valuable insights for local designers, builders, developers, salvage material retailers, and policymakers. BPS will develop these case studies over the course of the two-year grant period, post them to the deconstruction program webpage, and share them with local and regional deconstruction and salvage materials organizations like Carbon Leadership Forum Portland Hub and the Pacific Coast Collaborative Low Carbon Construction Task Force. This shared knowledge will help guide future efforts to reduce construction and demolition waste in Portland and the Metro region.
Removing Barriers to Using Salvaged Lumber in New Construction
With the grant funding, BPS will also assess salvaged wood from deconstruction projects. This evaluation will provide the data needed to show that salvaged lumber, which is often old-growth Douglas fir, meets the same safety and quality standards as new lumber. This will help remove one of the barriers to reusing framing lumber to frame new structures.
How you can get involved
Commercial property owners interested in grant funding and help with deconstruction can email deconstruction@portlandoregon.gov.
Home and business owners looking to buy salvaged materials for construction or renovation projects can check out local salvage retailers. These stores offer a variety of items, including doors, hardware, light fixtures, appliances, windows, and bathtubs.
Building on Portland’s Groundbreaking Deconstruction Policy
In 2016, Portland became the first city in the nation to require deconstruction for residential buildings of a certain age. Since then, nearly 600 houses have been taken apart, saving about 2,000 tons of wood, along with doors, hardware, light fixtures, appliances, windows, and more. This policy has saved over 2000 tons of building materials from waste and over 3.6 million MT CO2e of carbon emissions and created and supported at least 30 new jobs. Since the policy’s implementation, Portland now has 15 deconstruction contractors, the most of any city in the US and multiple salvage building material retailers.
Portland’s efforts have inspired other cities, like Seattle, Wash.; San Antonio, Texas; and Hennepin County, Minn., to create their own deconstruction programs.
About the City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability
The Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS) oversees a world-renowned waste and recycling system and leads the country in its commitment to digital equity, open data, and protecting communities in the application of technologies. Staff collaborate with partners on neighborhood, economic, historic, and environmental planning and provide research, policy, and technical services to advance energy efficiency and renewable energy, as well as policies and actions to address climate change. The bureau also oversees the innovative Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund (PCEF).
The Bureau of Planning and Sustainability is part of the City’s Community and Economic Development service area, which also includes the Portland Housing Bureau, Portland Permitting and Development, Prosper Portland, the Enhanced Services Districts Program, and the Spectator Venues and Visitor Activities Program. The Community and Economic Development service area aligns City programs focused on building prosperity for all Portlanders by creating and delivering efficient, transparent, and equitable solutions for a resilient built environment – and services, resources, and experiences for our community.