Froelich provided structural engineering services for the seismic reinforcement of the Erickson Saloon and Fritz Hotel buildings that were built in 1912. The mixed-income project features 62 studio and one-bedroom apartments, with 52 reserved as affordable housing. The structure was stripped down and materials were salvaged for the renovation, including the original brick walls and wooden stair tread and railings. We used concrete shear walls as our primary seismic structure, which keeps the seismic strengthening on the interior of the buildings (as compared to X-braces, which are commonly used on building exteriors). This is important because we needed to preserve the appearance of the exterior in order for our client to be eligible for historic tax credits. In addition, we installed a continuous plywood diaphragm on the 2nd and 3rd floors, and we tied the floors and roof to the concrete core and the exterior walls to increase the buildings’ sheer strength. The restoration was completed in 2015 and cost $15.9 million. This project won a 2015 DeMuro Award from Restore Oregon and the Portland Business Journal’s Community Impact Award in 2016.
