Portland International Airport Gets Its Biggest Makeover to Date, from a Team with over Twenty Years of PDX Experience
PDX Terminal Core Redevelopment
Hoffman is playing a major role in the series of transformative projects at Portland International Airport known as PDX Next. Hoffman has teamed up with Skanska USA to create the Hoffman Skanska Joint Venture. With annual travelers expected to climb to 33 million by 2045, the Terminal Core Redevelopment project is a vital expansion that ensures PDX will be able to serve the community well into the future.
For the primary TCORE project, we are completely remodeling the Terminal Core. The renovated passenger entry terminal will double the size of the current ticketing and lobby area when it opens in 2025. We will install a new 9-acre large-span roofing system over the entire terminal core complex, build a 150-foot multi-floor addition between Concourses C and D, and add new pre- and post-security concessions. Gate count is critical for PDX operation, so the team must coordinate with each airline to replace one bridge at a time.
In addition, Hoffman is rebuilding and enlarging Concourse B to include six new gates for Alaska Airlines with floor-to-ceiling windows, leafy foliage to common areas, and new Portland-centric food vendors. To do this, Concourse A and the old Concourse B are being demolished and enabling work is required in Concourse C to give displaced airlines a place to move. Concourse B completion is slated for summer of 2021. We are also replacing 16 aging passenger boarding bridges plus equipment throughout the PDX concourses.
Challenge
During a massive renovation of the central Terminal Core, how is Hoffman maintaining the distinctive and beloved PDX experience for passengers?
Solution
In order to maintain the America’s Best Airport status, our team is providing passengers with clear wayfinding, safe passage, and access to the amenities they love. Hoffman Skanska has created a special Airport Operations Coordination team to focus on the passenger experience and stakeholder engagement. Their role is to ensure the experience at PDX becomes even better with interactive experiences to engage the traveling public.
A Nine-Acre Long-Span Roof Showcases Oregon Timber and Local Talent
The new roofing system over the entire terminal core complex will span six football fields and showcase a wood and glass roof that fills the airport with light. The building is designed for peak sustainability with daylighting, optimized mechanical components, and an efficient envelope—but it also extends the concept of sustainability to the seven-year project’s potential to have a positive impact on helping sustain the local economy.
The CLT roof is not only a beautiful way to showcase Oregon timber, but also benefits the local industry by bringing together small and large suppliers, fabricators, craftspeople, and engineering firms. Installing the long-span roof will require using the latest technology in cross-laminated timber (CLT) in conjunction with creative, gravity-defying innovations that protect travelers during construction and for decades to come.
Upholding PDX’s Reputation as the Best in America While Keeping the Airport Operational 24/7
To maintain the passenger experience at the airport voted Best in America by Travel + Leisure magazine seven years in a row, our team is providing passengers with clear wayfinding, safe passage, and access to the PDX amenities they love. All construction is being phased to maintain continuous 24/7 operations and uninterrupted service for the 50,000 passengers a day who travel throughout PDX so that it can stay at the top of the list of America’s Best Airports.
Hoffman Builds: Mass Timber
Building off decades of self‑perform structural experience and a commitment to our regional wood industry, Hoffman is a strong partner in delivering large‑scale mass timber projects.
The Airport Operations Coordination Team Helps Maintain the Passenger Experience
Well-versed in airport construction from decades of work with the Port of Portland, our team members are bringing to life a dynamic vision for the passenger experience while executing careful phasing and comprehensive public protection and safety measures.
Our TCORE Airport Operations Coordination Team is made up of select personnel that have built and renovated much of the area being improved by the TCORE project. They are coordinating work carefully with all involved stakeholders, including the Port, air carrier station managers and operation staff, shift supervisors, and local TSA. The team is executing strategies to present a welcoming and calm façade to the traveling public during construction, while behind the scenes we use our firsthand knowledge of the systems, security protocols, and procedures that keep PDX running smoothly. These include:
- Using intuitive temporary wayfinding signage that is both clearly visible and intuitively understood
- Ensuring temporary walkways are well lit, eliminate pinch points, dead ends, or challenging circulation paths, and are ADA compliant with LSS measures installed
- Using proprietary monitors to track noise and vibration in key areas and ensure construction activities never exceed established limits
- Completing high-risk construction activities during off-shift work hours to minimize potential impacts to the airport
We are also guarding the safety of construction personnel against airport traffic (airplanes, tug traffic, and other essential Air Operations Area (AOA) vehicles) and protect the airfield from construction by using barriers, misters, and other preventive measures.
Infusing the Airport with Everything People Love About Oregon
Using lessons learned during our long history of construction at PDX, Hoffman is helping to preserve the unique character of our beloved airport while making the much-needed improvements. The spacious and green new main terminal will make navigating PDX even easier thanks to expanded security checkpoints and an intuitive layout. The new design will feature lots of Pacific Northwest character in new local places to eat and shop, nature on display in plentiful foliage, trees, and daylighting, an iconic wooden roof spanning nine acres, and sustainable features that Portlanders can take pride in. The project is targeting LEED Gold and will have seismic resiliency updates throughout the facility.
Building on a Long-Term Relationship with the Port of Portland
Hoffman has completed more than a dozen projects at PDX over the last 26 years that have helped shape it into one of the traveling public’s favorite airports in the US. From the soaring steel and glass canopy that spans the entrance to the airport terminal, to the consolidated headquarters and 3,500-space parking garage, to upgrades to the Emergency Operations Center with state-of-the-art communications and controls systems, to the comprehensive, system-wide upgrade of PDX control hardware and software at more than 350 doors at the terminal, airfield, and support buildings, Hoffman has touched nearly every inch of PDX over the years.
Hoffman's PDX Experience
We’ve not only learned how the airport operates while building and renovating many areas of the TCORE project, but we’ve developed relationships with the people who serve PDX passengers and learned what travelers want when they pass through the airport. This expertise, combined with our comprehensive understanding of TSA, FAA, air carrier regulations and aircraft operations, is allowing us to provide optimal solutions for the Port of Portland’s schedule and budget.
Growing Small Businesses Through the Port of Portland’s Port Mentor-Protégé Program
We have a long history of mentoring COBID-certified small businesses through the Port of Portland’s Port Mentor-Protégé program, expanding the capabilities of numerous firms. Hoffman has been involved in the Port’s Mentor program for the last 26 years and mentored more than 30 firms.
The Mentor-Protégé Program is a nationally recognized small business development program that has been operating continuously since 1995. The program was developed to overcome barriers small businesses face when trying to do business with government agencies. The three-year program pairs each protégé firm with two mentors who work with the small business to develop a strategic plan specific to the needs of the small business and overcome obstacles the firm is facing. In addition to mentoring firms through the program, Hoffman has subcontracted Mentor-Protégé graduates on PDX projects that include HQP2 and QTA, and now on the TCORE project.
