Natural Capital Center

The timber and brick structure that is now the Natural Capital Center was built in 1895 as a warehouse for the J. McCraken Company,{{cite news|author=|title=Good For Building: The Weather Has Favored Rapid Progress by Workmen|newspaper=The Morning Oregonian|date=November 25, 1895|page=5}}{{cite news|author=|title=City News in Brief: McCraken's Warehouse Roofed|newspaper=The Morning Oregonian|date=December 23, 1895|page=5}} who used it until 1902{{cite news|author=|title=City News in Brief|newspaper=The Sunday Oregonian|date=April 27, 1902|at=Section 1, p. 5, col. 2|url=http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn83045782/1902-04-27/ed-1/seq-5/|quote=The J. McCraken Company has moved ....}} and continued to own it for some years thereafter. The building's recessed rounded-arch entry, arched window openings and massive heft exemplify the Romanesque style. Located between two railroad freight yards, the McCraken wholesale company distributed Monterey sand, Tenino sandstone and other building supplies. In 1929, the building became the Portland Truck Terminal,{{cite news|author=|title=Terminal Provided by Trucking Company; Facilities Will Be Largest in Portland|newspaper=The Sunday Oregonian|date=May 26, 1929|at=Section 6, p. 10}} a freight terminal used by around 20 trucking companies.{{cite news|author=|title=Truck Terminal Opened: 20 Freight Lines to Operate From New Headquarters to All Parts of Northwest|newspaper=The Morning Oregonian|date=June 12, 1929|page=21}} Then from 1941 to 1997 it housed the Rapid Transfer & Storage Company.{{cite book|title=Rebuilt Green: The Natural Capital Center and the Transformative Power of Building|editor-last1=Von Hagen|editor-first1=Bettina|editor-last2 =Kellogg|editor-first2=Erin|editor-last3=Frerichs|editor-first3=Eugenie|date=2003|publisher=Ecotrust|isbn=0-9676364-2-6}}

In 1998, Ecotrust, a nonprofit conservation organization, purchased the building with a donation from then board member Jean Vollum. Redevelopment of the {{convert|70000|sqft|m2|sing=on}} building cost $12.4 million and was completed in September 2001. The idea that a conservation organization would shift focus from protecting forests and watersheds to participating in urban renewal was an unusual and controversial one. Ecotrust board member Jane Jacobs and Ecotrust council member Stewart Brand were notable supporters of the plan.{{cn|date=June 2017}}

Re-opened to the public in 2001, the building was named the Natural Capital Center to reflect the ideas in ecological economics. The Natural Capital Center was the first LEED gold-certified building in the Pacific Northwest. The building has a mix of "green" tenants, including Patagonia, Hot Lips Pizza, ShoreBank Pacific, and Portfolio 21.{{cn|date=June 2017}} The City of Portland's Office of Sustainable Development, created in 2001, was originally located in the Natural Capital Center, occupying {{convert|5,000|ft2|m2|abbr=on}} in the building.{{cite web|author=Office of Sustainable Development|title=ReThinking Development: Portland’s Strategic Investment in Green Building Progress Report, FY 2000-2002|page=15|date=March 2003|url=https://www.portlandoregon.gov/shared/cfm/image.cfm?id=118349|publisher=City of Portland|accessdate=June 13, 2017}} It moved out in 2009, after being merged with the City's Planning Bureau and renamed the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability.{{cite web|author=Office of the City Auditor|title=Downtown office space: City uses most of its owned space, but lease practices need attention|pages=14–15|date=April 2012|url=https://www.portlandoregon.gov/auditservices/article/395428|publisher=City of Portland|accessdate=June 13, 2017}}

The Natural Capital Center has been cited as an inspiration for the Green Exchange in Chicago, which was built in 2007.Schneider, Keith. [https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30F14F734590C768EDDAE0894DF404482 "SQUARE FEET; In Chicago, a Haven For Green Enterprise"] The New York Times, July 25, 2007. Accessed September 4, 2007.

As a reused building, energy was conserved during its construction by manufacturing significantly fewer materials.Architecture Week. [http://www.architectureweek.com/2001/1219/environment_2-1.html "Historic Warehouse Grows Green"] Architecture Week, December 19, 2001. Accessed May 10, 2007. Two-thirds of the new wood used in the Natural Capital Center was Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified.BuildingGreen, LLC [http://casestudies.cascadiagbc.org/materials.cfm?ProjectID=393 "High Performance Buildings Database: Jean Vollum Natural Capital Center, Materials & Resources"] U.S. Green Building Council, Cascadia Chapter website. Accessed May 10, 2007. The building has also included rubber flooring from post-consumer recycled rubber tires.Frerichs, Eugénie [http://ecotrust.org/ncc/NCC_Materials_Guide.pdf "Materials Guide to the Jean Vollum Natural Capital Center"] Ecotrust. Accessed May 10, 2007.

An annex to the original building was deconstructed, and throughout the redevelopment, 98% of all debris was reused, recycled or reclaimed.

The Natural Capital Center received a LEED rating of 41 out of 69 possible points.BuildingGreen, Inc. [http://casestudies.cascadiagbc.org/ratings.cfm?ProjectID=393 "High Performance Buildings Database: Jean Vollum Natural Capital Center, Ratings"] U.S. Green Building Council, Cascadia Chapter website. Accessed May 10, 2007.

{{reflist|30em}}

• [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C03EFDD143BF937A35750C0A9679C8B63 "Building on Ideas for Urban Conservation." Linda Baker. New York Times.] March 4, 2001. Accessed May 10, 2007.
• [http://www.interfaceengineering.com/pdfs/case-studies/ecotrust.pdf "Case Study: Ecotrust Building Renovation" Interface Engineering.] Accessed May 10, 2007.
• [http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm?fileName=160101a.xml "Historic Preservation and Green Building: A Lasting Relationship." Tristan Roberts. Environmental Building News.] January 2007. Accessed May 10, 2007.

{{Commons category|Natural Capital Center}}

• [http://ecotrust.org/ncc/ Ecotrust's Natural Capital Center page]
• [https://vintageportland.wordpress.com/2010/05/07/mccracken-company-building/ McCracken Company Building, 1978] (2010) at the "Vintage Portland" blog of the City of Portland Archives and Records Center ("McCracken" was an alternative spelling of McCraken, used by some descendants of J. McCraken)

{{Pearl District, Portland, Oregon}}

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Category:Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design gold certified buildings

Category:Buildings and structures in Pearl District, Portland, Oregon

Category:1895 establishments in Oregon