Remembering Bob Gerding

The Portland building community lost one of its most impressive, innovative and generous voices when Bob Gerding passed away last Tuesday at the age of 71 after a long bout with cancer.

Gerding was not an easy man to categorize, and that was part of what made him special. He was trained as a biochemist, taught physiology at Purdue University and ran a research clinic at Good Samaritan Hospital during the 1970s and 80s. As if that weren't a plentiful enough career, in the early 80s he also began a side career in real estate, developing affordable housing projects and medical buildings. After pairing with then-broker Mark Edlen on a project in the South Auditorium district, the two formed Gerding Edlen Development in 1994.

The company's first major project would go on to become one of the most significant works of architecture in modern Portland history: the Wieden + Kennedy headquarters in the Pearl District, a former cold storage warehouse transformed into a light-filled, cathedral like space for the ad agency behind award winning Nike, ESPN and Coke campaigns. That project also launched the career of the lone Portland architect who has achieved widespread acclaim and notoriety on the national-international stage: Brad Cloepfil and his firm, Allied Works.

Dan Wieden, head of W+K, had already hired the then-unknown Cloepfil when Gerding Edlen came on as developer. Cloepfil, as he recalled to Oregonian reporter Dylan Rivera last week, was ready to revolt rather than have a developer dumb down the plans.  Instead, Cloepfil said, "He was funny and smart and knew exactly what we were trying to do and disarmed me in about 2-1/2 minutes. He defied every stereotype of developers that I had."

It was standing on the deck of the Wieden + Kennedy building, Gerding once told me, that he gazed out at the mostly lifeless Blitz/Weinhard brewery along Burnside and got the idea for the Brewery Blocks. This next major Gerding Edlen project would go on to become the most successful mixed-use development, and the biggest green architecture development, in Portland during this era of economic boom.

The five-building Brewery Blocks, all LEED-rated and designed by GBD Architects, were a national leader in sustainable design, proving that environmentally-friendly building practices were not merely the domain of a small fringe movement, not a place of cob benches and rammed-earth, but the future of mainstream building in America and the world. Such pioneering green architecture also reflected the values of its two partners, both lovers of the outdoors and Oregon patriots.

Gerding Edlen would also go on to form an ongoing collaboration with GBD Architects that would elevate the firm, previously not among those gaining the city's biggest commissions, into a powerhouse that has designed more total square footage of LEED-rated buildings than any other architecture firm in America.

I once had the chance to meet with Bob Gerding as we toured the then-unfinished Henry Condominiums. At that point, the building was topped off structurally, with all its floors and columns, but did not yet have any glass or other facade on its sides. After taking a construction elevator to the top, we gazed out at the city on a warm sunny afternoon with a panoramic view. (The picture below was taken then.) It was then that Bob told me the story of looking out at the brewery from W+K. I remember being struck by his easy blend of pride and humility: not falsely modest enough to say he had no role, but seemingly genuinely surprised at how the project had surpassed anyone's expectations.

And indeed: it's arguable that, particularly given how the Brewery Blocks wrap around Powell's Books, this development forms the heart of the central city as much as Pioneer Courthouse Square or Central Library. If Courthouse Square is the city's living room, perhaps the Brewery Blocks and Powells are the den.

After the Brewery Blocks were completed, Gerding Edlen has kept on rolling. In the past few years, Gerding has been less of a presence from day to day in the company's offices, particularly as he has battled cancer. Even so, he remained the spiritual heart as Gerding Edlen branched out with a string of projects transforming and breaking down the divide along Burnside between downtown and the Pearl.

Most notably, there was the project that now bears his name: the Bob and Diana Gerding Theater, renovated from the Portland Armory that has stood on that site for a century. From a GBD design, it became the first building on the National Register of Historic Places to earn a LEED Platinum rating. Just down the street is The Casey, the first condo in America to earn a Platinum designation. And opening just this past month is 12 West, the condo tower and office building designed by Zimmer Gunsul Frasca. Just last week the building became the first urban building in the country with its own wind turbines, which seems like a tribute of sorts.

Gerding Edlen has also become a major player in South Waterfront (along with developer Williams + Dame), a high-density urban neighborhood occupying prime riverfront real estate but built on the sight of old brownfields that scared off other developers for years. Nevermind that sales have been slow for some of the SoWa towers amidst the Great Recession. South Waterfront is here to stay, and eventually it will flourish.

“I have great respect for someone who really believes in something,” developer Homer Williams told the Daily Journal of Commerce.  “Especially in real estate, (where) new ideas are very difficult to implement. It takes a really strong person.”

As if that legacy in Portland isn't enough, the company Bob Gerding co-founded has also been one of the premier developers of condos in downtown Los Angeles: an utter transformation of a long dormant place that is now exploding with activity.

It is my understanding that Bob Gerding surprised doctors by fighting off cancer for years when it might have taken his life long before now. Hopefully there is a blessing in that extra time he had with family, friends and colleagues. In the meantime, much as it may be cliche to say that he will live on in legacy, it's certainly true for Bob Gerding. Hopefully the way he lived his life, both personally and professionally, will continue to inspire others seeking to marry business and progressive values into a harmonious whole.

Comments

[Dennis H. Coalwell]

Thanks, Brian.

[Jon]

Well said Brian, Thanks.

[Darin]

Great post Brian! Thanks.

[ka]

We should not forget he was a huge patron of the arts. There is a lot of dimension to a man like this, and his contributions will certainly live on indefinitely in the fabric of our city.