New facility helps 51-year-old, 24-hour-a-day nonprofit veterinary hospital that serves 26,000 patients per year nearly double its clinical footprint, add vital specialty services
PORTLAND, OR – Skanska, a leading global construction and development firm, announced the completion of a new, 63,520 square-foot, three-story building in Portland’s Slabtown neighborhood that will expand the home of DoveLewis Veterinary Emergency & Specialty Hospital, an animal hospital which has been serving the greater Portland community for more than 50 years. The new facility will allow the non-profit – the first veterinary ER in the country – to provide additional services to the region.
DoveLewis will immediately occupy the first two floors of the new facility. A third floor is available for potential future expansion. DoveLewis also will continue to occupy and provide services at its existing 24/7 emergency care facility across the street.
A modern-day veterinary hospital, the new building has added three surgery suites, a dozen exam rooms and eight specialty treatment rooms, all of which will reduce wait times and stress for pets and families. The new facility will house advanced digital X-ray equipment and a 3T MRI machine – the only one in the state of Oregon – as well as new community gathering and teaching spaces, staff workspace, conference rooms, and breakrooms. The building also features outdoor patios, a beautiful terracotta façade and a vegetated green roof over most of the structure.
“All of us at Skanska who have been working on this building are excited to be here at project completion,” said Trevor Wyckoff, executive vice president and general manager, Skanska USA Building in Oregon and Southwest Washington. “Anyone who has a pet knows they are family members, so to be able to create a building that helps pets, their humans, and the incredible healthcare workers who care for them, that’s just something that makes us know the work we do matters.”
Skanska’s work also included demolition of an existing structure, site excavation, shoring and construction of the new three-story building and a below-grade parking garage with automated car stackers. The building is a steel and concrete structure with a combination of exterior metal and terracotta wall panels with some concrete masonry units. Construction also included public street improvements and some landscaping.
The project was designed by Mackenzie and built by Skanska.