SERA Office Building

Old Town/Chinatown

The original Minnesota Hotel was built in 1909 and has a rich history as an exemplary piece of Portland’s Chinatown heritage, having served as a Chinese-owned hotel. The property, renamed the SERA Office Building, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994 and, shortly after, Meritus started a complete interior and exterior renovation in cooperation with the State Historic Preservation Office. The $1.05 million renovation included complete exterior and interior rehabilitation. The facade renovation included removing from the storefront level all the veneer brick installed in the 1950s. The third floor had been vacant for years when Meritus started the redevelopment in 1994. It was not used because of the flaking paint, damaged lath and plaster walls and ceilings, no utilities or restrooms, damaged doors and frames, missing wood molding, and inoperable, broken windows. The four-month renovation converted  the abandoned space into artist work studios with new utilities and restrooms, replicated woodwork and historically correct paint scheme.  The SERA Building was one of the first redevelopments on the North Transit Mall and set the tone for other redevelopments in the neighborhood.

In 2004, SERA Architects leased the first floor of the building. SERA and the building owner made additional improvements including installing new storefront windows with transoms and a new entry, seismic upgrade of the space and restructuring of SERA’s interior including new floors, lighting and office configuration.