Portland Plaza

The Challenge

Nearly fifty years after its construction, Portland Plaza’s galvanized water lines had reached the end of their service life, showing early signs of deterioration. The ownership team wanted to address the issue before failures began, but the scale of the work presented significant challenges.

The project required re-piping all 26 floors—from the main water entry room through each riser and into every condominium unit. Completing this work meant shutting off water to the entire building, requiring precise coordination and careful planning to minimize disruption to residents in one of Portland’s most active downtown communities.

The Solution

Charter Construction was selected to lead the re-pipe in partnership with JH Kelly, a trusted Portland plumbing contractor. After assessing the existing system, the team chose stainless steel piping for its superior corrosion resistance, longevity, and compatibility with the project’s mechanical coupling installation method.

Rather than using traditional soldered joints, the system was connected with mechanical couplings and gaskets, allowing for faster installation and increased reliability. To maintain consistent water pressure throughout the tower, ten-gallon expansion tanks were added to each floor, carefully sized to meet resident needs.

A major component of the project was replacing the main cold-water feeder line, which required a full-building water shutdown. Charter’s team completed this critical task in just eight hours, executing a tightly planned schedule to minimize impact. Residents were notified well in advance, and Charter’s Special Projects team provided regular updates throughout construction to keep everyone informed.