Historic Skidmore Fountain Building/New Mercy Corps Headquarters
Ash Creek completed a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA), a Phase I ESA update, and geophysical survey for the historic Skidmore Fountain Building in Old Town Portland. A likely area-wide occurrence of groundwater contamination was identified as a recognized environmental condition (REC). The location and distribution of contamination did not suggest the contamination resulted from an on-site source. While several buried metallic features were noted in the geophysical survey, no underground tanks were identified on the Skidmore Fountain Building parcel. 
In 2009, Walsh Construction retained Ash Creek for geotechnical services related to the construction of the new Mercy Corps Headquarters. The building site included the Skidmore Fountain Building, and an adjacent parcel where a Phase I ESA was completed by others. During construction, two underground heating oil tanks (HOTs) were encountered on the adjacent lot that was a part of the larger development. Ash Creek rapidly mobilized to the
site and worked with the contractor to decommission the HOTs by removal. Additionally, fills on the adjacent parcel were found to have concentrations of lead and other metals above DEQ’s clean fill criteria. Ash Creek subsequently documented the removal and management of 100 tons of impacted fill materials. Ash Creek’s rapid response minimized construction delays, resulting in little impact to the overall project budget and schedule.
Geotechnical services completed for the project included geologic and geotechnical engineering evaluation and also documenting interior micro-pile installation. The Micro-piles were installed for a seismic retrofit of the historic Skidmore Fountain building which was preserved as part of the Mercy Corps redevelopment.