A Portland architecture firm is suing its landlord, claiming temperatures exceeded 90 degrees earlier this month inside its Old Town Chinatown offices because of a faulty air-conditioning system.

Ankrom Moisan Associated Architects agreed to lease offices at 38 N.W. Davis St. in 2014. The developer of the building, Gerding Edlen, also brought Ankrom on as the project’s architect, and Ankrom moved in shortly after the building was finished in 2016.

But in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Multnomah County Circuit Court, Ankrom said the building’s heating and cooling system “has been deficient for at least the past couple years,” leading the tenant to submit more than 40 repair tickets since 2022. Problems worsened over time due to the landlord’s failure to fix the system, Ankrom claimed in its suit.

“Temperatures inside … Ankrom’s office have regularly reached over 80 degrees Fahrenheit,” Ankrom said in a complaint. “The high temperatures render the Premises uncomfortable, unsuitable for office work, and unsafe.”

UCP 38 Davis LLC, a company tied to Seattle-based Unico Properties, bought the building from Gerding Edlen in 2018 for $54.25 million, according to county records. Unico Properties is among Portland’s most prominent commercial landlords, holding stakes in such high-rises as U.S. Bancorp Tower and Moda Tower.

In 2016, Ankrom promoted the building as a real-world demonstration of its architectural talents.

In a press release, Ankrom touted how exposed timber beams mixed with concrete, glass and steel to create a modern aesthetic. It added that that inside its space, “large fans operate in tandem with operable windows to circulate air, and a custom software program suggests appropriate times for opening windows rather than solely relying on the HVAC system.”

In its lawsuit Wednesday, Ankrom alleged around a third of its rented space “became unsuitable for comfortable use and occupation due to the high temperatures during business hours” as early in the year as April.

Air from a trash room didn’t properly ventilate, leading odors to permeate the lobby and other common spaces, the lawsuit states. “The heat and smells” also stopped Ankrom from holding events or bringing in clients, the firm alleged.

Ankrom’s role, if any, as the building’s architect in choosing its heating and cooling system was not clear. Company President Dave Heater did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

In May, the firm sent a letter to the landlord saying it would cut rent payments by about 36%.

Serena Sayani, a lawyer representing UCP 38 Davis LLC, responded on June 21, according to a copy of the letter included in the lawsuit.

“As we are all aware, the HVAC system serving the Premises … has faced ongoing performance and reliability issues over the past several years,” Sayani, of Washington law firm Stokes Lawrence, wrote in the letter. Sayani disputed that it was the landlord’s fault, noting the landlord had spent more than $367,000 working on the system issues in the last five years.

“Numerous service visits from multiple technicians and vendors, including the system manufacturers, have not revealed a straightforward solution,” Sayani wrote, adding that the landlord would continue trying to find a solution.

In the letter, Sayani said findings from service visits raised the prospect of defective installation or design of the heating and cooling system dating to the building’s construction. The lawyer suggested Unico was considering the system’s wholesale replacement.

Ankrom said in its lawsuit that it had installed indoor thermometers in May and subsequently recorded summer temperatures higher than 90 degrees.

“On July 2, 2024, Ankrom suspended its in-office work policy for its employees because temperatures had reached dangerous levels within the Premises,” Ankrom said in court documents. “The week of July 8, 2024, indoor temperatures reached 93.38 degrees in one conference room, 90.14 degrees in another, and 96.8 degrees in the mail room.”

The readings came during the week of a deadly heat wave: Outdoor temperatures in downtown Portland reached a high of 100 degrees on July 9, according to the National Weather Service.

On July 11, Ankrom sent the landlord another letter effectively threatening to stop paying rent or terminate its lease.

Ankrom filed its lawsuit Wednesday, asking the court to find that the landlord had breached the lease by failing to furnish working air conditioning. The tenant is also seeking attorney fees and reserves the right to sue for monetary damages.

A Unico spokesperson on Thursday said the real estate firm hadn’t been served and didn’t know about the suit. The spokesperson declined to comment further.

-- Jonathan Bach covers housing and real estate. Reach him by email at jbach@oregonian.com or by phone at 503-221-4303.

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