[PacificNW]

OHSU sells waterfront parcel
Portland Business Journal - 10:27 AM PST Monday


Oregon Health & Science University is selling a one-block parcel in the South Waterfront District to Pacific Retirement Services Inc.

Medford-based Pacific Retirement Services plans to build a a 30-story residential tower at the site.


The 507,300-square-foot continuing care retirement community, to be named Mirabella, at Block 31, will be located two blocks south of OHSU's new Center for Health & Healing. Plans call for the building to have 224 independent living residences, 16 assisted living apartments, 20 skilled-nursing private rooms, 21 special care memory-support private rooms and 244 parking spaces.


Construction is set to begin in spring 2008, with completion planned for summer or early fall 2010.



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/PacificNW/Portland3/Mirabella.jpg

[Urbanpdx]

Wait a minute...I thought OHSU was desperately out of land and needed SOWA for expansion and creation of high paying jobs? I could be wrong but I think most people that work at retirement communities are minimum wage or very close to it.

[PacificNW]

I understand the university is building 3 or 4 more towers of its own. I think they are going to be located on the parcels next to the present tower and a couple closer to the river. I would presume these people working in these towers would be paid higher than the minimum wage. Those people living in the retirement tower are probably pretty well off and I think they fit into the long range plan of people living in the district as well as those working in the district...No doubt many of the people working in the retirement center will not be pulling down high paying wages.

[tworivers]

"Two blocks south"? Wouldn't that be in the new park?
Trying to remember which one is 31...

[PDX City-State]

I could be wrong but I think most people that work at retirement communities are minimum wage or very close to it.

This place will have a skilled nursing element to it; given the land value and its proximity to OHSU, which is no accident, I'm sure the workers will make a good wage. I actually worked at an upscale retirement home for a year during college. Some of the places actually pay very well. But urbanpdx is correct to note this usually isn't the case.

[WonderlandPark]

Wait a minute...I thought OHSU was desperately out of land and needed SOWA for expansion

So did I. WTF? I'm suprised.

[pdxtraveler]

This does feed into OHSU. I retirement center close to the tram to take them up to the hospital. I also like the design looks nice.

[PDX City-State]

There has been a lot of study in recent years about what is called "healthcare migration." As boomers age, experts say we're going to see a lot of communities clustered around hospitals. Still, the fact that this came out of nowhere makes me wonder what OHSU has up its sleeve.

[PacificNW]

Don't forget OHSU has most of the land north to the Marquam Bridge that they are going to build a low rise campus upon. When there is a demand I am sure that the campus can incorporate some towers also. The availability of land on "Pill Hill" is at a minimum for expansion needs.

[NJD]

Block 31 is the block north of the John Ross, and west of the Meriwether.

Judging by the old diagrams and models of sowa, this tower has been in the works for quite some time. My guess is that with the land gift's additional parcels, this block is now expendible and is being sold to help fund the next OHSU tower... if so, this is good news.

[65MAX]

This didn't come out of nowhere. You can see the footprint for this tower (the long gentle curve on one side of the tower) on site plans for South Waterfront....from two years ago! And correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the scale model at the Discovery Center also shows this tower.

So, this has been planned for a while.... it's just the first time we've seen a rendering.

[pdxtraveler]

I also remember on one of these threads there was a discussion about the viability of a highrise retirement center in South Waterfront as it had been mentioned in some of the releases. I think that was 6months to a year ago. That and the fact the outline of the building is on those maps really makes it look like this was in long term planning.

[Dougall5505]

i think you guys are right there is a elliptical building in the model at the discovery center. this one looks ok but i don't know if i like the top. and i know townhouses are cool and everything but wouldn't a public courtyard be nice instead just to give some variety. I am very worried about all the buildings in the south waterfront looking alike. we need some designs that are unique and different. anyone heres the map it is the block that is curently being used for the john ross as a staging area
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l177/dougall5505/Picture4-4.png?t=1169512029

[zilfondel]

80,000 sq ft more than the new Moyer 'scraper!

This thing kind of reminds me of some of the new Seattle condo towers... although a little less boxy.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/PacificNW/Portland3/Mirabella.jpg


I am very worried about all the buildings in the south waterfront looking alike.

You obviously haven't been to Vancuover CA, have you? Nearly all the new downtown residential developments follow the same formula... and SOWA is based on that model. It won't look bad, but will be pretty cool... and I'm sure it won't take much time before other projects pop up near SOWA that try to be as different as they can be from this formula.

[Dougall5505]

Actually i have been to vancouver many times. i like the density idea of vancouver and hope sowa turns out the same way but i don't see why the designs all have to be so similar. i want to see a unique 937ish building that makes the neighborhood unique
pacnw: where did you find the rendering?

[bvpcvm]

i've been to vancouver and i have the same worries.

here's the developer's press release:

PRS to Build New 30-Story CCRC in Portland; Buys South Waterfront Parcel from OSHU
(Medford, Oregon) January 22, 2007 – Pacific Retirement Services, Inc. (PRS) (http://www.retirement.org/), announced today that it has entered into a land sales agreement with Portland-based Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) to purchase a one-block parcel in the South Waterfront District of Portland in order to build Mirabella, a new 30-story Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) (http://www.retirement.org/ccrc.htm). Mirabella at South Waterfront (http://www.mirabellaretirement.org/portland/) is the second in PRS’s new line of quality CCRCs specifically designed to support residents in successful aging.
The 325-foot-tall, 507,300-square-foot CCRC will be located at Block 31 of The River Blocks, a “green” development in the center of South Waterfront, near the Willamette River, the new Aerial Tram, and OHSU’s Center for Health & Healing. PRS plans call for Mirabella to offer spacious Senior Living residences and health care in all-private rooms, including 224 Independent Living residences, 16 Assisted Living apartments, 20 Skilled Nursing private rooms, 21 Special Care Memory Support private rooms, 244 parking spaces, clinic and research space, and various fine amenities and social areas. Apartments and penthouse suites are available up to nearly 2,000 square feet, each with views of the Willamette River, Mt. Hood, the Portland cityscape, or a park, which is expected to span two blocks in front of Mirabella.
PRS will develop and operate Mirabella. Construction is expected to be by Hoffman Construction Company and architecture by Ankrom Moisan Associated Architects—both based in Portland. PRS plans to begin construction in spring 2008, with completion in summer or early fall 2010.
Tom Becker, President and CEO of PRS, says, “This purchase and alliance with OHSU not only allows PRS to provide more housing for seniors in Portland; it also helps us realize our goals to provide state-of-the-art care and services and investigate new technologies that will benefit residents and aging services as a whole.”
PRS/OHSU Affiliation Agreement
PRS signed the sales agreement December 29, which also included a long-term Affiliation Agreement that expresses PRS’s and OHSU’s interest in collaborating on new health innovations to serve the needs of seniors. As part of the agreement, Mirabella residents can enjoy additional health and wellness services at the adjacent OHSU Center for Health & Healing, and this close proximity will allow PRS and OHSU to focus together on the physical, social, cognitive, psychological, environmental and other dimensions of aging with the intended result of improved care for elders.
According to OHSU President Joseph E. Robertson, Jr., MD, MBA, “PRS has an outstanding reputation as a developer and operator of retirement communities, and we chose it as a buyer because of its desire to work closely with our health care providers in a way that’s mutually beneficial for OHSU and Mirabella residents.”
Seniors are encouraged to inquire now about reserving their new view residence at Mirabella in South Waterfront. Call (503) 245-4742 or 877-254-9371, or visit the Mirabella website at www.mirabellaretirement.org/portland (http://www.mirabellaretirement.org/portland/) for more information.
About Pacific Retirement Services, Inc.
Pacific Retirement Services, Inc. (http://www.retirement.org/), is a not-for-profit corporation that develops, operates, manages, and markets a family of 46 retirement communities and service organizations in Oregon, Washington, California, and Texas. It has approximately 1,600 employees and provides housing and services to more than 4,000 seniors through its many affiliated organizations, including six CCRCs (Mirabella in Portland is the seventh), two managed retirement communities, and twenty-four affordable senior housing communities (http://www.seniorafforrablehousing.org/). To learn more about PRS, its communities, affiliates, and services, call (888) 724-6424 or visit www.retirement.org (http://www.retirement.org/).
About Mirabella by PRS
PRS unveiled its new Mirabella brand of CCRCs in 2006 at the groundbreaking of the successful Mirabella at South Lake Union (http://www.mirabellaretirement.org/seattle) in Seattle. At the new Mirabella in Portland, PRS plans to continue its mission to “enhance lifestyle opportunities for seniors” using the philosophy of successful aging. As defined by results of the MacArthur Foundation Study of Aging, successful agers live an actively engaged life filled with friends, enriching activities, lifelong learning, and healthy living. PRS is committed to creating this lifestyle for residents. The name “Mirabella,” which in Italian essentially means “beautiful vision,” expresses PRS’s new thinking about retirement—that today’s seniors deserve to live in a community where physical age is just a number, a place where age does not define or limit how they choose to live their lives.
About OHSU
Oregon Health & Science University is Oregon's only health and research university, and only academic health center. OHSU is Portland's largest employer and the fourth largest in Oregon (excluding government), with nearly 12,000 employees. It serves 189,000 patients, and is a conduit for learning for more than 3,400 students and trainees. OHSU is the source of more than 200 community outreach programs that bring health and education services to each county in the state. For more information about OHSU, call (503) 494-8311 or visit www.ohsu.edu (http://www.ohsu.edu/).
Additional Contact Information
To learn more about The River Blocks and the South Waterfront Development, visit www.thesouthwaterfront.com (http://www.thesouthwaterfront.com/) or go to The Discovery Center at 680 S.W. Bancroft Street in South Waterfront.

[der Reisender]

will give OHSU a couple hundred more built-in customers when finished, and for a retirement it looks pretty good. I would guess NJD is right, and the land is expendable with the Schnitzer land north of Ross Island Bridge under OHSU ownership

[tworivers]

i want to see a unique 937ish building that makes the neighborhood unique

I'm with you 100%, but it doesn't seem conducive to this sort of master-planning-from-scratch process with only a few developers lording over the available land.

[PacificNW]

I think my posts and thoughts are invisible to all except me.... :)

[Dougall5505]

why? i enjoy your posts :)

[PacificNW]

Tks.... just a bad day hitting the meds and them fighting back... don't be concerned... :) I look forward to your pics Dougall....

[Dougall5505]

ill get you some pics from the tram opening this weekend!

[pdxstreetcar]

looks pretty good to me... i liked the preliminary design for this tower that has been on the discovery center model for some time.

i think in the sowa, like in yaletown, the majority of glass towers will act like fabric buildings... all roughly based on the same model but each slightly different in appearance

[PacificNW]

Are all the future OHSU towers going to be clinic/research or will there be a hospital in the mix? Anyone know?

[Dougall5505]

i remeber a article talking about some specialized research that they were going to try and get into that would put OHSU among the best hospitals in the country. some fancy name like plasma or something ill try and find it

[pdxstreetcar]

didnt ohsu have blocks 24, 25, 28, 29?
now 28 is out.

so the rest of ohsu's expansion will be on the proposed ogi campus?

[PacificNW]

^^I understand that OHSU still is planning on 3-4 more towers next to their current tower but closer to the river. Yes, their classroom/labs/etc. will no doubt be a part of the ogi campus just north of their current tower.

[sirsimon]

Judging from the rendering, I think this one's pretty nice. At least it's not boxy, and I am glad to have a third 325-footer in the works. :)

I am not too concerned with the buildings all looking the same, but I do wish that we could have a few here and there that exceed 325' It seems weird to have 3 buildings in a row that are all exactly the same height.

[pdxstreetcar]

I am not too concerned with the buildings all looking the same, but I do wish that we could have a few here and there that exceed 325' It seems weird to have 3 buildings in a row that are all exactly the same height.

i agree completely, it will look so master planned and artificial. i'd rather this tower be shorter than 325' instead of the exact same height as the other ones. one of the best things about the sowa is that only the infrastructure is master planned and the buildings are built in response to current market conditions, but it wont appear organic if the heights are all the same.

[westsider]

^ Maybe this is a good thing, perhaps this is what the city and PDC needed to raise the height limits. Seeing SOWA grow in a awkward, flat topped way may provide all the reason they need to selectively pick a few blocks for more height and FAR.

[mcbaby]

would be nice to see more diverse architecture in the area including height variance. also, a retirement facility in proximity to OHSU is actually a good idea. these people will be spending money there and using the new tram. healthcare students could possibly get on the job training there as well.

[westsider]

Don't forget OHSU has most of the land north to the Marquam Bridge that they are going to build a low rise campus upon.


I hear that all the time, the marquam campus being described as "low rise". Does anyone know what the height limits are there, and how low exactly OHSU is planning to build? I've always thought that at least a couple taller buildings there would be nice, to tie SOWA in with downtown.

[bvpcvm]

yeah, what's the deal? low-rise would be a ridiculous waste of that land. and i've never heard low-rise until pacnw's comment. where'd you hear that?

[WonderlandPark]

Add me to the camp-more variance in height, I would rather see this 50 ft shorter than exactly the same height.

[65MAX]

didnt ohsu have blocks 24, 25, 28, 29?
now 28 is out.

so the rest of ohsu's expansion will be on the proposed ogi campus?

Block 28 is still OHSU's, as is 24, 25 and 29. This tower is on Block 31. Apparently they had rights to 31 as well, but didn't intend to use it (as evidenced by the earlier site plans and models with this tower already penciled in). They also have rights to 1/2 of Block 23, but I think they're proposing a hotel for that oversized block.

I'm hoping that the OGI campus will be at least midrise, with a few towers mixed in. The density of that area really needs to be maximized. I don't see how they would allow lowrise buildings there, a complete waste of valuable Downtown real estate.

[MarkDaMan]

OHSU plans senior tower as 'living lab'
Aging - The 30-story building in South Waterfront would double for research
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
DYLAN RIVERA
The Oregonian

Oregon Health & Science University on Monday launched a partnership to build a senior housing tower that will put hundreds of prospective patients at its South Waterfront doorstep and create what the university calls a "living laboratory" for university researchers.

The university is selling a block in the new neighborhood to Medford-based Pacific Retirement Services Inc., which plans to build a 30-story senior housing building that would offer a range of retirement living options, from apartments to nursing home level care.

The arrangement will strengthen OHSU's relationship with Intel, OHSU officials said, as the two can work to develop devices and techniques aimed at making aging easier. Ideas range from computerized gadgets to remind patients to take medication to new drugs or treatments for dementia-related illnesses.

Yet it's not clear whether building a senior housing tower helps the university deliver in any significant way on its long-standing promise to develop a bioscience industry with 6,000 jobs.

Bioscience-based economic development on the waterfront was the central theme of then-OHSU President Peter Kohler's successful pitch to the Legislature in 2001 for $200 million in taxpayer-backed bonds to fund the construction of a new research building on Marquam Hill and the recruitment of about 100 new faculty members.

Many outside observers at the time were skeptical of Portland's ability to attract significant interest from biotech employers, and Monday's announcement did little to reduce that skepticism.

Joe Cortright, a Portland economist who has researched site-selection criteria for the biotech industry, said the new partnership would reinforce housing momentum on South Waterfront and perhaps hospital revenues. But, he said, it is unlikely to attract or create many bioscience employers.

"The really talented entrepreneurs and scientists are much more likely to be created and flourish in places where there are strong biotechnology clusters, and that's not in Portland," he said.

Pacific Retirement will pay $8 million for the block and, once its operation is up and running, will kick in a $3 million license fee to OHSU.

The 325-foot tower will equal in height the elliptical John Ross tower, its neighbor to the south.

The joint venture of a medical research center with a senior housing property appears to be rare, OHSU officials said.

OHSU's director of research, Dan Dorsa, said the partnership with developers of the retirement community related to OHSU's strategic priorities in research, including efforts to advance technology to improve care of the elderly.

"This doesn't mean we're diverting from our interest in standard biotech on the South Waterfront or elsewhere," Dorsa said.

Eric Dishman, manager of Intel's Digital Health Group in Hillsboro, said he hopes the building will help the company take new technologies for seniors from the testing lab to real-life situations, something the high-tech niche desperately needs more of.

Intel already uses Pacific Retirement communities in Medford and in Portland to test new devices, Dishman said. For example, the company has made a "caller ID on steroids" that helps Alzheimer's patients remember a person who is calling them on the phone. A screen shows the caller's picture, along with reminders about recent topics of discussion between the patient and the caller.

University researchers are keenly interested in having proximity and access to a retirement community where new drugs, devices and nursing techniques can be tested, said Steve Stadum, executive vice of OHSU. When the university first thought of soliciting ideas for such a center in the South Waterfront in May 2005, researchers from a variety of schools clamored for an opportunity to be involved.

A committee representing nursing, engineering, Alzheimer's research and other disciplines reviewed the proposals and selected Pacific Retirement from among a handful of finalists, Stadum said .

The project won't have doctors' offices built into it, though medical offices in the OHSU Center for Health & Healing are two blocks away.

Pacific Retirement has not set prices for rooms in the building, called the Mirabella. Building plans include a small swimming pool, informal dining venues throughout and a 25th-floor dining room, with views of the river and the Portland skyline.

The sale of the land to Pacific Retirement is all but final but won't close until late June. Construction could start in 2008 and be completed in 2010.

Ted Sickinger contributed to this story. Dylan Rivera: 503-221-8532, dylanrivera@news.oregonian.com

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/11695263127380.xml&coll=7

[zilfondel]

The height limit is to preserve the view corridor from Terwilliger to Mt Hood... I think it's a good thing, since the view from that road is one of the best in town!

[sirsimon]

I appreciate the view corridor preservation, but I must say...this town is going to have one weird-assed skyline.

[pdxman]

I appreciate the view corridor preservation, but I must say...this town is going to have one weird-assed skyline.
height limits :yuck: i say ditch the height limits in the central city...and if not there then atleast have one section of downtown portland have no height limits.

[westsider]

I don't see how they would allow lowrise buildings there, a complete waste of valuable Downtown real estate.



I know, when redevelopment in the pearl got underway I was kinda pissed that everything was 3 storys. I'm sure that today Homer is wondering why he didn't maximize the early lots.

[PacificNW]

I would think that there would be an argument in favor of allowing taller towers in downtown Portland...that argument being companies needing more floor space for more employees needed instead of locating in the suburbs. More company associates working in the downtown CBD benefits everyone. Also taller residential towers keep residents and shoppers downtown and the shop owners benefit.

[Urbanpdx]

The problem with that is that the three or four buildings that have been trying to pre-lease cannot sign enough tenants to get the 20-30 story buildings out of the ground. If those guys were "turning them away" because they couldn't build enough space then your argument would be easier to sell.

Too bad the BLT and traffic congestion has driven so many firms to Kruse Way and the Tigard Triangle.

[MarkDaMan]

^actually you are wrong urbanpdx. My company is an example of why new towers can't get off the ground. We are a large tenant in a large office tower downtown and have traditionally paid $17 - $20 per square foot for class A space. In our recent tenant negotiations we ended up getting socked with about $5 per square foot higher prices. For our company, and many others, it will take time to reach the $30 - $35 per square foot developers are asking in pre-lease agreements. There is a severe shortage of available space downtown, and an average company Portland would be looking at attracting needs between 25,000 - 50,000 sq feet of continuous space, with more room to grow in the future. Currently (well in the last quarter), there wasn't a single office tower with 30,000 sq feet of continuous space available. There is a shortage but also disconnect on what tenants are willing to pay, and what developers (and their banks) are demanding. It has little to do with the business tax that actually will probably be adjusted in favor of small businesses this year.

[cab]

Can we stop with some of portland is bad for business myths being pushed by suburban think tanks.

Some facts.
Businesses are coming to Portland in greater numbers than those leaving. In 2004, 661 business accounts closed with the City of Portland - 1.9% of all accounts, with a loss of fee revenue of $368k. There was net growth of 2000 new businesses moving in.

In 2006, Forbes ranked Portland 20th in its list of 200 Best Places to do Business, and 8th in the cost of doing business.

Portland is one of the few large cities in the country with a AAA bond rating, showing financial analysts consider our financial stability management sound. In contrast, the state of Oregon's bond rating is AA-minus, one of the worst in the country.

Other then a PR problem, Portland is doing fine.

[Urbanpdx]

Mark, do you know how much profit your company earns per sq ft? If the BLT is $5 per sq ft per year you have the money for space in a new building, it is just going to taxes.

The cost of doing business on Kruse Way is lower than the CBD and it is an easier commute for the decision makers so it is winning.

[pdxman]

I'll agree on the commuting aspect...downtown portland is hell to drive in-especially right now.

[Urbanpdx]

Cab, I don't want to drag this into an ideological debate but any income tax punishes economic success. It raises the cost of working, saving, investing and risk-taking, thereby restraining economic growth. Less economic growth means less demand for space and less ability to pay for expensive new space.

Business does not need to be downtown like they used to. Technology allows people and their money to move to locations where they can earn the best return on their investment of time and money.

I know many of you are for taxing business, but business only collects taxes, it doesn’t pay them. Only people do. No business has a pot of money that doesn’t ultimately belong to specific individuals (customers in the form of higher prices, owners in the form of lower profits and employees in the form of lower wages and benefits).

[MarkDaMan]

Urbanpdx, you have no idea what you are talking about. I gave you our scenario, taxes aside, the mentality of paying $35/sq ft still seems overly expensive to a majority of downtown tenants, which is why there isn't a rush of companies signing onto pre-developed space for prices almost $10 more per square foot than they can get if they wait for additional space in the market to open up in the 2 to 3 years it would take to wait for new construction. If the tax was keeping businesses away from the CBD, you wouldn't have the millions of square feet of existing space, statistically, almost fully leased.

[MarkDaMan]

I'll agree on the commuting aspect...downtown portland is hell to drive in-especially right now.

which is why the majority of people working downtown use transit. The new bus mall relocation has actually saved me 5 minutes on my commute because of the reduced stops...

[Urbanpdx]

I still don't understand. People are unwilling (either because of taxes or the "mentality") to pay the cost of new construction so we should eliminate the height limits so developers can build taller buildings that would cost even more and require $50 per sq ft rents to justify?

[MarkDaMan]

^you have a hard time sticking to a specific topic. I haven't advocated for a new tallest, it would be nice to see, but I don't think it will happen in the next 3 years. By that time, rents in Portland will probably average $35/sq ft so a top notch lawyer firm, or some other company, might pay an additional $10/sq ft to have the premier address in Portland.

The widespread mentality is not there to pay for more expensive space when the going rate today is so much lower. However, the mentality didn't exist to buy a condo at $500/sq ft just 4 years ago, and now they are going for as high as $1000/sq ft. Markets change, Portland's downtown tenants are probably at the beginning of this higher price per square foot realization. Once rents go up, as they have been, new construction will gain pre-development tenants when they think they are getting a fair deal.

I only posted this to debunk your 'fact' that the tax in Portland is driving people to Lake O when in fact it isn't, as our central business vancancy rate is extremely low. Dave Lister, who moved to save himself $3000 a year in taxes, though he admits he still pays that money now in additional transporation costs, does not speak for all of Portland's business community, although you libertarians treat him like a God because he moved his small firm of ten employees to Tigard and declared that Portland is dying.

[Urbanpdx]

I would think that there would be an argument in favor of allowing taller towers in downtown Portland...that argument being companies needing more floor space for more employees needed instead of locating in the suburbs. More company associates working in the downtown CBD benefits everyone. Also taller residential towers keep residents and shoppers downtown and the shop owners benefit.

I think I am following correctly. My response was to #41 above, your response was #43...

Kruse Way rents are over $30 per sq ft and there have been, I think, 5 or 6 100,000+ sq ft buildings built since the last major office tower downtown was built.

[zilfondel]

I think I am following correctly. My response was to #41 above, your response was #43...

Kruse Way rents are over $30 per sq ft and there have been, I think, 5 or 6 100,000+ sq ft buildings built since the last major office tower downtown was built.

True. Part of this is because the Kruse Corridor and the 26 Corridor are the major office markets on the west side; easily accessible from Eugene on up the I-5 corridor, yet there was no planning to centralize the development in any sort of downtowns, which, if done correctly, would have offered better amenities to office workers (within walking distance of their workplaces), such as:

-centralized restaurants & food carts
-parks, plazas and other open space available for office workers to relax in (currently, you can hang out in the parking lot next to noisy I-5 and breathe pollution! the fun...)
-mass transit capable of serving a large concentration of jobs (doesn't work well when the buildings are all 1/4 mile apart on a 5-mile strip)
-centralized parking structures to serve more than one building - and can charge $ for revenue instead of money-losing free parking lots provided by each business

and there are others as well. However, Beavertronia, LO, Tigard and Tualatin just don't have their act together, and it's far too late to alter the built landscape. Rents are up, but the only result is, unfortuantely, sprawl. :(

further note: I worked for 3 years at the confluence of I-5 & 217

[MarkDaMan]

Kruse Way rents are over $30 per sq ft and there have been, I think, 5 or 6 100,000+ sq ft buildings built since the last major office tower downtown was built.


Kruse Way has considerably less commercial square footage than downtown. The law of supply and demand takes effect quicker when you have a limited number of sites in a very attractive corridor. It is easier to fill up the lesser office space on Kruse, raise rents, and justify new construction. This is happening in the CBD too, just at a slower rate as the market is much larger, and space (for new buildings) isn't nearly as constricted.

Also, the Brewery Blocks added substantial office space downtown in recent years. When people comment about the lack of new office towers downtown (or new downtown office towers vs. Kruse Way), they often forget about the Brewery Blocks and their thousands of square footage, since almost everything in the Pearl has been condos. Isn't the new SoWa OHSU building office space also?

[Dougall5505]

different render
http://chatterbox.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/amaaseniorhousingreduced_1.jpg
more: http://chatterbox.typepad.com/portlandarchitecture/

[MarkDaMan]

^The Mirabella has an intriguing design, but it does look like it will have a large wall effect, contrary to the stated goals of 325' towers in SoWa (taller but smaller). I'd probably be pissed if I got a place in the John Ross and my entire downtown view replaced by a long tower.

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/image.php?u=15508&dateline=1170721337
^I've seen this guy somewhere :haha: Was this a recent pic in the big O?

[cab]

Intel forges deeper OHSU ties
Posted by Mike Rogoway January 24, 2007 10:21
Categories: Intel

Intel and OHSU announced early this week they would partner on a new senior living center/research facility on the South Waterfront. Today, Intel ponied up $1m for a OHSU research grant into Alzheimer's. From the release:

Through a $1 million grant, renewable up to three years, researchers will focus on improving the quality of life of the country's aging population by developing behavioral marker technologies that help to sense changes in behavior and, in doing so, provide earlier detection and more effective and personalized treatment.

Intel has created the Behavioral Assessment and Intervention Commons (BAIC), a unique academic-industrial collaboration that constructs a research commons " a shared pool of tools, technology and thinking " around behavioral markers and health outcomes. This collaboration promises to bring resources and attention to the development of health care technologies that will create sensors and other behavioral assessment tools to provide early detection and intervention.

This is all part of Intel's push into Digital Health, one of five "platforms" that CEO Paul Otellini has organized the company around. Intel hopes to tap into a growing market for health care technology.

In unrelated news, the NFL is also giving OHSU a big sum -- $1.2 million -- to launch a youth steroids education program. From that release:

The grant will be used to launch OHSU's nationally recognized ATLAS and ATHENA steroids and substance abuse prevention programs to 20,000 high school athletes and 800 coaches in 40 high schools during the 2007-2008 school year.

Four AFC teams and four NFC teams will sponsor five local high schools each to create the 40 "NFL Schools" that will teach the ATLAS and ATHENA programs to athletes, coaches, and administrators. All athletic teams of each school will participate in the program. The participating NFL teams and high schools will be announced at a later date.

"It is important that the NFL and its players continue to be leaders on the issue of illegal and dangerous performance enhancing drugs in sports," Commissioner Roger Goodell said. "These latest improvements will help ensure that we continue to have a strong and effective program. As we have done in the past, we will review and modify the policy on an ongoing basis."

[Dougall5505]

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/image.php?u=15508&dateline=1170721337
it was on the front page of the metro section. believe it or not that guy was judging a cat show at the convention center. i wouldn't let him close to my cats!

[MarkDaMan]

I love the first pic...sooo pretty...seems like there is an extra tower or two to the left of the Meriwether

http://www.amaa.com/_uploads/photo/project/159_lg4_Mirabella_PDX_04.jpg

http://www.amaa.com/_uploads/photo/project/159_lg1_Mirabella_PDX_01.jpg

http://www.amaa.com/_uploads/photo/project/159_lg2_Mirabella_PDX_02.jpg

http://www.amaa.com/_uploads/photo/project/159_lg3_Mirabella_PDX_03.jpg

[PacificNW]

The Portland Mirabella appears to have a more dramatic design than their Seattle counterpart.

[Dougall5505]

i really hope the top isn't going to look like that.
seems like there is an extra tower or two to the left of the Meriwether
yah block 27 remember? renders at tva architects.com

[Snowden352]

I consider myself a South Waterfront detractor, but that second photo (okay, drawing) looks damn nice.

[pdxstreetcar]

if they are getting renderings this detailed they might be getting ready for a construction start later this year, no?

any word on the alexan apartment tower? it looked like they were starting it a few months ago but at last check I saw nothing going on there.

[MarkDaMan]

are they having a roof top restaurant for the public in the Mirabella?

found under Mirabella on amaa.com
http://www.amaa.com/_uploads/photo/project/159_lg5_Mirabella_PDX_05.jpg

[ATR]

There's a cafe at ground level that's expected to be open for breakfast/lunch...it's the community's dining room at the top of the building.

[cab]

The lack of wheelchairs in that shot is deceiving :)