[360Rich]

Tuesday, May 01, 2007
By JULIA ANDERSON Columbian staff writer

Father and son developers Robert Schmeling and Troy Jones aren't sure when they will see a real return on their building rehab project in downtown Vancouver, but it's a place they want to be.

"We know we are a bit early ? really on the fringe, but we're intrigued by the (growth) potential," said Schmeling about his $400,000 top-to-bottom resurrection of 1004 W. 13th St.

The two purchased the unoccupied two-story brick building in 2005 and last year began upgrading and converting the space for office and retail use.

Schmeling described the process as a labor of love, stemming partly from his interest in historic buildings.

City records and documents at the Clark County Historical Society suggest the 3,200-square-foot structure was built sometime between 1891 and 1905 as a mercantile store.

"It later might have become a firehouse, but we can't prove it," Schmeling said. "That's probably why neighbors around here have always referred to it as the 'firehouse building.' "

For the most part, the project has gone well, he said.

There was a period last year, after work had already started, that the city thought the building might have to be condemned to accommodate a street realignment.

"We persuaded them otherwise," Schmeling said.

The real challenge was in preserving as much of the original building as possible while meeting city code requirements.

"Honestly, it went smoother than I thought" (with city planners), he said. "They were generally interested in what we were trying to accomplish."

The work, now completed, has converted upstairs space into offices and a conference room and ground-floor space into an art gallery and coffee bar.

Schmeling, 61, and Jones, 35, say the building site, which takes up a half-block has additional development potential as Vancouver's downtown renaissance continues.

"Once the Boise waterfront site redevelopment gets started, we expect to see more projects like ours on surrounding properties," Jones said. "The real impact could be 10 years out. But a lot of buyers are really looking around at future potential."

Schmeling and Jones, doing­ business through several LLCs, intend to use some of the space at 1004 W. 13th St. for their own offices. Three additional spaces are available for lease.

Downstairs, Jamahl Sanders has opened White Light Art Collective, where he plans to display and sell art and operate a coffee outlet.

Schmeling, meanwhile, is drawing on his 25-plus years of successful residential real estate development to underwrite the downtown project. If everything goes as planned, the duo would build a sister building on property just north of the existing site on Kauffman Street for additional office users.

"We're trying to start a trend," Jones said.

http://www.columbian.com/business/businessNews/05012007news134271.cfm

http://www.columbian.com/_images/newsPhotos/newsPic134271_37003.jpg

http://www.columbian.com/_images/newsPhotos/newsPic134271_37004.jpg

[BrG]

Riverwest (public library/ condos/ hotel/ retail/ offices) is another.

...original conceptual images...

http://www.amaa.com/_uploads/photo/project/124_lg1_Riverwest_01.jpg

http://www.amaa.com/_uploads/photo/project/124_lg2_Riverwest_02.jpg

http://www.amaa.com/_uploads/photo/project/124_lg3_Riverwest_03.jpg

[PuyoPiyo]

^^^ They have to wait till the car store relocate, which take forever for them to start the processing.

[PuyoPiyo]

I have been keeping a rough list as well with some of the taller new proposals. I don't have a lot of official heights though.

Rank Bldg Ht Floors Status Built Use
1 Firstenburg Nurse Tower - SWMC 160 8 Built 2007 Med
2 Bank of America Financial Center 157 10 Built 1982 Off
3 Smith Tower 150 15 Built 1962 Res
4 Riverwest North Tower 150 12 Prop Res
5 Riverwest South Tower 150 12 Prop Res
6 Vancouvercenter NE 150 11 Built 2004 Mixed
7 First Interstate Tower 150 11 Built 1992 Mixed
8 Columbia Credit Union Bldg 140 15 Prop Mixed
9 Housing Authority Building ? 10 Built Res
10 FV Apartments ? 10 Built Res
11 Vancouvercenter SE ? 9 Prop Mixed
12 Hilton Convention Center ? 7 Built 2005 Hot
13 Vancouvercenter NW ? 7 Built 2004 Res
14 The Arts Building ? 7 Built Off
15 Main Place ? 7 Built 1990 Off
16 Riverwest Office Building ? 7 Prop
17 Clark County Service Center ? 6 Built 2004 Off
18 Vancouvercenter SW ? 6 Built 2004 Res
19 Clark County Courthouse ? 6 Built Off
20 West Coast Bank ? 6 Built 2002 Off
21 The Columbian ? 6 Const 2007 Off
22 St James Church ? 3 Built
23 The Academy ? 3 Built

I love your listing! :D It makes Vancouver, WA look bigger. Maybe it's time to correct Vancouver, Washington's diagram.

:cheers:

[CouvScott]

I love your listing! :D It makes Vancouver, WA look bigger. Maybe it's time to correct Vancouver, Washington's diagram.

:cheers:


Thanks. I try to keep an active list of both Portland and Vancouver, but I'm sure there are holes in both.

[PuyoPiyo]

^^^No problemo :)

[BrG]

^^^ They have to wait till the car store relocate, which take forever for them to start the processing.

That's actually kind of a minor part of the overall challenge of the project. :)

[PuyoPiyo]

That's actually kind of a minor part of the overall challenge of the project. :)

I really want this library build NOW! hehe. Oh well :)

[CouvScott]

Sunday, May 20, 2007
BY JEFFREY MIZE, Columbian staff writer

For years, Vancouver officials have yearned for an economic development tool available in almost every other state.

Now Vancouver finally has a chance to use it for downtown redevelopment.

The tool - tax increment financing - allows a city to borrow money to pay for roads or other public improvements to encourage private development. The city uses the additional, or incremental, tax revenue generated by the development to gradually pay off the debt.

Come Monday night, the city council will have the first of two public hearings on using a limited version of tax increment financing to help pay for an underground parking garage at the $160 million Riverwest project, which would include a 90,000-square-foot headquarters library.

Killian Pacific of Vancouver proposes to develop the mixed-use project on 3.75 acres on the southeast corner of East Evergreen Boulevard and C Street, where the Carr auto dealership now operates.

Besides the library, Riverwest would offer 195 condominiums, 100,000 square feet of office space, a 65-room hotel, a restaurant, an outdoor fireplace and 850 to 900 underground parking spaces.

Vancouver would assist Killian Pacific with development costs by purchasing 300 to 400 of the parking spaces for an estimated $15 million.

The city would pay off the debt over 25 years using revenue from three sources:

- 75 percent of incremental property tax generated by Riverwest that would flow to the city, Clark County, the Port of Vancouver and the Fort Vancouver Regional Library District. State law excludes school districts, so the Vancouver school district would get its full share of additional property taxes generated by Riverwest.

- 100 percent of the incremental city and county sales tax from business activity at Riverwest. Part of the county sales tax, such as the newly enacted 0.1 percent tax for methamphetamine and mental health treatment, is not affected, nor is C-Tran's 0.5 percent sales tax.

- A dollar-for-dollar matching contribution of local revenues by state government, up to $500,000 annually.

Each government agency must sign off on the deal. The port and library already have agreed to allow 75 percent of their slice of incremental Riverwest property taxes to be used to repay the parking debt.

Clark County is expected to approve a similar agreement, on the condition it gives up only enough incremental sales and property taxes to ensure the state provides the maximum $500,000 match.

A second public hearing before the city council has been tentatively scheduled for June 25, after which the council could vote to form the redevelopment area covering the 3.75-acre site.

An estimated $15 million in bonds to buy the 300 to 400 parking spaces wouldn't be sold until 2010, after Killian Pacific has built the garage.


Potential downside

Tax increment financing might sound like a "can't lose" proposition, but there is a potential downside, namely what happens if the project fails to generate enough revenue to make annual bond payments.

The answer is Vancouver would be on the hook for the entire $15 million, even if it has to siphon money from police and other core services.

Joe Gianotti, a retired engineer who worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, isn't taking a yes-no position on the project, but he wonders if the risks are fully understood.

"The city is making a commitment to honor these bonds all the way through," he said.

City officials say they are making conservative revenue projections to ensure there won't be unpleasant financial surprises.

Lloyd Tyler, Vancouver's chief financial officer, said the project has a great location, a good mix of uses and a strong developer. It also enjoys the backing of state lawmakers willing to contribute $500,000 annually because they expect to get that money back, and more, in new tax revenue.

"Our objective is to enter into this with 100 percent probability that the bonds are going to be fully repaid as expected," Tyler said. "Now, is anything 100 percent? I have been around long enough to know not anything is 100 percent."

Even if Vancouver commits 75 percent of its incremental property tax to pay off the debt, the city would pocket the remaining 25 percent, an estimated $70,000 a year that could be used for debt payments if other sources fall short, Tyler said.

Also, the city projects it will receive $1.5 million in sales taxes from construction materials delivered to the site. Point of delivery, not point of purchase, determines if and how sales taxes are paid.

Tyler said the city could hold that money in reserve to smooth out any revenue fluctuations.


More parking?

Vancouver proposes to invest more money in downtown parking at a time when it continues to subsidize its existing garages.

In 2005, the city transferred $1.6 million out of its general fund to boost parking revenues that fell short of expenditures, including ongoing payments from garage construction debt. The subsidy was one of the reasons why the city increased parking rates this year.

Garages are becoming more expensive to build. In 1999, the city council agreed to invest $13 million for 800 spaces at Vancouvercenter, along the east side of Esther Short Park.

For the Riverwest project eight years later, the city proposes to pay $15 million for, at the most, only half as many spaces.

Tyler said final cost figures won't be known until the project gets closer to construction. However, rising material costs are making construction far more costly, he said.



"Certainly concrete and steel, which are the major components of the parking garage, have gone up dramatically in that time period," Tyler said.


Update


- Previously:
The 2006 Legislature approved a pilot program for a limited version of tax increment financing and authorized three projects, including the Riverwest development in downtown Vancouver.

- What's new:
The city council will hold a public hearing Monday night on forming the Riverwest development area, a necessary step for Vancouver to spend an estimated $15 million for underground parking and use future tax revenues to pay off the debt.

- What's next:
The council could approve the program after a second hearing on June 25, but the bonds to pay for 300 to 400 parking spaces aren't expected to be sold until 2010.

[CouvScott]

Saturday, May 19, 2007
BY JULIA ANDERSON, Columbian Business Editor

A four-story retail-office building soon could rise on a vacant downtown block once home to the Monterey Hotel and Frontier Card Room.

The project, proposed by Killian Pacific, a Vancouver real estate development company, is the latest in a wave of new or proposed downtown construction tied to declining office vacancy rates.

"The office vacancy rate in downtown Vancouver is getting close to 10 percent," said Roger Qualman, broker and co-owner of the Norris, Beggs & Simpson commercial real estate brokerage firm.

"If it gets below that, people get interested in building another building. And at the same time, there are a number of promising prospects looking for space ? banks, health care and technology businesses," he said.

The latest project comes from the veteran father-son team of George and Lance Killian of Killian Pacific. They are proposing an approximately 63,000-square-foot building that would provide 5,633 square feet of ground floor retail space fronting Main and Sixth streets.

City planners will have an opportunity in early June to review the project with the Killians, who own as well as maintain their corporate offices in the adjacent West Coast Bank Building. The city of Vancouver owns and operates a parking garage there.

Killian Pacific and the city each own portions of the Monterey-Frontier site. Details of the ownership arrangement going forward are being worked out, a Killian spokesman said Friday. Neither Killian was available for comment.

According to documents submitted to the city, the new construction would allow for parking, a covered lobby and a "pedestrian friendly facade."

At 65 feet in height, the proposed building would offer "an appropriate relationship" with the six-story West Coast Bank building and the nearby Evergreen Inn and Heritage Building, each at five stories, Lance Killian said in a written project outline.

Construction would depend on market demand but likely would begin within six months from the time land use permits were issued by the city, he said.

All of the new projects will cost more to construct because of skyrocketing materials prices, said Qualman. Those costs will translate into higher rents. For example, Vancouvercenter office space went on the market two years ago at $24 a square foot while space in The Columbian's building, due for occupancy in the fall, is being offered at $28, Qualman said. Qualman's firm is marketing The Columbian building's retail and office space.

- List of other large downtown building projects. Page A6Other downtown projects include:

- A new retail-office building at the former Mill Plain Boulevard Denny's restaurant site planned by The Al Angelo Co.

- Riverwest, a mixed-use project planned by Killian Pacific on the Carr Auto site at C Street and Evergreen Boulevard. It would include a new public library.

- Prestige Plaza, which would rise at the former Vancouver police headquarters at 300 E. 13th St. Elie Kassab, doing business as Prestige Development, recently bought the property from the city.

- An 11-story condominium project planned by California-based Laeroc Partners on top of the parking structure at the Murdock Building at Eighth and C streets.

- IQ Credit Union's plans to renovate or redevelop the city's Public Service Center Building on Mill Plain Boulevard for its headquarters.

- A long-awaited plan to build an eight-story office building on the southeast corner of the Vancouvercenter site.

- The Columbian's six-story office building under construction south of Esther Short Park

[PuyoPiyo]

Till 2010?? That is too long future :(

[BrG]

The Riverwest Project is still very much active in the planning process. It is impacted to some (important) degree, by the Columbia River Crossing project (I-5).

But, K/P is actively pursuing it.

[CouvScott]

Clark county commissioners are idiots, here's proof from the Columbian today...

Many more can fit into Vancouver, state says

Tuesday, June 12, 2007
BY MICHAEL ANDERSEN AND JEFFREY MIZE, Columbian staff writers

There's no need to approve a costly expansion of Clark County's urban areas, the state's economic development agency said in a wide-ranging letter sent last week to Clark County's commissioners.

Vancouver's urban area has more than enough room to pack in homes and jobs for the 80,000 or so newcomers expected by 2024, according to assumptions made by the city's planners and embraced by the Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development.

The director of the local economic development agency dismissed the notion, saying that the density of new jobs expected by the state is "simply not going to happen."

In a hearing before the county's planning commission, Vancouver-based developers' lawyer Randy Printz called the state's letter­ "silly."

The letter comes as commissioners debates whether to expand the county's urban areas by 14 percent.

David Andersen, a state plan review manager who said he collaborated on the letter, said keeping urban boundaries where they are would save public money and reflect a recent jump in demand for condominiums and other dense developments.

"Infill and redevelopment is going to be a larger fraction of development in the future than it was in the past," Andersen said. "Communities with more compact development patterns are increasingly going to become more economically competitive."

That may be true in other places, said Bart Phillips, director of the Columbia River Economic Development Council. But not here.

"It's probably a valid determination for somebody viewing it from 95 miles away," Phillips said.

Vancouver, Phillips said, won't generate as many jobs as the county wants it to unless it pushes out the urban boundaries.

"If we're going to start doing nothing but building 40-story office towers, then yeah," he said. "But that's not the market. That's simply not going to happen."

Steve Horenstein, a Miller Nash attorney who often represents developers, said that Vancouver would only lose out on new projects if leaders don't let the city's urban boundary expand.

"I don't understand the policy reason why Vancouver wants to contain its growth," said Horenstein. "That is not a recipe for being open for business."

At a public hearing last week, Vancouver Councilman Dan Tonkovich said the city has two major objections to the county's growth plan: expanding urban growth areas; and creating a lower-density area called "Three Creeks" including Hazel Dell, Felida and Salmon Creek.

Tonkovich said the city wants "eye-to-eye contact" with county officials about both issues. But in a letter to the county, he warned that Vancouver will "explore all other options" should the county ignore the city's concerns.

Those options are likely to include appealing the county's growth plan to the Western Washington Growth Management Hearings Board. Last week, the city council met with its top planning officials in a closed-door session to discuss litigation.

Dick Deleissegues, a member of the county planning commission, said Monday that he doesn't see room in Vancouver for all those new people.

"Do you think they can increase, in the next 20 years, the population in the city limits while causing an acceptable amount of traffic congestion at the end of the 20-year period?" he said. "It doesn't seem reasonable to me."

Still, at a hearing on the growth plan Thursday, three of the county planning commission's seven members said they were either opposed to pushing out the boundaries or unprepared to consider the question.

"We're not supposed to be doing this," said Ron Barca, a planning commissioner who said he'd be happy sticking with the urban boundaries set in 2004. "We launched right back into full-time occupation of the entire long-range planning staff for the last three years. ? It's just a tragic waste of public resources."



The debate

If its urban area doesn't grow, will Vancouver have room for 80,000 new residents by 2024?

- On one side: No, say development advocates. Packing people and jobs that tightly would require reliance on mass transit, if it's possible at all, and Vancouver hasn't set aside the money for that.

- On another side: Yes, says the state's economic development agency and the city of Vancouver. Denser development trends over the past two years are likely to intensify in the future.

- How to get involved: Contact county planning director Marty Snell at 360-397-2280 or marty.snell@clark.wa.gov .

[65MAX]

The second article seems like a separate issue from the annexations. They're talking about expanding the "urban area", similar to our UGB, to accommodate 20 years of growth. Personally, I think that the areas set aside in Clark Co for development ARE large enough to support 20 years of growth. And regarding the first article, these areas should be annexed into Vancouver or Camas or whatever as they are being developed. Just like the developing, unincorporated areas of Washington and Clackamas Counties should be.

Of course, you've got your Dunthorpes and Cedar Mills and Oak Groves, established neighborhoods that will fight annexation tooth and nail. But again, that's a separate issue as well.

[CouvScott]

:previous: That's true. I forgot that the original fight was over annexations. But annexations wouldn't be as necessary if the county learned how to conserve nature and grow up not out in the first place. (this is not directed at you 65MAX - I'm just venting) It makes me mad when I know there has to be some compensation going on between the county commissioners and the developers to let them develop at free will. For the first time in my life, the inner city fields, undeveloped and privately owned, are getting filled in with townhouses and condos and the city is starting to feel more dense.

[65MAX]

^^^^
I totally agree, the County has been miserably negligent, maybe even corrupt. Thankfully, Vancouver is trying to do the right thing, and the market is now ripe for infill development with mixed uses. If only the hacks at the County would get out of the way and keep their hands out of the cookie jar.

[65MAX]

I'm waiting for the investigative report showing who at Clark Co is on the take from the developers. We know Betty Sue Morris is one of them.

[Urban Zombie®]

i'm glad i don't live there any more.

Ditto. Leaving No. Clark County, and all of its kooky, imbred-hillbilly-goodness, is one of the great accomplishments of my life so far.

[PuyoPiyo]

Well, those "Three Creeks", like Salmon Creek, Felida, and Hazel Dell are expanding really fast than I thought. Hazel Dell got its big shoppingtown, like Target, Payless Shoes, PetCo, Office Max, Best Buy, on the Hazel Dell Ave, also they got Panda Express and rebuilding the Hollywood Video right behind where the Hollywood Video are right now. Also they got new big gym next to Hollywood Video.

At Salmon Creek, they divided the HWY 99 into two roads, to keep the traffic in control, also got alot of new stores next to Burgerville since they divided the HWY 99, plus they got a big hostipal, the Legacy Hosptial.

Felida is still one of the fast growing in Vancouver, it got a new big park, the Felida Park, also every empty land are going to be filled of houses, the empty land are getting disappear.

Now those people who doubt that Vancouver will get 80,000 residents by 2024 seems ridicilious to me...

[CodyY]

Isn't Clark county the republican area of the Portland Metro Area? For some reason I have it in my head that they are...Sorry for the randomness

[65MAX]

Just the unincorporated areas north of Vancouver. Van itself is OK.

[seaskyfan]

One of the legislative districts in Clark County (49th) is represented by all Democrats, including one of Washington's five openly gay legislators.

[MarkDaMan]

Isn't Clark county the republican area of the Portland Metro Area? For some reason I have it in my head that they are...Sorry for the randomness

actually I think outer ClackamAss holds that title...Washington County has become surprisingly blue though, and projected to remain the largest burban area in the Portland metro...it used to be solidly red, so there's hope for the unconverted...

[Snowden352]

Wait... is that 80,000 just for Vancouver or Clark County? I'm confused... I thought that Vancouver was well within the boundaries of current urban growth. Just to add to the confusion, I thought Clark County, not just Vancouver, grew by over 10,000 people in the last year alone (and has been one of the fastest growing counties in the state). So... is the article about growth in Vancouver or Clark County? God, I'm confused...

[CouvScott]

I'm waiting for the investigative report showing who at Clark Co is on the take from the developers. We know Betty Sue Morris is one of them.

You would think that the developer handouts would help her pay for a new hairstyle. But seriously, I will never consider voting for her and encourage others to do the same.

[CouvScott]

Wait... is that 80,000 just for Vancouver or Clark County? I'm confused... I thought that Vancouver was well within the boundaries of current urban growth. Just to add to the confusion, I thought Clark County, not just Vancouver, grew by over 10,000 people in the last year alone (and has been one of the fastest growing counties in the state). So... is the article about growth in Vancouver or Clark County? God, I'm confused...

I think the 80,000 is just for Vancouver and Vancouver's unincorporated portion of the UGB.

[CouvScott]

Wednesday, June 20, 2007
BY MICHAEL ANDERSEN, Columbian staff writer

At least two of Clark County's three commissioners seem determined to push forward with a growth plan similar to the one that got a thumbs-down last week from a panel of citizens.

In public hearings scheduled to resume at 1:30 p.m. today, the commissioners are trying to predict the future location of some 184,000 new county residents over the next 20 years.

Last week, the county's planning commission recommended that the county scrap plans to allow big-lot urban homes on 1,663 acres in Pleasant Valley and near the county fairgrounds.

But the county's elected officials seemed undeterred.

"The planning commission's recommendation is a recommendation, and we appreciate it," Commissioner Betty Sue Morris said Friday.

"It's our decision to make," Commissioner Marc Boldt noted during Tuesday's hearing.

And Commissioner Steve Stuart suggested Tuesday that it's fiscally safer to set aside too much land for new homes than too little, in order to collect the fees that new houses generate.

Though the planning commission's talks last week touched on everything from school tax revenues to the future of the county's farm industry, sustained objections to what some call residential sprawl have come from the city of Vancouver.

"What we are doing is fundamentally different from what the other cities are doing," Brian Snodgrass, Vancouver's long-range planner, said Tuesday in the hearing at the county public service center at 1300 Franklin Street in Vancouver.

Today's Vancouver residents are looking for cheaper, smaller homes than they did in the 1990s, Snodgrass said, and opening too much land to that new, denser construction would only accelerate migration and stick future taxpayers with the bill for their roads and sewers.

But Morris said keeping the urban boundary tight would just drive development into rural areas.

"We don't want more than 10 percent of people going out there," she said. "They build on septic tanks. They put up what people are calling McMansions."

Meanwhile, owners of the land under debate watched, their financial futures at stake.

"For months and months and months, we're in," said Virginia Nugent, 69, who lives in Pleasant Valley on 8 acres that the planning commission voted not to recommend for urbanization. "The last minute, they jerk us out. How can anybody plan their future? It's horrible to be in this limbo."

Nugent's husband said he retired last year with only enough to live on for eight or nine more years.

"If they make this developable, we could probably put 40 or 50 (houses) on the 8 acres," said Jack Nugent, 71.

Ron Barca, the planning commission member who was firmest in opposing county growth plans, said the county hadn't fully assessed the costs of urbanizing land such as the Nugents'.

"There isn't enough money to go around for all the areas to be built out to the density that individuals would like," he said.



Update


Previously: Last week, Clark County's planning commission recommended that the county roll back plans for residential development north of Vancouver.

What's new: At their own hearings, county commissioners highlighted their differences with the planning commission.

What's next: Hearings continue at 1:30 p.m. today on the sixth floor of the county public service center in Vancouver. The commissioners start deliberations next week.

[65MAX]

So how much of the 1663 acres in this area is Betty Sue a stakeholder in? Can we please get an investigative reporter to dig up this information, because we all know damn well she's got her grubby little paws in all kinds of sweetheart deals. She's not a commissioner because she's interested in the public good.

[CouvScott]

Tuesday, June 26, 2007
BY JEFFREY MIZE, Columbian staff writer

Vancouver will use a new form of financing to purchase 300 to 400 parking spaces at the Riverwest project and help build a 90,000-square-foot downtown library.

The city council unanimously approved a series of agreements Monday to spend an estimated $15 million for parking at the $160 million downtown project.

Council members enthusiastically backed Riverwest as a way to continue downtown's revival and to build a new library with covered parking to replace the 48,000-square-foot Vancouver Community Library, which was built in 1963. Roughly 200 of the city's 300 to 400 spaces will be used as free parking for library users.

"I have watched, in the rain, a mother with three kids trying to get into the library," Councilwoman Pat Jollota said.

"For me, this is an enormous project," Councilman Larry Smith said. "This is building for the future. It is building for our kids and our grandkids."

Vancouver will use a limited version of tax increment financing, which allows the city to borrow money to pay for parking spaces and then use the additional, or incremental, tax revenue generated by Riverwest to gradually repay the debt.

Killian Pacific of Vancouver will develop the mixed-use project on 3.75 acres on the southeast corner of East Evergreen Boulevard and C Street, where the Carr auto dealership now operates. Carr plans to relocate.

Besides the library, Riverwest would offer 195 condominiums, 100,000 square feet of office space, a 65-room hotel, 13,000 square feet of retail space, a 4,500-square-foot restaurant, an outdoor fireplace and 850 to 900 underground parking spaces.

The project has been in the works for more than two years. In September 2006, voters overwhelmingly approved a $43 million bond measure to pay for library construction, as well as a branch library adjacent to the Firstenburg Community Center in east Vancouver.

"It sorta feels a little anticlimactic because we have been working on it for a long time, but it is a big deal," Councilwoman Jeanne Harris said. "It's a great way to help our city, our region and our state to grow economically."

Riverwest was one of three pilot projects authorized by the 2006 Legislature. The state agreed to contribute a maximum of $500,000 annually in matching dollars.

"We are getting a half-million dollars a year for 25 years from the state of Washington," Mayor Royce Pollard said. "This is a very significant project for the future of the community. This is a historic event."

Councilwoman Jeanne Stewart, the council's most cautious member on downtown redevelopment, said she believes the Riverwest project is worthwhile. But Stewart said she also has reservations about spending tax receipts on parking.

Vancouver needs to do an analysis of when downtown revitalization can progress without city involvement, "of when our work as a government agency is completed," she said.


Parking subsidies

The city is investing in more downtown parking at a time when its current garages don't generate enough money to cover all expenses, including debt repayment. That was one of the reasons cited by officials for increasing garage and meter rates this year.

The city transferred $1.6 million out of its general fund in 2005 to prop up its parking operations and another $1.05 million in 2006. This year, officials hope to whittle that subsidy to $844,000.

Paul Lewis, the city's economic development project manager, said that unlike other downtown parking projects, the Riverwest garage will have revenue from three sources and will not require a city subsidy.

Those sources are:

- 75 percent of incremental property tax generated by Riverwest that would flow to the city, Clark County, the Port of Vancouver and the Fort Vancouver Regional Library District. State law excludes school districts, so the Vancouver School District would get its full share of additional property taxes generated by Riverwest.

- 100 percent of the incremental city and county sales tax from business activity at Riverwest. Part of the county sales tax, such as the newly enacted 0.1 percent tax for methamphetamine and mental health treatment, is not affected, nor is C-Tran's 0.5 percent sales tax.

- A dollar-for-dollar matching contribution of local revenues by state government, up to $500,000 annually.

Clark County, the Port of Vancouver and the library district already have agreed to give up their incremental tax revenues. The county's agreement includes a provision that it will give up only enough incremental tax revenue to ensure the state provides the maximum $500,000 match.

Even with Vancouver's committing 75 percent of its incremental property tax to pay off the debt, the city would pocket the remaining 25 percent, an estimated $70,000 a year.

Riverwest construction is expected to begin in late 2008 and continue for more than two years. Vancouver will not sell $15 million in bonds to buy the 300 to 400 parking spaces until after Killian Pacific has built the garage.

[CouvScott]

:shrug:

[MarkDaMan]

Headline grabber: $30M headquarters for Columbian
Portland Business Journal - June 29, 2007
by David Raths
Special to the Business Journal

A building that will stand the test of time.

That's what Scott Campbell, publisher of The Columbian, wanted for the daily newspaper's new $30 million headquarters building in downtown Vancouver. And he's confident that Portland's GBD Architects has delivered exactly what he was looking for.

Campbell said the design of the six-story building, which features a glass two-story pavilion as the main lobby, has exceeded his expectations.

"I would say it is built to last, unlike some buildings, which look like they are built to be flipped in four or five years. It's not trendy."

Four floors of the 80,000-square-foot building, located on Sixth Street between Esther and Columbia streets, will house Columbian news, advertising, circulation and administrative staff. The top two floors will be leased to office tenants, and 5,000 square feet of ground-floor space is available for retail use. The building will open this fall.

Campbell called the decision to stay in downtown Vancouver an easy one. At one time, he had considered an alternative site, 13 acres at the corner of Grand Avenue and Highway 14, but he noted that "downtown is a much more desirable location for our employees. This building gives us the flexibility to use the office space as needed. We can expand over time into upper floors, or if we consolidate, we can use less space."

Campbell and his wife, Jody, hired Portland-based Gerding Edlen Development Co. LLC, known for its work in the Pearl District, to act as the office building project manager, and Howard S. Wright Construction as general contractor.

GBD officials say the newspaper's new home will help connect the Esther Shore Park neighborhood to the Columbia River.

GBD, well known for Portland developments such as the Brewery Blocks, Museum Place and South Waterfront, also has drawn up second-phase plans for construction of a printing press building situated across Esther Street from the offices, but that project may be several years down the road, Campbell said.

The move is expected to improve work flow for the paper's 360-employee work force, which had outgrown its current digs at 701 W. Eighth St. The Columbian's current headquarters, built in 1955, grew from a single, 23,000-square-foot building to two buildings with more than 110,000 square feet.

Now, "we'll all be in the same building, so it will be easier to communicate," Campbell said. "The view is spectacular, and the work spaces are much more people-friendly with lots of natural light and sophisticated lighting controls. The employees are coming from spaces with huge rooms that have no sunlight whatsoever."

One of the design challenges, said Keith Skille, GBD's project manager, was to retain the sense of community between departments as they move from one-story buildings to separate floors of a tower.

"We created an interior stairway linking the floors," he said, and used the same materials and finishes to tie the floors together.

Those finishes include decorative steel stairs and guardrails, cherry millwork, wood and metal ceilings, and slate flooring.

Skille called the large public space at the entry the heart of the newspaper.

"There's a fireplace there," he said, "so there is a very Northwest feel to it."

The lobby will feature an interactive multimedia display describing significant events in the history of the newspaper and Southwest Washington. The pavilion's rooftop features a terrace and garden for use by the building's occupants.

The building is in a prominent location in an area undergoing a significant renaissance, including the recent addition of the Vancouver Convention Center and Hilton Hotel. Yet Skille said GBD responded to Campbell's desire for the Columbian building to fit into the community, rather than stand out. The facade features pre-cast brick and composite metal panels.

"The building is not showy," Skille said. "It is solid. It has an institutional character like on a college campus. They wanted the look to say Vancouver."

Saying Vancouver meant focusing on details such as brick color. There used to be a well-known brick company in the area called Hidden Brick Co. which manufactured product identified as Vancouver red brick.

"We were able to find a brick color that matched that," Skille said. "They want the building to say they belong to the community."

Though the exterior speaks of tradition, the building also rides the current wave of sustainable development, an area in which GBD has considerable experience. Among the environmentally sensitive features is the building's cooling and heating system, which is handled by groundwater pumped from an aquifer. Ron Edgerton, a project executive at Howard S. Wright in Portland, called the system "state of the art" in terms of conservation.

Skille said the building, which is 40 percent more energy efficient than code requires, is expected to earn LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The building features water-efficient landscaping and fixtures. It uses low-toxicity paints and wood products. The construction team of Howard S. Wright put an emphasis on the use of recycled local material, and 95 percent of construction waste is recycled.

Campbell was interested in the sustainable elements as long as they didn't bust the budget.

"We were willing to take on some front-loaded costs that will pay back dividends over the long haul," he said.

GBD's reputation for sustainable projects was a secondary consideration for the publisher.

"They just know how to do six-story office buildings," he said. "They could do one in their sleep. We were very impressed with their grasp of the qualities a building like this needs."

Construction is on schedule to be completed in September, with a move-in date in October. After that, only the slow passage of decades will tell whether the building meets Campbell's test of time.

portland@bizjournals.com | 503-274-8733

http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2007/07/02/focus3.html?t=printable

[PuyoPiyo]

Great news, Couvescott!

And the lastest post, yupp that building is already topped out. But to me, that building is quite... ugly. The red bricks are not my type.

[mcbaby]

any pics?

[PuyoPiyo]

any pics?

Found those from The Columbian website, www.thecolumbian.com, the little link label "The Columbian: New Edition" at the right.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/Ufozacky2k/1-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/Ufozacky2k/19.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/Ufozacky2k/37.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/Ufozacky2k/52.jpg

[tefen]

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l234/tefen/DStreetTower.jpg

First time on this forum, hopefully the picture above works. Latest update on this is that the plans currently call for the removal of D street on the east end of this block to be used as a portion of the parking lot.

[PuyoPiyo]

Welcome, Tefen ;)

I am kinda confused, on the article at the first post said that it would have about 9 floors, but this picture only show like probably 5?

[tefen]

I guess things have changed. I believe they also scraped the idea for retail and a restaurant because they didn't feel that corner was well suited to such establishments. Also, the parking seems to be all exterior to the building now, no covered parking.

I believe you're right, 5 floors now.

[CouvScott]

Regrowth spurt

Sunday, July 22, 2007
By JULIA ANDERSON Columbian staff writer

Top business stories of 2007 second quarter M ore than anything else, Clark County's second quarter was about redevelopment - in Washougal, in Battle Ground and downtown Vancouver.

While the local job market continued to moderate in the three months ending June 30, and housing remained in the doldrums, projects large and small were announced all over the county. Here's a short list:

. California investment firm Laeroc Partners purchased the Murdock Building in downtown Vancouver and announced plans for construction of 11 stories of condominiums on top of the building's parking structure.

. Killian Pacific said it would begin construction of a four-story office building on the former Monterey Hotel site adjacent to the West Coast Bank building downtown. The company is also moving ahead with planning for its Riverwest mixed-use project on the Carr dealership site.

. Construction has begun on $50 million worth of redevelopment in Washougal expected over the next three years that will include new retail and residential space, upscale shopping and a remodel and expansion of the Pendleton Woolen Mills outlet store.

. Site work has started on the former Boyer's Par 3 golf course at state Highway 503 and Northeast 119th Street, where a WinCo grocery store is expected to anchor a new commercial project being developed by Killian Pacific.

. Battle Ground Center, southeast of the city's main intersection, is getting under way on a 108-acre site with $200 million worth of construction planned there over the next several years.

. iQ Credit Union purchased the city of Vancouver's former service center building with plans for a partial demolition and remodel. Nearby Elie Kassab bought the city's former police station with plans for redevelopment of the site, just south of the downtown Burgerville. And across Mill Plain Boulevard, The Angelo Co. is moving ahead with plans for a 62,800-square-foot office building on the old Denny's restaurant site.

. Gramor Development signed a long-term deal with the Port of Vancouver for property near the Red Lion Hotel at the Quay, described as the gateway to its planned waterfront redevelopment project on the former Boise Cascade industrial site.

All of these projects will keep the county's construction employment sector on a good footing despite a slowdown in home building, which is expected to last for "quite some time," said Portland economist Bill Conerly.

He doesn't see either Oregon or Washington as having the downturn in home building as much of the rest of the nation, thanks to a continuing influx of newcomers. For instance, in Clark County, the number of drivers turning in out-of-county driver's licenses for local ones has slowed from a year ago. Still, at this year's pace, the county could see more than 14,000 new residents.

The torrid tempo of job growth also continued to slow in the second quarter. But year-over-year through June, local employers had added an estimated 2,900 jobs for a 2.2 percent annual growth rate. Only manufacturing seemed vulnerable, with jobs cuts coming at the Georgia-Pacific paper mill and at Freightliner in Portland weighing on the sector.

Labor analyst Scott Bailey sees more of the same heading into the second half of the year.

Housing remains a question mark.

June was the first month this year that the median sale price of homes came in lower than the same month last year. But $259,900 is still substantially higher than the $230,310 of 2005 or the $184,316 mean price from 2004.

The good news in June was that the inventory of houses for sale in the county has continued to decline from January's high and the amount of time it takes to sell a house also seems to have peaked.

The county's June unemployment rate was 5.4 percent, down from 5.9 percent in June 2006. No one sees any stormy weather headed our way, at least through the rest of this year.

Did you know?

. In June, there were 13,600 people working in manufacturing jobs in Clark County, down 600 from June 2006.

. The county added 2,900 new jobs in the 12 months ending June 30, a 2.2 percent increase.

. The county's June unemployment rate of 5.4 percent was higher than the statewide average of 4.5 percent.

. An estimated 11,200 people remained unemployed and seeking work in Clark County in June. April

. Learoc Partners plans Murdock condo project in downtown Vancouver.

. WSU Vancouver wins electrical engineering program funding from Legislature.

. Elie Kassab buys Vancouver's old police headquarters building.

May

. All Student Loans will bring 100 jobs to Vancouver.

. Killian Pacific plans four-story building on Monterey Hotel site.

. iQ Credit Union buys vacated city services building in downtown Vancouver.

June

. Gramor Development signs lease with Port of Vancouver for property near the Quay.

. LA Fitness will build new Orchards facility.

. Home sale prices slip 2.8 percent, with sales down 21.9 percent.

[PuyoPiyo]

Sounds exciting news here, glad that Washougal is forwarding to redeveloping itself. Washougal always need that case.

[360Rich]

Posted by The Oregonian July 24, 2007 11:38AM

VANCOUVER -- Elaborate development plans for 50 acres of retailers, offices and homes at a former airport in East Vancouver appear to be in jeopardy.

Developer Opus Northwest LLC managers have told city officials that difficulties securing an anchor retail tenant as well as an uncertain housing market have led to a hold on plans for the $215 million The Landing at Evergreen project, City Manager Pat McDonnell said this morning.

Opus had hoped a specialty grocer would have committed by now to occupying a 44,839-square-foot anchor space at the northwest corner of the project, said John Bartell, a vice president and general manager for Opus Northwest.

"We need to find other anchors for the center," Bartell said.

Original development plans had construction under way by now at the former Evergreen Airport. Opus proposed 340,800 square feet of retail space, 180,000 square feet of offices, a 96,000-square-foot hotel and 210 residential units.

In a separate development, Opus Northwest officials also said they are trying to sign a major retailer for a four-block development on Portland's east side. Company leaders, who in 2005 won the right to develop the area, have said they want to sign an anchor tenant before construction begins on that $260 million project.

http://blog.oregonlive.com/breakingnews/2007/07/developer_delays_plan_for_form.html

[MarkDaMan]

In a separate development, Opus Northwest officials also said they are trying to sign a major retailer for a four-block development on Portland's east side. Company leaders, who in 2005 won the right to develop the area, have said they want to sign an anchor tenant before construction begins on that $260 million project.

I'm utterly confused by that statement. Does 'major retailer' mean big box? Didn't the design Opus submit HAVE TO remove the big box retailer from their plan? Wasn't it clear there was not to be a big box in the Burnside Bridgehead development?

These guys are fucking pricks!

[360Rich]

http://www.columbian.com/_images/newsPhotos/newsPic172794_57590.jpg

Tuesday, July 24, 2007
By CAMI JONER, Columbian Staff Writer

Redevelopment plans for the former Evergreen Airport site in east Vancouver have crashed.

Opus Northwest, the project’s developer has backed out of the proposed $215 million deal after a Whole Foods grocery store as an anchor tenant as well as the project’s residential component.

The Landing at Evergreen, planned on 59 acres north of Mill Plain Boulevard between Northeast 136th and Hearthwood avenues, was to include housing, office and high-end retail space similar what Opus had developed at Bridgeport Village in Tigard, Ore. The Evergreen project was first announced in 2005.

Now the deal is off, said John Bartell, vice president of the Portland office of Seattle-based Opus Northwest. His company won’t likely proceed with plans to purchase the property from the Wally Olson family.

“You need anchor tenants to make a retail project of that magnitude go,” Bartell said.

A number of factors combined to undermine the plan:

* Texas,-based Whole Foods backed out of the project after announcing its $565 million plan to acquire rival organic grocer Wild Oats, already doing business nearby in the Mill Plain corridor.

* Housing developer Matrix Development cancelled its pre-arrangement with Opus to develop 221 townhouses on the site’s western tract, presumably because of slowing home sales and higher mortgage interest rates.

* A second anchor tenant and national bookseller also backed out, leaving the project with only one anchor tenant, a national health club.

Eastside equivalent

City officials had hoped the development would become east Vancouver’s equivalent to downtown redevelopment, said Gerald Baugh, the city’s business development director.

“Now that its fallen through, it’s disappointing,” he said, adding that the city had not yet heard from the Olson family.

“We’ll welcome the opportunity to work with them to find something that would be good for that area and the city,” Baugh said.

Nearby residents had hoped for a complex similar to Bridgeport, filled with popular boutiques such as Mario’s, Chico’s and Crate & Barrel.

“I’m heartbroken, not only for the neighborhood, but also for the Olson family,” said Ross Montgomery, president of the Airport Green Neighborhood Association.

He called developers from Opus and Matrix, “receptive to our concerns. We were actually looking forward to their vision,” Montgomery said.

Still waiting

According to people familiar with the deal, the property sale would have meant an estimated $15 million for the Olson family, heirs of Evergreen Airport founder, the late Wally Olson.

But a number of factors, including the weakening housing market, contributed to the project’s demise, Bartell said.

Bartell said the softening market likely caused Portland-based Matrix to cancel its 221-townhome development. Second quarter home sales are down by 18.8 percent in Clark County.

“That left us with the option of either purchasing the residential property and proceeding, or not,” Bartell said, adding that his company would incur further costs by holding the site.

“We made a business decision not to sign”, he said.

A hard sell

The former airport site wasn’t without development problems, among them, traffic access from the north and south, said Roger Qualman, executive vice president of NAI Norris Beggs & Simpson commercial real estate firm.

“That had become a bit of a hard sell for retailers,” said Qualman, whose firm was marketing the project’s second building phase of 181,500 square feet of office space.

He called the office and hotel uses still viable, though dependent on retailers that finally land on the site.

“All said, it’s still one of the best retail/development sites left in the city,” Qualman said. “I’m sure there will be others who are interested.”

Meanwhile, Opus Northwest told the Seattle-Times on Monday that it plans to begin construction on another office tower in downtown Seattle. The 204,000-square-foot tower will rise nine stories at the southeast corner of Seventh Avenue and Madison Street, across Interstate 5 from the central business district.

http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/07242007news172794.cfm

[CouvScott]

The downtown Carr Auto Group dealership has submitted city planning documents for its new Vancouver Auto Mall site, moving forward with plans to relocate the business there next May.

Oregon-based Carr, which bought Bill Copps Motors in 2005, has applied to build a 28,837-square-foot, two-story dealership building on the northeast corner of Northeast 66th Avenue and Fourth Plain Boulevard.

The dealership's cross-town move will open a key downtown lot for the $160 million Riverwest redevelopment project. Local developer Killian Pacific intends to transform the dealership's 3.75-acre site into a complex with a new public library, condos, offices, shops and a hotel.

[360Rich]

Proposed street closure draws fire

Tuesday, July 31, 2007
BY CAMI JONER, Columbian staff writer

A longtime Vancouver developer envisions a campuslike atmosphere for a two-block redevelopment project that includes the former downtown Denny's restaurant.

But to create that ambience, the Vancouver-based Al Angelo Co. would have to close a section of D Street between Mill Plain Boulevard and 15th Street, a move neighbors argue would block an important link to downtown and Interstate 5.

The Vancouver City Council gets to decide which side has a more compelling argument after the Vancouver City Center Redevelopment Authority Board Monday approved the $17 million development being planned by Angelo. The board also reduced the amount Angelo would pay for the street vacation, from $360,000 to between $180,000 and $240,000.

The former restaurant would be replaced with a five-story office building with parking on a section of D Street. The Al Angelo Co. wants the street closure to accommodate future plans to take land he owns west of the old Denny's and replace the strip retail center with a companion, 90,000-square-foot building.

Neighbors opposed

City officials are comfortable with the street vacation as long as the development creates a campus-like atmosphere, said Gerald Baugh, the city's business development director.

But residents in the Arnada Neighborhood just north of the project say D Street provides a vital connection to Interstate 5 and a pedestrian link to the downtown core.

"I feel like it's within my right as a citizen and representative of more than 450 households to ask why the city is giving away our property," said Seanette Corkill, chairwoman of the Arnada Neighborhood Association.

Without D Street, "we'll have to travel west to find a southern route to take us back east on Mill Plain," because 15th Street is a west-bound street, Corkill said. She added that D Street is an important pedestrian route.

Southbound pedestrians would be faced with the choice of walking around the development or walking through its private parking lot, Corkill said.

"You would feel like you're trespassing," she said.

Larry Wilson, the project's designer from Wilson & Associates Architects in Vancouver, said Angelo's proposal would create "a much more pedestrian friendly development with courtyards, terraces and pedestrian-oriented walkways."

Proven track record

The redevelopment board agreed Monday to give Angelo up to 10 years to reshape the lot west of Denny's with ground-floor retail space, parking on three floors and upper-floor offices.

Baugh said The Al Angelo Co. has a proven track record as a city redevelopment partner. The company built the two-block Heritage Place Condominium project, which borders the north side of Esther Short Park.

That project involved vacating a section of Daniels Street, which became the public plaza, Katheryn Commons, named for the wife of the late Al Angelo, a former Vancouver mayor and founder of the Al Angelo Co.

http://www.columbian.com/business/businessNews/07312007news176106.cfm

[CouvScott]

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e214/couvttocs/millplainsitemap.jpg

[360Rich]

No doubt - what a bunch of whiners.

The pedestrian argument is moot - what's the difference between walking down what is now a one block long public sidewalk, and walking across a one block long private lot. It's not even a heavily walked are now.

[PuyoPiyo]

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e214/couvttocs/millplainsitemap.jpg

Does a 5 story build need whole of that redline area?:sly:

[360Rich]

Oregon developer eyes airport site

Thursday, August 02, 2007
BY CAMI JONER, Columbian staff writer

The developer of shops near Portland International Airport has turned his attention to a former airfield on the Washington side of the river.

Vancouver's former Evergreen Airport could become his company's next lifestyle-oriented retail development, said Fred Bruning, president of Tigard, Ore.-based CenterCal Properties, developer of the IKEA-anchored Cascade Station near PDX. Bruning called Vancouver officials last week after learning that a $215 million development plan had fallen through for the old Evergreen airstrip on East Mill Plain Boulevard. Bruning is intrigued by the site.

"I think it could be a unique mixed-use project with retail and office components. It's hard to say without having talked to the city," he said.

Bruning said his company has not approached the site's owners, the family of the late Wally Olson, the airport's founder and longtime operator. The facility closed in July 2006, earmarked for shops, offices and housing called The Landing at Evergreen.

That project was proposed by Seattle-based Opus Northwest, which announced it was backing out of those plans last week, after losing planned anchor tenants Whole Foods and a major bookstore. Opus Northwest's project housing partner, Matrix Development, also pulled out of an agreement to purchase the western tract of the 60-acre parcel for a 221-townhome development.

Vancouver's business development director, Gerald Baugh, sees CenterCal's interest as a chance to bring already formulated plans forward.

"If they ask for a similar concept, there may not be a lot for us to do," Baugh said.

More homework

After a yearlong process to iron out a development agreement between the city and Opus Northwest, "I would study how it was all put together if I was CenterCal," Baugh said.

On the other hand, he said CenterCal's plans could differ dramatically from the Opus proposal.

"There's a lot of homework to be done in order for them to come up with their vision," Baugh said.

He expected to meet with developers later this month, and said city planners would hold an internal meeting beforehand.

Bruning said Vancouver lacks newer retail projects such as those being developed by CenterCal, a real estate investment firm backed by the wealthy pension plan of the California State Teachers' Retirement System, or CalSTRS. The entity controls more than $171 billion in assets, according to its Web site.

"Our goal is to build a portfolio of shopping centers and mixed-use projects," Bruning said.

In addition to Cascade Station, CenterCal owns Bridgeport Village in Tigard, Ore., home to trendy retailers such as Crate & Barrel, Ann Taylor Loft, Chicos and J Crew. CenterCal co-developed Bridgeport with Opus Northwest.

"We bought Opus' interest out of the project," Bruning said, adding that his company is not likely to partner with Opus to develop the former Evergreen Airport site.

Calls to the Portland and Seattle offices of Opus Northwest were not returned.

CenterCal has recently launched construction on a host of large - 250,000 square feet and larger - Portland-area developments called "lifestyle" retail centers. Development costs range between $215 million and $250 million for upscale centers which include: Nyberg Woods, near the Tigard-area Bridgeport Village, The Rivers at Oregon City, and Gresham Station.

The company is also developing experience-oriented shopping centers in California, Utah, Idaho and Montana, which are developments that are poised to attract trend-setting boutiques like those at Bridgeport, Bruning said.

CenterCal's Web site lists population statistics and a range of income and age data about the areas surrounding each newly proposed development, but when asked, Bruning said very little about the households within the radius of the former Evergreen Airport.

"I wouldn't be looking at it if I didn't see the potential," he said.

Those familiar with the deal between Opus Northwest and the Olson family said the property sale would have been an estimated $15 million.

Bruning said he contacted the city first, rather than the Olsons, to discuss how his company's plans might fit in with previous agreements.

"I didn't want to interfere with anything the city had going on," he said. "If the city feels it's appropriate, we'd be happy to enter into discussions with the family."

Update

Previously: Opus Northwest said last week it was canceling plans to purchase the former Evergreen Airport site for a $215 million retail, office, hotel and housing development.

What's new: An official from Oregon-based developer CenterCal Properties said he sees potential in the site and has contacted the city of Vancouver about pre-arranged development plans.

What's next: If the city agrees with the new development plan, CenterCal could approach the property owners about purchasing the site.

http://www.columbian.com/business/businessNews/08022007news177166.cfm

[CouvScott]

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e214/couvttocs/dstreet.jpg

Monday, August 20, 2007
BY CAMI JONER, Columbian staff writer

The Vancouver City Council will be faced with making a controversial decision tonight on whether to close a downtown section of D Street for a two-block office development.

Proposed by the Al Angelo Co., the vacated street would create parking space and a future courtyard for a $17 million project of multistory office buildings on a two-block site that includes the former Denny's restaurant, wedged between East 15th Street and Mill Plain Boulevard on the west side of Interstate 5.

The council will receive public testimony before considering a development agreement that would allow the street vacation. Residents in the Arnada Neighborhood to the north have already said they don't like the idea of losing D Street as a route to the downtown core. It doesn't appeal to the owner of a business site on the south side, either.

Without D Street, vehicles traveling west on East 15th Street from the freeway will have to continue two blocks west before finding a southern route, said Dave Christensen, owner of the Black Angus restaurant property at East 13th Street, which could lose business if the city makes the change.

"It will make it much harder for people to get there from the freeway," said Christensen, also the owner of Christensen Yachts.

However, Christensen also appears eager to change the use of his site. The city received a proposal this week to remove the existing Black Angus restaurant and construct a three-story office building with 53 parking stalls.

Christensen has organized a group called "Friends of D Street" representing area business and property owners opposed to the project.

The group questions the conclusions found in a traffic study submitted by the Angelo Co., said James Howsley, the group's Vancouver attorney.

"We are in the process of recruiting our own traffic consultant to study the project's potential impact, specifically to the businesses on the south side of Mill Plain," Howsley said.

Long term, the Angelo Co. plans to build a companion building on an adjacent block the company owns to the west of the Denny's site. That site now is home to an older retail complex with businesses that include a FedEx Kinko's.

[360Rich]

Wednesday, August 22, 2007
BY JEFFREY MIZE, Columbian staff writer

Plans to close a section of D Street and build a two-block plaza at the gateway to downtown Vancouver could be back before the city council next month for approval.

The council, after hearing considerable testimony from neighborhood representatives and nearby property owners, decided late Monday night to delay approving a development agreement for 400 Mill Plain Center, proposed for the former Denny's restaurant site between Mill Plain Boulevard and 15th Street just west of Interstate 5.

The Al Angelo Co. wants to build a five-story office building at the Denny's site that would provide 60,000 square feet of office space. The Vancouver company also has long-term plans to build a companion office and retail building of 90,000 square feet west of D Street, which is now home to a FedEx Kinko's and several other small retail businesses.

The first phase of the project, valued at $17 million, would have surface parking for 80 vehicles. The second phase would have ground-floor retail, parking for 350 vehicles on three lower floors and office space on higher floors.

Several council members praised the Angelo Co. for its track record and supported the company's plan to redevelop the Denny's property.

"We can wait another 10 years," Mayor Royce Pollard said, "and we aren't going to get a project as good as this project."

The Angelo Co. proposes to close the stretch of D Street between Mill Plain Boulevard and 15th Street, a plan that has generated concern among nearby residents and property owners who worry about losing a route into downtown and a convenient way for motorists traveling west on 15th Street to reverse direction and head east on Mill Plain.

The Vancouver City Center Redevelopment Authority board of directors, a seven-member group charged with helping guide downtown revitalization, recommended the city charge $240,000 to turn over the one-block stretch of D Street to the project's developers.

However, the redevelopment authority also recommended waiving that payment if the developer builds the second phase of the project within the 10-year life of the development agreement before the city council.

Sept. 10 action

Council members, after hearing public testimony Monday, decided to postpone action until meetings on Sept. 10 or Sept. 24 to allow more time to work and refine some issues, including the possibility that C Street could be converted to two-way traffic.

Councilman Dan Tonkovich said his gut instinct was the council wasn't ready to move forward Monday. He rattled off a list of issues that could require additional refinement, including what the developer will pay for the closure of D Street, the timing for paying that compensation, parking and other transportation issues.

Gerald Baugh, Vancouver's business development manager, said the possibility of converting C Street, now one way northbound, to two-way traffic is one of the issues that city officials will work on in coming weeks.

Providing for two-way traffic would be welcomed by the Arnada neighborhood and could also enhance other downtown projects, including the $160 million Riverwest project south of The Academy that will include a new headquarters library, he said.

"I think everybody wants something that is quality, that is a signature," Baugh said.

The city considers the Angelo project critical because of its location at the entrance to downtown. Because of that significance, the proposed development agreement includes a provision for the city to spend up to $75,000 on landscaping, paving, lighting and other largely aesthetic touches.

http://www.columbian.com/business/businessNews/08222007news186921.cfm

[CouvScott]

Monday, August 27, 2007
BY CAMI JONER, Columbian staff writer

A California firm plans to break ground next spring on a $50 million complex of upscale retail, restaurant, office and residential space in Orchards.

The Village at Old Trolley Square will also be the area's first church-centered European-style village. Planned by San Diego-based Harper Communities, project plans call for several three- and four-story buildings surrounding a central plaza, said Dan George, a principal with Planning Solutions Inc. The Vancouver firm helped design the 13.8-acre complex, planned for the north side of Fourth Plain Road between Northeast 127th and 131st avenues.

He said developers chose the site to be near the growing residential communities of northeast Vancouver, Brush Prairie, Hockinson and Battle Ground.

"It's also designed to be a destination for people from all over the region, including Portland," George said.


No large anchor tenant

Envisioned as a "streetscape" community, plans for The Village at Old Trolley Square call for building-lined streets with ground-floor retail shops and restaurants, George said.

"We're not looking to anchor it with a large grocery or other type of store. It will be smaller to mid-sized specialty shops and possibly cultural markets," George said.

He said Harper Communities could be ready next month to announce some of the project's first tenants, which he expects will move in by late 2008. The project could reach full build-out over the next two or three years, depending on tenant interest.


City Harvest Church

Developer Ron Harper called the project unique to the Clark County-Portland area for its 50,000-square-foot church, planned for the congregation of City Harvest Church, now at 8100 N.W. Ninth Ave. in Vancouver.

As part of the center's more than 350,000 square feet of building space, the church "is a very European concept as a cornerstone of the community," Harper said.

"We want to make this a community and churches can be a great part of that," said Harper, president of Harper Communities.

The San Diego-based developer has been involved in more than $200 million in mixed use projects, many of which tap into the demographic of church-going consumers. Harper Communities' counts the $1 billion San Diego redevelopment project Liberty Station among its largest projects. The company partnered with development firm Corky McMillin and the city of San Diego on the mixed-use development, which includes The Rock, a 3,500-seat nondenominational church.

With sanctuary seating for a congregation of 1,200, the church within the Village at Old Trolley Square could draw after-church patrons to stroll, shop and dine and provide extra parking during peak shopping hours.

"It will also allow for shared parking in what would otherwise be off times," George said.

[360Rich]

Since the Columbian Headquarters building project has been lumped into this thread for RiverWest, I'll post it here.

Building green, saving green
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
BY CAMI JONER, Columbian staff writer

http://www.columbian.com/_images/newsPhotos/newsPic189768_Head.jpg
photo TROY WAYRYNEN/The Columbian

One could say Columbian Publisher Scott Campbell cares about the environment. He also cares about his newspaper company's bottom line.

Luckily, Campbell wasn't forced to choose favorites when it came to constructing The Columbian's new $30 million headquarters building in downtown Vancouver. The six-story structure is being built to Earth-friendly standards that will save dollars and cents over time. It will also be a healthier environment for employees, set to move into the building's first four floors in mid-October.

The 118,000-square-foot building is on track to earn Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. Rated on a point system, Gold is the program's second-highest rating, said Keith Skille, project manager with GBD Architects, the building's Portland-based designer.

"Platinum is the highest. We're shooting for Gold," said Skille, who will submit the building to the council for rating this fall.

Campbell said he was open to the higher green rating from the outset, as long as it was fiscally practical.

"I said, 'I'm willing to spend more if we can recover the cost,' " Campbell said.

That's when Skille introduced a series of design features that offered high-energy savings. Among them:

- An Earth-friendly "ground-source" heating and cooling system that will draw water from an underground aquifer to circulate through the building's mechanical system and return to the earth.

- An "occupancy sensored" lighting system that shuts off by itself with the absence of users.

- Sun shades over south-facing windows to prevent direct sunlight from overheating and taxing the building's cooling system.

- Extra insulation that goes beyond required standards.

- A design that maximizes the use of natural lighting to conserve energy for overhead lighting.

"We estimate the building will use 60 percent less energy than a typical (nongreen) building," Skille said.

It is also built with about 20 percent recycled materials, including steel for framing, wood for cabinetry and carpeting made from reusable fibers.

Tough choices

Campbell said he is pleased with his decision to "go green," despite some tough choices along the way. For example, the heating and cooling system cost about $1 million extra, "but we expect to recoup that in 10 or 12 years," he said.

But he ruled out the higher expense of raised flooring. Recommended for better air circulation, the concept didn't pencil out, Campbell said.

Each decision was based on the company's short-term needs and the building's long-term real estate value.

"We're going to own this building for more than 10 years. It's value is not in being a newspaper building only," Campbell said.

Leasable space

The building's top two floors will be leased out to tenants, initially, said Campbell, who also considered his company's personnel in the LEED-rating process.

The building will earn extra points for interior finishes that emit fewer pollutants; for including showers for bicycle commuters; and for affording natural lighting and views to 90 percent of its occupants.

"I hope it will add to our ability to retain and attract the best and the brightest," said Campbell, who sees a continuing role for his newspaper.

http://www.columbian.com/business/businessNews/08282007news189768.cfm
"We need to be flexible and adaptive," Campbell said. "This building suits our purpose for that."

[360Rich]

http://www.columbian.com/_images/newsPhotos/newsPic189816_66920.jpg

Tuesday, August 28, 2007
By JONATHAN NELSON, Columbian Staff Writer

IQ Credit Union expects to close Wednesday on its $3.2 million purchase of two buildings owned by the city of Vancouver that will become the company's new corporate headquarters.

The design phase of the new offices should take up to three months and construction would start by the end of this year, according to the company.

The credit union is buying the former Citizens Service Center at 1313 Main St. and the Eberle Building at 110 East 13th St. IQ's business lending, business services and the existing downtown branch will eventually be moved to the new location. The credit union has 40,335 members, eight branches and $374.2 million in assets.

http://www.columbian.com/business/businessNews/08282007news189816.cfm

[PuyoPiyo]

^^^Well that's nice to have another new building, but... Downtown Vancouver have too many banks, don't you think?

[CouvScott]

Local planners work with national developers to create a community
BY MEGAN PATRICK VBJ Staff Reporter
August 31st, 2007


Within the next year, Vancouver could see the emergence of a new urban village.

With the help of Vancouver-based Planning Solutions Inc., California developer Harper Communities Inc. is gearing up for the final design phase of The Village at Old Trolley Square, 353,360-square-foot, mixed-use urban village near Sifton.

The 12-building project on 13.86 acres will be a mix of more than 90,000 square feet of retail space, 102,500 square feet of office, as many as 75 condominiums and a 50,000-square-foot church – all built around a central plaza and fountain.

The $50 million project will rise from now-vacant land on the north side of Fourth Plain Road between Northeast 127th and Northeast 131st avenues.

Creating a community

Developers envision a central, pedestrian-focused urban streetscape where residents, shoppers and tenants can mingle, lingering at sidewalk cafes and boutiques that open directly onto the sidewalk.

Planners have designed it to create a community and bring the outside community together, rather than encouraging a strip-mall mentality of driving from destination to destination.

“We’re hoping for more of a series of events – people coming after work for a drink during happy hour, having dinner at a restaurant then maybe seeing some live music in the plaza,” said Dan George, a principal with Planning Solutions. “A place where you park once and can spend an evening or a Saturday afternoon.”

The three- and four-level buildings will have different aesthetics to give the feeling of an older development and avoid feeling like Disneyland – although George said Harper Communities has developed at the theme park in the past.

The corridors between buildings were highly scrutinized to maintain a view of Mt. Hood, and painstaking attention was paid to wind-reducing landscaping and maximization of light, an important detail in soggy Southwest Washington, George said.

“With lighting, we can encourage people to stay and extend their day,” he said.

Meeting market demands

Harper Communities designed the concept and Planning Solutions helped refine the vision through the project’s theme. The layout and design will definitely fit in the Northwest, George said.

Planners employed Eric Hovee, principal of E.D. Hovee & Co., a Vancouver-based economic research and development firm, to further tune the project to local market demands.

The streetscape will be centered on Kerr Road, a planned private street that will cut diagonally across the northern half of the development and connect with the county’s existing road network.

In the past, this road has been a hindrance to development at the site, George said. The developers scored points with the county for integrating it into the project design.

Krys Ochia, a team leader for the county’s Community Development Department, said the county quickly grew to like the project because the developers came to the table with the community’s interests in mind and were willing to work with the county regarding design elements.

Both sides compromised on the privatization of Kerr Road, the presence of arched entryways on both ends of Kerr Road and sidewalk widths.

No development process is smooth, Ochia said, but the developers and county planners were both open, communicated well and worked cohesively.

“We appreciate the ability of the developer to come up with something different and the willingness to exceed the minimums,” he said.

The project itself is not unusual in Southwest Washington, but the level of awareness regarding how it would impact the community and willingness to compromise was different, Ochia added.

Harper Communities is looking to make it a regional project, attracting folks from Battle Ground, Camas, Fishers Landing and Northeast Portland.

“We’re hoping to reach across the mythical divide of the Columbia River,” George said.

Vancouver’s growth during the last few years has come to the attention of most national developers, he said.

“This area accepts this kind of development,” he said.

The developers bought some of the land from WinCo Foods and private landowners. To the west is undeveloped land with higher density to the north, light industrial to the east, commercial development to the south and a lumberyard to the southeast.

George said the hope is for Old Trolley Square to become the nucleus of the area.

Connectivity at the forefront

The development’s sidewalk system and roadways will connect with those of the surrounding area, and will encourage people close by to walk or bike to their destinations.

The final design will incorporate sustainable features, and planners are aiming for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Features such as multi-level buildings that utilize land and energy efficiently and a streetscape design that incorporates a bus stop, numerous benches and bike racks help to reduce the project’s impact on the environment.

Planners also paid close attention to the positioning of 877 onsite parking spaces. George said the parking was uniquely designed so that different uses will use the spaces at different times throughout the day.

This way, less land had to be devoted to parking, he said.

[CouvScott]

2 p.m. PRJ2007-01570/PAC2007-00124 Clark County Title
Applicant: Pioneer Building Company
Description: Remove existing Black Angus Restaurant and construct 30,000-square-foot, three-story office building with 53 parking stalls.
Location: 415 E. 13th Street
Assessed Parcel Size: 39,805 square feet
Zoning Designation: CX
Neighborhood Association: Esther Short
Case Manager: Bryan Monroe (360) 487-7889

[PuyoPiyo]

Wow can't wait to see the final design!

[CouvScott]

Wednesday, September 05, 2007
BY CAMI JONER, Columbian staff writer

Developer Elie Kassab says he will break ground this fall on a $17 million six-floor building overlooking Interstate 5, to be gradually sold off as the first office-condo project in the downtown core.

Called The Luxe, the 52,000-square-foot building, planned at 412 E. 13th St., just west of I-5, will include ground floor retail space for a medical office or bank branch and space for eight office-condo units. That's two units per floor on four floors, said Kassab, president of Prestige Development in Vancouver.

He said the building's top floor would become offices for Prestige Development as well as additional space for his personal residence. Kassab expects site work to begin in October to make room for The Luxe, about one block east of the site of the former Vancouver police station, which Kassab also owns. On that site at 300 E. 13th St., Kassab plans to build a six-story building called Prestige Plaza.

"We won't start on that until after The Luxe opens," in early 2009, Kassab said.

He said he expects to sell 75 percent to 80 percent of the office condos in The Luxe before the building is finished, with units priced from $1.75 million to $2.25 million.

Condo sizes will range from 4,500 square feet to 5,000 square feet.

Popular in larger metropolitan areas, office condos provide businesses with an option to invest in real estate, said Kassab, who has studied similar projects in other markets such as Atlanta and Chicago.

"We've done our homework and believe the markets in Vancouver and Portland are ready for this," he said.

Vancouver-based Eric Fuller and Associates, a commercial real estate firm, will market the space. The company has not yet confirmed any buyers. There is some speculation that the Bank of Clark County would occupy space, a rumor denied Tuesday by Kassab and Mike Worthy, the bank's executive officer.

Planned for a sector that is just outside of downtown Vancouver's core redevelopment area, The Luxe and Prestige Plaza top a list of projects that will bring new capital investment to an area south of Mill Plain Boulevard and east of Broadway.

Projects include:

- A proposal to remove the existing Black Angus restaurant on the south side of East 13th and construct a three-story office building with 53 parking stalls.

- A plan to build a campus of two office towers straddling D Street between East 15th Street and East Mill Plain Boulevard.

- And iQ Credit Union's plans to redevelop, as a headquarters, the former Citizens Service Center at 1313 Main St.

The projects are near the important exits into downtown from Interstate 5.

"This is the gateway to the city," said Kassab, who expects his project and others to bring change to a landscape that has seen few modifications since the 1970s.

"It's definitely going to change the whole corner," Kassab said.



Update


Previously: Vancouver developer Elie Kassab announced plans to redevelop the two-story former city police headquarters at 300 E. 13th Street.

What's new: Kassab submitted plans this week for another project, a six-story office-retail building at 412 E. 13th.

What's next: The latest project calls for four stories of office-condominiums in The Luxe, a Class A building with ground-floor retail space. Site work is to begin in October.

[PuyoPiyo]

Visions of a New Mall

Saturday, September 15, 2007

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/Ufozacky2k/newsPic197785_70740.jpg

Westfield Group, the world's largest retail property holder, unveiled plans Friday for a multimillion dollar expansion and renovation of its Vancouver mall. The company will demolish the existing Mervyn's building and rebuild that space as part of a new lifestyle inspired component on the mall's south side. The added stores would be built to give an urban feel to the 833,000 square-foot center. Other additions could include two restaurants that would serve as an entrance on the mall's west side and a new cinema near the former Mervyn's site. Westfield officials hope to start work in fall 2008.

http://www.thecolumbian.com/

[CouvScott]

Tuesday, September 25, 2007
BY CAMI JONER, Columbian staff writer

A project to replace the old Denny's restaurant with a $57 million office complex was given the green light Monday by the Vancouver City Council.

"We have a developer stepping up to build a very significant project," said Councilman Larry Smith, despite nearby property owners' concerns about closing a one-block section of D Street. The two-block project is being developed by The Al Angelo Co.

"The crews are ready" to demolish the long-vacant Denny's, said Al "Corky" Angelo Jr., after the seven-member council gave a unanimous nod to the project. The new building is seen as a key to redevelopment near the Interstate 5 entrance downtown.

"That's really the focus" of the agreement, said Pat McDonnell, city manager. "The replacement value of (the Denny's) with something of higher value."

In addition to providing a cosmetic benefit, the city stands to gain financially, too, according to a staff report prepared for the council.

The first 56,000-square-foot phase of the project would generate an estimated $800,000 in fiscal benefits to the city, according to the report. At full build-out, the benefit would be more than $2 million. The analysis includes property taxes to be paid by the Angelo Co. and also increased property taxes from nearby development, which would rise in value.

The biggest controversy over the project concerned the vacation of one block of D Street, between Mill Plain Boulevard and 15th Street.

Neighbors had complained the closure of the one-block street, which is necessary to build the campus of buildings envisioned, would cause hardship for southbound motorists. They were later appeased by a promise that the city will reopen C Street to two-way traffic.

Other nearby property owners, who may want to redevelop their properties in the future, were also concerned about access to their land.

The deal approved Monday calls for Vancouver-based Angelo Co. to pay $240,000 to the city in exchange for the street vacation.

The city plans to use the money to reconfigure C Street for two-way traffic, which should accommodate southbound traffic now on D Street, said Thayer Rorabaugh, city transportation manager. An attorney representing nearby property owners disagreed, calling the C Street conversion "inconclusive."

"We're just not there yet," said Steve Horenstein, the Vancouver attorney of "Friends of D Street," a group of property owners with parcels south of Mill Plain and east of C Street.

The group includes Christensen Yacht founder and owner Dave Christensen, owner of the Black Angus restaurant property.

Angelo's 400 Mill Plain Center project will be built in two phases. The first phase, $17 million, will be on the old Denny's site. Work on the five-story office building could start next spring, Angelo said.

The second phase, a $40 million, six-story office project, will begin construction within five years, according to the development agreement. It will occupy a block now home to a FedEx Kinko's and other businesses.

[360Rich]

Here's a bigger picture of the building (from the Wilson Architects site)

http://www.wilsonarchitects.us/images/angelo-d-st-persp-8-1-07.jpg

[tefen]

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e214/couvttocs/millplainsitemap.jpg

I'm sure you've found that it's actually two planned buildings. The first to be on just the Denny's property. But also, the pointy end of the triangle is owned by WSDOT I believe. It's mostly for decoration, has a nice "Welcome to Vancouver" sign and some flags. I think that's to remain intact.




Sorry, this was meant to be in reply to PuyoPiyo.

[PuyoPiyo]

I'm sure you've found that it's actually two planned buildings. The first to be on just the Denny's property. But also, the pointy end of the triangle is owned by WSDOT I believe. It's mostly for decoration, has a nice "Welcome to Vancouver" sign and some flags. I think that's to remain intact.




Sorry, this was meant to be in reply to PuyoPiyo.

Ahh dont' worry about it :) Everything makes sense, two buildings. That's why the red line seems too large. Yeah I agree with you, the edge of triangle is part of WSDOT for the warm Welcome to Vancouver sign. I am sure it will look alot better with the building behind that sign.

[PuyoPiyo]

Today I went some of trip in downtown Vancouver and captured this, Dennys Resturant look like it was complete wore out!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/Ufozacky2k/Animation15.gif

[PuyoPiyo]

http://www.columbian.com/_images/newsPhotos/newsPic189816_66920.jpg

Tuesday, August 28, 2007
By JONATHAN NELSON, Columbian Staff Writer

IQ Credit Union expects to close Wednesday on its $3.2 million purchase of two buildings owned by the city of Vancouver that will become the company's new corporate headquarters.

The design phase of the new offices should take up to three months and construction would start by the end of this year, according to the company.

The credit union is buying the former Citizens Service Center at 1313 Main St. and the Eberle Building at 110 East 13th St. IQ's business lending, business services and the existing downtown branch will eventually be moved to the new location. The credit union has 40,335 members, eight branches and $374.2 million in assets.

http://www.columbian.com/business/businessNews/08282007news189816.cfm

During my little trip around downtown Vancouver, I captured this and this must be where IQ is planning its development.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/Ufozacky2k/Animation13-1.gif

Also The Columbian's new building is close to its own completion.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/Ufozacky2k/Animation2-2.gif

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/Ufozacky2k/Animation3.gif

[PuyoPiyo]

Eatery may be replaced

Thursday, October 04, 2007
BY CAMI JONER, Columbian staff writer

A new office building for Clark County Title Co. could soon replace the downtown Black Angus, though it is not clear whether the steakhouse will reopen in another Vancouver location.

The Los Altos, Calif.-based restaurant chain's lease on its East 13th Street site doesn't end for approximately two years, said Dave Christensen, the property's owner. In the meantime, leaders of Clark County Title Co. are proposing to redevelop the three-block site with a three-story office building. The project's preliminary design was reviewed last week by the city's Design Review Committee.

"We have an option to buy the property," said Joe Schreiner, president of Clark County Title Co.

The 30,000-square-foot building would be developed by Pioneer Building Co. LLC, a real estate business operated by Schreiner and his family. The Schreiners are the majority investors in Clark County Title Co. and 13 other title companies in Washington and Oregon, including Vancouver-based Cascade Title Co.

Schreiner said plans to redevelop the Black Angus site "are preliminary, at this point. The application is to see what we're allowed to do."

In March, Randy Panek, Black Angus vice president of development, said his company was searching for a new Clark County location. Phone calls to Panek this week were not returned.

Employees of the downtown Black Angus have said the company will occupy a stand-alone restaurant in the $28 million Hazel Dell Square retail project off Interstate 5 and Northeast 78th Street.

Christensen built the East 13th Street restaurant building in 1974 for a chain launched by Washington rancher Stuart Anderson, who opened the first Black Angus Steakhouse in Seattle in 1964. The chain is now owned by American Restaurant Group Inc., which recently dropped the prefix Stuart Anderson from its brand. The chain operates in 10 states throughout the West and Midwest.

Update

Previously: In March, an official from the Black Angus restaurant chain said the company was looking for a new Vancouver location.

What's new: The city is reviewing a proposal to replace the downtown restaurant with an office project.

What's next: Black Angus has about two years remaining on its contract to lease the downtown site.

Cami Joner covers real estate for The Columbian. She can be reached at 360-759-8018 or via e-mail at cami.joner@columbian.com

[360Rich]

Thanks for the pictures PuyoPiyo.

I'm very pleased with the way the Columbian building turned out. I think it's the most handsome building in downtown Vancouver, and props to them for making it green.

[Mike K.]

Please continue these discussions at SSP:Local Portland's "Portland Suburbs in Washington State (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/forumdisplay.php?f=194)" sub-forum.

Each project should have its own dedicated thread.

[360Rich]

Office building planned for last open real estate on Vancouver waterfront

Posted by The Oregonian October 04, 2007 18:21PM

The Kaiser Shipyards and surrounding industry once defined Vancouver's waterfront.

That changed in the mid-1990s. Developers built townhouses, condominiums, an office building, a hotel and restaurants. The area between the former World War II-era shipyards and the Interstate Bridge hasn't been the same since.

Today, one of the developers, C.E. John Co. Inc., announced plans for the last piece of open riverfront land: a 22,540-square-foot office condominium called Two-Thousand-One. The two-story building will nestle between Beaches Restaurant on the west and the Meriwether Condominiums on the east.

C.E. John built and owns the building containing Beaches, the McMenamins next-door and a nearby office building. The company also built and sold the Meriwether Condominiums.

The opening of Beaches and McMenamins altered Vancouver's attitude toward the Columbia River, said Gerald Baugh, the city's manager of business development.

Along with the city's construction of an oversized sidewalk next to the river, called the Renaissance Trail, "that really set the tone for doing something positive on the waterfront," Baugh said.

The office building will include four spaces, each with about 5,000 square feet, that will be sold for "in excess of" $550 a square foot, or more than $2.75 million each, said David Arredondo, vice president of development for C.E. John. He said one of the units has been presold.

Arredondo said the entire project is valued at $5 million, excluding land value.

Construction is expected to start later this month and take about a year.

http://blog.oregonlive.com/breakingnews/2007/10/office_building_planned_for_va.html

[mcbaby]

wow. i used to go to that denny's. i wont miss it at all.

[PuyoPiyo]

wow. i used to go to that denny's. i wont miss it at all.

Yeah I agree, I can't believe they would shut down that resturant. Oh well time goes by..

[PuyoPiyo]

Isn't that yellow grass area is it?

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&safe=off&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=ce+john+co+inc&near=Vancouver,+WA&fb=1&cid=0,0,12688296929620047424&sa=X&oi=local_result&resnum=1&ct=image

[PuyoPiyo]

I drew this map to know the proposed sites are located at, but I am not sure if I was correct on this, here it is.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/Ufozacky2k/DowntownConstructionStatsMap.gif

Please correct me or even this map if you find any mistakes. Also if you know any more of the project proposed, let me know so that I can add to this map.

[PuyoPiyo]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/Ufozacky2k/17THandD.jpg

I've heard that it should be already underconstruction last summer, but I am not sure if it is underconstruction right now.

(I copied from other member's post from other thread to make the building to have its own thread, hope you don't mind! :cheers: )

[PuyoPiyo]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/Ufozacky2k/NEView.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/Ufozacky2k/NWView.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/Ufozacky2k/SWView.jpg

http://www.prestigedev.com/PrestigePlaza/PrestigePlaza.htm

Council to consider sale of old police building

Friday, April 20, 2007
BY JEFFREY MIZE Columbian staff writer

Developer wants to buy it, replace it with office, residential plaza

A six-story building could rise where the Vancouver Police Department once had its headquarters and city jail.

Elie Kassab, president and chief executive officer of Prestige Development, wants to buy the property at 300 E. 13th St., demolish the old police station and build Prestige Plaza. The project would have five floors of office space, each with 20,000 square feet, five condominiums on the top floor and 149 underground parking spaces.

The city council will be asked to approve an agreement Monday night to sell the property for $200,000.

In November, PGP Valuation Inc. appraised the property at $170,000. If the city cleared the site and removed hazardous materials, such as asbestos tiles and lead-based paint, the property would be worth $600,000, the appraiser concluded.

However, a city report says demolition would cost $520,000 to $830,000 and possibly more, depending on what was found during site clearing.

“It is a terrible building,” said Steve Burdick, the city’s economic development manager. “It has no windows. It’s all chopped up, and it has an old jail in the basement.”

The half-block Kassab wants to buy from the city is located on the same block as the iconic Burgerville on the south side of Mill Plain Boulevard, near the entrance into downtown.


Kassab said he still might purchase the Burgerville site, but he intends to build Prestige Plaza even if Burgerville remains.

“I love their burgers, but they don’t have any (indoor) seating and they don’t have a drive-through, so that facility is a little dated,” he said.

Last fall, Kassab paid $150,000 for one-eighth of the block, the southeast corner of Mill Plain and C Street, where Burgerville currently offers outdoor seating.

Kassab said he intends to move his company’s offices to Prestige Plaza. He said he is talking to three banks, which he declined to name, that could occupy the building’s bottom floor.
One of the banks, he said, is interested in two floors.

“I believe there is a demand,” he said. “We have fairly strong interest in over 50 percent of the project.”

Kassab also doesn’t expect to have trouble finding buyers for the condos.

“I am going to be living in one of them,” he said. “I can actually sell them all myself because they are going to have very good-sized decks, and they are going to have very nice amenities. … They are going to be priced reasonably, and they are going to be tailored to the lifestyle of urban living where people are going to be able to entertain.”

Kassab would like to begin construction in April 2008, which coincides with the deadline for the city to vacate the old police station, provided the council approves the sale Monday night.

Several years ago, the police department moved its administrative headquarters to the former Washington State Patrol building at the west end of Officers Row and dispersed other operations to its central and east precincts.

In recent years, the police department has used the 13th Street building for evidence storage. The city last month submitted plans to build a 14,600-square-foot evidence center, with 16,000 square feet of secured outdoor storage, at 2325 W. Mill Plain Blvd.

Burdick said the city is under no legal responsibility to put the former police headquarters on the market.

The city sought formal proposals for a portion of the old Lucky Lager Brewery site, along the north side of Esther Short Park, before selling the cleared property to the Al Angelo Co., which built the Heritage Place condominiums.

For the portion of the brewery property along the east side of Esther Short Park, the city negotiated a sale with Otak Inc., which built Vancouvercenter on the property.

Vancouver is using a broker to sell the Citizens Service Center, which the city is vacating because of seismic weaknesses that would require expensive upgrades.

“We can sell property however we think the net benefit to the city is the greatest,” Burdick said.

Jeffrey Mize covers Vancouver city government. He can be reached at 360-759-8006 or by e-mail at jeff.mize@columbian.com.

http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/04202007news129645.cfm

(I copied from other member's post from other thread to make the building to have its own thread, hope you don't mind! :cheers: )

[PuyoPiyo]

11-story condominium building proposed for downtown Vancouver
Posted by The Oregonian April 25, 2007 17:58PM
Categories: Clark County

VANCOUVER -- An 11-story condominium would be built over an existing four-story parking structure downtown under plans submitted to the city.

The 123- to 126-unit structure would be built at 703 Broadway St.

703 Broadway Condos, as the project is named, would include studio spaces, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units.

A three-story office building already sits atop the fourth level of the parking garage. The new condominiums would be added on the eastern half of the upper parking deck, according to the plans.

The ground level would include a lobby that would serve the residential building and the parking garage. The fourth level of the proposed new structure would include new meeting rooms, a lounge area, an exercise room, a swimming pool, private patios and storage.

Neither the owner, 703 Broadway Vancouver LLC, with mailing addresses in Vancouver and Hermosa Beach, Calif., nor project architect, Myhre Group Architects of Portland, could be reached Wednesday evening.

A conference with city officials to discuss the project has been scheduled for May 17.

Allan Brettman: allanbrettman@news.oregonian.com

(I copied from other member's post from other thread to make the building to have its own thread, hope you don't mind! :cheers: )

[Dougall5505]

wow nice job

[CouvScott]

Office-condos to adorn riverfront
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e214/couvttocs/cejohn.jpg
Saturday, October 06, 2007
BY CAMI JONER, Columbian staff writer

Vancouver's C.E. John Co. has announced plans to build a $5 million office-condominium project on a prime waterfront property upriver from Beaches Restaurant & Bar.

It looks like construction on the two-story project will start later this month, despite earlier proposals that have fallen through.

C.E. John, a private real estate investment and development company, had originally pegged the Columbia River site for a five-story project with underground parking, a design that drew some negative feedback from neighbors.

"The smaller building has a much more complementary feel for nearby businesses, residents and restaurant guests," said David Arredondo, vice president of development.

Called Two-Thousand-One for its address between Beaches and the Meriwether Condominiums, the 22,540-square-foot building will include four 5,000-square-foot office-condo spaces priced at approximately $2.75 million each. Arredondo said one condo space has been sold.

"They all have views of the river," Arredondo said, an amenity he expects will attract "businesses that have a certain threshold for image."

Priced at more than $550 per square foot, the office condos are more than double the price of similar space in suburban areas of Vancouver, said Byron Roselli, a vice president with Eric Fuller & Associates real estate firm in Vancouver.

"It (the waterfront site) will obviously be a very strong image location," Roselli said.

The C.E. John Co.'s affiliated construction company, James E. John Construction Co., will be general contractor for the project, designed by Gary Rommel of Rommel Architectural Partnership in Portland. C.E. John plans to use green-building LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards) construction practices on the project.

[Snowden352]

Along which street(s) is the proposed MAX line going to travel? I'm wondering whether developments might take off along there, and pick-up as time progresses. Also, what is the general height limit in downtown Vancouver? I've read some things but am uncertain as to where it stands (or lays or sits or hovers or whatever). Lastly, is there any possibility of downtown Vancouver expanding further north? I'm curious! Demanding minds demand to know!

[CouvScott]

Please correct me or even this map if you find any mistakes. Also if you know any more of the project proposed, let me know so that I can add to this map.

Great map. Using your map, I put in a couple of other projects that I could think of...
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e214/couvttocs/downtownupdate.jpg

[CouvScott]

Along which street(s) is the proposed MAX line going to travel? I'm wondering whether developments might take off along there, and pick-up as time progresses. Also, what is the general height limit in downtown Vancouver? I've read some things but am uncertain as to where it stands (or lays or sits or hovers or whatever). Lastly, is there any possibility of downtown Vancouver expanding further north? I'm curious! Demanding minds demand to know!

I believe the last we heard for MAX is that it would travel up Main and then return South along Washington.

The general height limit is 250' towards the top of the hill (around 12th st). As you go South the height limit is limited by the FAA in conjunction with Pearson Air Park.

As far as your last question, I think upper main area would be a great place for mid-rise condos above retail. There has only been one such project so far, up near Fourth Plain and Main.

[PuyoPiyo]

wow nice job

Thanks :)

Great map. Using your map, I put in a couple of other projects that I could think of...
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e214/couvttocs/downtownupdate.jpg

Ohh wonderful! Thank you :) I am sure this map can help us to remember which building is planned on.

[360Rich]

Along which street(s) is the proposed MAX line going to travel? I'm wondering whether developments might take off along there, and pick-up as time progresses. Also, what is the general height limit in downtown Vancouver? I've read some things but am uncertain as to where it stands (or lays or sits or hovers or whatever). Lastly, is there any possibility of downtown Vancouver expanding further north? I'm curious! Demanding minds demand to know!

Here's the latest from the Columbian as of 10/9/07:

The project's mass transit component won't be built on a Washington Street/Main Street couplet or on a Washington Street/Columbia Street couplet. A Washington Street/Broadway couplet south of McLoughlin Boulevard will be considered for downtown Vancouver, although another route along the east side of Interstate 5 is still under consideration.

http://columbian.com/news/localNews/2007/10/10092007_Upstream-option-for-new-bridge-axed.cfm

[Dougall5505]

can anyone confirm construction?

[Dougall5505]

any new pics couvscott? its completed right?

[CouvScott]

any new pics couvscott? its completed right?
It is complete. I will have to take some pics next time I drive by it. Here is one from their website...
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e214/couvttocs/swmctower.jpg

[PuyoPiyo]

The Luxe

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/Ufozacky2k/Luxe20South20ElevationALT4.jpg

More pictures in the link.

http://www.prestigedev.com/TheLuxe.html

The Luxe Building located at 412 East 13th Street
Vancouver, Washington is scheduled for construction in Fall of 2007.

As far as it haven't start the construction yet so I just leave it as "approved".

[Snowden352]

Sort of a faux Victorian... hotel?

[CouvScott]

Nice find PuyoPiyo.

A faux victorian hotel look... except it is an office/retail/residential building.

It definitely looks better than that suburban office park building he is going to build one block to the West.

[PuyoPiyo]

Sort of a faux Victorian... hotel?

Nice find PuyoPiyo.

A faux victorian hotel look... except it is an office/retail/residential building.

It definitely looks better than that suburban office park building he is going to build one block to the West.

lol I didn't know what the "Faux Victorian Hotel" look like..

And thanks, Couvscott :) Yeah I agree with you, this look alot better than the other one across the block.

[PuyoPiyo]

Here's the latest news from the CVTV about the Riverwest Project (Click on the first one, at the dated 10-15-07)

http://www.cityofvancouver.us/cvtv/cvtvindex.asp?searchterms=Riverwest&radioset=archives

I can't understand the video due to my deafness though, but I notice there's a word "Approval", isn't it approved? What does the latest video about Riverwest Project in CVTV actually was talking about?

[PuyoPiyo]

can anyone confirm construction?

I found a nice PDF for the Arnada Commons, here the link is.

http://www.portlandcre.com/pdf/ArnadaCommons.pdf

According to my link, it was already obtained the approval by the City.

Completed site approval was obtained from the City in June and the project is ready to proceed with construction documents.

That quote was from the first paragraph from the PDF link.

[BrG]

A planned, remaining land transaction had not taken place at the time of the original development agreement's signing and endorsement between the City of Vancouver and Killian Pacific.

That land transaction was completed, and the reference to that purchased parcel (including the Kiggins House) was subsequently added officially (after a city council vote of approval documented in the video) in the updated development agreement. City Council voted unanimously to include the revision.

It has always been the intent to preserve the The Kiggins House (on the National Register of Historic Places). It will be relocated in it's entirety, to a site approved by the City of Vancouver.

All in all a formality, as nothing has changed in the intended scope of the development. Hope this helps.

[PuyoPiyo]

^^^Thanks for the summary :)

[PuyoPiyo]

I went to downtown a few days ago and just noticed that Vancouvercenter's last project area are fenced with construction company sign on. I guess it's ready for construction but not sure when it will start.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/Ufozacky2k/vancouvercenterwsign.gif

Also I finally found what exactly that building will look like, that building look like "Mini Vancouvercenter North Tower".

Look at the that building next to taller one, not that one behind the taller one.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/Ufozacky2k/V_center_pic.jpg

...from this Farmer's Market website: http://www.vancouverfarmersmarket.com/location.htm

[360Rich]

I had heard the fourth building at Vancouvercenter was being put on hold.

Nothing official, just water cooler talk since the apartment to condo conversion is rumored to have been going slowly, and they're still looking for retail tenants in the other towers.

[65MAX]

That's true, the fourth building IS on hold indefinitely, till the market picks up again.

[PuyoPiyo]

I had heard the fourth building at Vancouvercenter was being put on hold.

Nothing official, just water cooler talk since the apartment to condo conversion is rumored to have been going slowly, and they're still looking for retail tenants in the other towers.

That's true, the fourth building IS on hold indefinitely, till the market picks up again.

Ahh I see. That is too bad. Curious can you link the information that the last building is on hold so that I can add to the building request?

[PuyoPiyo]

I am not sure if any of you guys heard about this project, the Riverwalk in Camas-Washougal, but actually in Washougal. This is really big project at about 300-400 million dollars, doubling Camas-Washougal population by 2025.

RiverWalk, a bright future that respects our past
RiverWalk is an extraordinary opportunity to celebrate our community. Combining an ideal location, economic opportunity, and a sound vision, RiverWalk will be a landmark on the Columbia River.

Uses for all
The development will likely feature a mix of uses: retail, office space, hotel, residential, park, harbor, and boat storage. Special emphasis is being placed on creating an "18-hour neighborhood" accessible by land or water.

Asset for the community
With the ideas and vision of the community, we can transform this area to create one of the West Coast's premier mixed-use waterfront developments that preserves the unique history of our region and improves access for all - whether for work or for play.

The Camas-Washougal area currently offers a limited selection of shopping (particularly apparel, general merchandise, and destination retail). This means money that could be spent in our local community is spent elsewhere.

Funds kept in our community help with local improvements, such as parks, schools, recreation areas and other local needs. The population within a five-mile area of the site is projected to grow to nearly 75,000 residents by 2025 -- double our current population.

RiverWalk could help keep sales dollars in our community and would draw new money that is currently spent elsewhere in Clark County and across the river in Oregon.

Gateway to the Columbia River Gorge
Located between SR 14 and the Columbia River, RiverWalk could welcome local residents and visitors alike as a community gateway to the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.

RiverWalk would generate revenue from retail sales, sales and property taxes, and wages paid to newly created jobs. Tax revenues could help fund community and infrastructure upgrades.

RiverWalk is a public-private partnership - a collaboration between the community, the Port of Camas-Washougal and RiverWalk LLC. It would be built on Port land with private investment, with no public funding of the final development, thereby fulfilling the needs of our community as well as attracting visitors as a distinctive destination.

http://www.columbiariverwalk.com/project.html

You can find the map projects and exactly where the project will be at this link.

http://www.columbiariverwalk.com/maps.html

And their lastest news. It's kinda of bad news.

RiverWalk project at a standstill

Wednesday, November 07, 2007
BY CAMI JONER, Columbian staff writer

The Port of Camas-Washougal is backing away from a proposed $350 million project to develop 65 acres on the Columbia River waterfront.

The project has been on the front burner for two years, but the original agreement expired this month for RiverWalk, a mixed-use project proposed for property owned by the port as well as several private land holders.

Alan Hargrave, president of the port's three-member commission, said talks on a new agreement are at a standstill because the port wants to scale back the size of the project.

A previous agreement called for both parties to study and create a master plan for a 65-acre site that included nearly 50 acres of port-owned property. Now the port is only offering a 14.7-acre parcel on the east side of its holdings to backers of RiverWalk on the Columbia LLC, a husband-and-wife group that includes Rick Bowler and Marilee Thompson, owners of One Pacific Corp.; Mark and Mary Benson of Camas; and John and Nancy McKibbin of Vancouver.

The site's size was scaled down "because property acquisitions didn't happen," Hargrave said. Neither did plans to relocate the boat launch to the eastern end of the site.

RiverWalk backers rejected the idea of the smaller project and want to move forward with the original agreement, said John McKibbin, project spokesman.

"We've exercised our right to enter into the long-term ground lease" for the entire portion of land owned by the port, McKibbin said.

"That doesn't include properties not owned by the port. They're not available," he said.

Envisioned as an upscale mix of shops, restaurants, a hotel, offices, condominiums and public boating and walking facilities, RiverWalk has drawn a wide range of public comment and criticism over the past two years.

"The RiverWalk plan is not bad. We've talked for nine months about making it beautiful," said Roberta Tidland, a local historian and one of 12 citizens on the port-appointed Waterfront Advisory Committee, convened to study the project.

"But it's just talk," Tidland said. "The port commission will have the final say."

If commissioners and the developers do reach an accord, the new agreement would be up for public review, said Shawn MacPherson, an attorney for the port.

"We've indicated this would be available to the public," he said.

Port attorneys from Knapp O'Dell & MacPherson have spent the past month trying to get agreement for the smaller project with William J. Eling, an attorney for RiverWalk on the Columbia LLC.

"We could not reach an agreement on some of the points," said Byron Hanke, the port's interim executive director.

A port-issued press release on Monday said RiverWalk developers did not live up to the terms of the original agreement and failed to:

- Develop a master development agreement between the city of Washougal, the port and developers.

- Negotiate a long-term ground lease for the proposed overall project.

- Establish a Community Renewal Area, in compliance with the city's land ordinances.

MacPherson said he expects RiverWalk will react to those claims this week.

"We're still waiting to hear from RiverWalk," he said.

[PuyoPiyo]

Yesterday morning, I went around downtown to take the pictures, and just found this area right next to The Columbian. They seems are constructing something, I wonder if that one is the The Columbian Apartments?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/Ufozacky2k/nov72007008.jpg