[sirsimon]

Wow, three cranes in one pic. I guess the Pearl isn't slowing down anytime soon. :)

[pdxstreetcar]

Anyone been to the Bridge Diner under the Broadway Bridge?

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/153/395778101_77d1792f65_o.jpg

;)

[pdxstreetcar]

The Wyatt

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/164/395826080_8fff844392_o.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/147/395826083_ab8d34d8d1_o.jpg

[zilfondel]

Probably one of the last brick mid-rises to be built in Portland.

[zilfondel]

Anyone been to the Bridge Diner under the Broadway Bridge?

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/153/395778101_77d1792f65_o.jpg

;)

How cute! Is that an old streetcar or something...? Kind of looks like one of those 1940's era roadside diners.

[thewack]

Out of curiousity, is this building going to be LEED certified? Based on the renderings, I don't see a Green roof. It might look really cool to have plants up there aside from the area between the towers.

[NJD]

Probably one of the last brick mid-rises to be built in Portland.

knowing portland's love for brick... i doubt it.

The Wyatt is supposed to have a roof terrace, whether or not it's a functional greenroof or not I do not know...

[pdxstreetcar]

Probably one of the last brick mid-rises to be built in Portland.

what about 937?

[pdxstreetcar]

its for the movie being filmed

[zilfondel]

what about 937?

terra cotta tiling, isn't it?

Perhaps I should have been more specific: taller buildings, not the squatty 3-5 story ones. All the taller buildings seem to be headed towards metal and glass only. Just my prediction. :cool:

[mcbaby]

what's on the menu?

[Dougall5505]

what movie?
btw thanks for the tour of the pearl today pdxstreetcar! i hope you don't mind if i post some of your pics in the highrise construction forum

[PacificNW]

Isn't Diane Lane in Portland doing a movie?

[Dougall5505]

it looks like the lovejoy could be brick also
http://www.thelovejoy.net/images/design_residential_13.jpghttp://www.thelovejoy.net/images/design_residential_14.jpg

[pdxstreetcar]

what movie?
btw thanks for the tour of the pearl today pdxstreetcar! i hope you don't mind if i post some of your pics in the highrise construction forum

Sure, please do.

Isn't Diane Lane in Portland doing a movie?

Yeah its a Diane Lane movie, I forget what the name of it is, its something like 'Unstopable.' Also theres something about explosions and fireworks as part of the filming, the Broadway Bridge was closed I think on Sunday.


what's on the menu?
Home-style Cooking and Steaks, Chops and Seafood. At least thats what it says on the exterior :D.

This could be an interesting location for a food place like this.

How cute! Is that an old streetcar or something...? Kind of looks like one of those 1940's era roadside diners.
I didnt walk right up to it but my guess is its probably empty inside, built in a stage shop and just plopped down off a truck. Not sure if its still there but it might be worth checking out.

[pdxstreetcar]

I think 937 is white brick.

BTW the website is up for the project...
http://www.937condominiums.com/

[MOPIdaho]

Movie title Untraceable

[WonderlandPark]

Figured this would come up, I am working on Untraceable.

The diner is indeed just a shell, and quite small inside. It is for a scene involving a guy jumping off the bridge onto a car below. The diner will sit there for a few weeks, with security, until they use it for a night scene.

Diane Lane is the biggest name in this. There is already an IMDB page up with the other names in this, the guy from Running with Scissors is also in this, forgot the name.

Most of the movie is being shot on a soundstage in a warehouse, where the diner was built before being trucked to the Bway bridge site.

A few other scenes are using real locations, in Irvington, NW, SE, Oaks Park, & various streets.

[Leo]

knowing portland's love for brick... i doubt it.

The Wyatt is supposed to have a roof terrace, whether or not it's a functional greenroof or not I do not know...

I think the roof terrace is more like an elevated couryard (like Streetcar lofts). There is no proper roof terrace on the roof of the tower.

[brandonpdx]

^The currently U/C Westerly is Brick. The recently completed Pinnacle is brick. No way this is the last brick building of its size. They'll be building brick buildings taller than this 100 years from now and beyond!

[MarkDaMan]

City still waits on plans for Centennial Mill site
Daily Journal of Commerce
by Kennedy Smith
02/22/2007

It was more than a year ago that Portland's City Council voted unanimously to halt any demolition plans for the Centennial Mill site and start anew. At the time, the fate of the 100-year-old former grain mill along the Willamette River between the Fremont and Broadway bridges was in limbo. Some said tear it down. Some wanted to relocate the Portland Saturday Market to the site. Some wanted to turn it into a maritime museum.

Seventeen months later, the Portland Development Commission is ready to put Centennial Mill – within the PDC's River District urban renewal area – back in the spotlight, this time nationally.

Steven Shain, a project manager at the PDC in charge of the River District urban renewal area, said Tuesday that the agency has new plans for the site that include issuing a request for qualifications across the country to turn the dilapidated site into a landmark.

In January, the PDC board of commissioners approved a new plan for Centennial Mill that calls for redevelopment guided by five main principles: providing open space, capturing the site's history, defining a community focal point, strengthening connections to the rest of the city and embracing sustainability.

The PDC plans to issue a request for qualifications March 15 to "thousands" of candidates across the country, Shain said.

"We may get 50 to 75 responses after sending those," he said.

The PDC will then form an internal selection team to narrow the candidates down to seven teams "hopefully by spring," Shain said. "We'll be grilling them on how they will start solving the problems and economic realities of a redevelopment project like this."

From there, the PDC will involve stakeholders and possibly put together a citizen advisory group to narrow the candidates to three teams. Once the three are chosen, PDC will give each a $40,000 stipend to come up with a development proposal.

Shain said an estimated cost for redevelopment has not yet been determined.

Precedent set

In its search for the right developer, PDC will reach beyond local developers and begin a nationwide recruitment campaign for companies that have done this sort of work before, Shain said. "We've looked at developments that have set precedent," he said.

Project managers with the PDC have studied several sites around the country as examples of how Centennial Mill could be redeveloped, namely the $3.63 million Gas Works Park in Seattle, a 19-acre public park at the site of the former Seattle Gas Light Co. along the north shore of Lake Union; the $31.4 million Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams, located on the site of the former Sprague Electric Works factory; and the $65 million Ferry Building in San Francisco, an 1898-built ferry terminal that was converted into an upscale marketplace in 2004.

"We want somebody that has the capacity and has done a project like this in the past," Shain said.

Unanswered questions

Tiffany Sweitzer of Hoyt Street Properties – which is building the Encore, a 16-story condominium tower adjacent to Centennial Mill along with another tower on what's known as Block 17 – said that, regardless of what happens, the site "needs to be something amazing, something outside the box."

"The city should seek somebody out who can bring a new idea to that property," Sweitzer said. "We've had local developers looking at it, but it would be great if it could become a destination, like a farmers market."

Sweitzer said she's been frustrated by the slow pace of redevelopment plans for Centennial Mill because her company owns so much property around the site.

"In terms of how we engage with the site, whatever is going to be there is something significant," she said. "We're thinking in terms of questions like: Will there be a boardwalk across Naito? How much retail do we need in our developments if Centennial Mill were to become a retail destination? These questions are still unanswered."

The Portland Development Commission plans to issue a formal request for proposals in December. The agency, Shain said, may decide to pull certain aspects from each of the three final candidates to create an overall vision, but, he said, it's too early to tell whether that would be the case.

But as with any historic renovation project, there are tradeoffs, Shain said. Currently the Portland Police's Mounted Patrol Unit occupies part of the site, and Shain said there may be more productive ways to utilize that space.

"We need to find a better way to integrate the (patrol unit) or relocate them and find a way to pay for it," he said.

Open space versus new development is another concern, along with wharf retention and riverbank restoration.

Retaining history

One of the site's primary stakeholders is the Oregon Maritime Museum. The museum would like to set aside part of the site for exhibits of the museum's sternwheeler "Portland," its barge "Russell" and the Columbia River gill net boat "Mom's Boat."

Museum Vice President Bob Layfield said that, by March 1, the museum would embark on a public campaign to retain a portion of the site. "We'd like to own part of it or get a good lease on maybe 20,000 square feet of the structure, and we're willing to spend money to do so," he said.

Centennial Mill began operation in 1910 as a large merchant flour mill. The PDC purchased the site from Archer Daniels Midland Co. in 2000 for $7.7 million. The River District urban renewal area was enacted in 1982; it's set to expire in 2020.

The urban renewal area itself is fairly healthy financially, Shain said. There is $103 million left in its budget; however, the PDC estimates those funds will be spent by 2010, a full decade before the urban renewal area expires, so redeveloping Centennial Mill in a timely manner would be essential to bring in more money, he said.

http://www.djc-or.com/viewStory.cfm?recid=28945&userID=1

[Dougall5505]

this is very good i look forward for a amazing design

[zilfondel]

One of the reasons so many buildings in the Pearl are brick is because the city design review mandated it... besides the Pearl, where else in Portland have midrise/highrise brick buildings been built? I suppose some hospitals are, but there hasn't been much, although the Strand and the tower in NW do come to mind. Any of the projects for SOWA brick, like the Alexan?

[zilfondel]

I wonder if this "RFP" will generate interesting & innovative plans architecturally... although there are buildings on the site, the decision of which ones to keep and how to renovate the others - plus the open space and public connections - are going to be key.

However, I can't believe that there is as yet nothing beyond vague ideas of what the programmatics might be. C'mon Portland - this site has been in some form of topic of discussion for years now! Perhaps there should be some sort of foundation created - "Centennial Mills Historic Gallery" or something. They could change the program over the months/years and host art gallery shows, parties, public events, films, ourdoor plays, farmers markets, etc. The Parc de la Villette (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parc_de_la_Villette) in Paris by Bernard Tschumi would be a very good model to follow, as it allows a huge amount of flexibility in what goes on in the park spaces they built.

Of course, a combination of public & private funds should help pay for it (condos in the mix would be great for subsidizing high-quality renovation). And if Hoyt Street Props is so concerned that it should be a GREAT SPACE, then they should kick in some bucks: I'm sure they have a few mil. sitting around from all those condo sales...

[65MAX]

It's been less than a year since the decision was made to save Centennial Mills. Before that, it was assumed it was going to be removed to make way for open space. The great thing about this project is that it could be pretty much ANYTHING. It's a blank canvas waiting for a masterpiece to be applied to it. I think an international RFP is a fantastic way to blow open the doors to some creative thinking. I think it's worth the extra time to see what proposals come in.

I love Parc de la Villette, but this site is nowhere near large enough to replicate that here. I'd rather see something original.

[MarkDaMan]

'Captain Crunchy' singles out Portland's Living Room Theaters
Portland Business Journal
March 7, 2007

Living Room Theaters gets a favorable mention from GQ Magazine's online spring 2007 trend report.

The theater, which opened recently at Southwest Stark Street and Broadway in downtown Portland, is discussed in the magazine's "Captain Crunchy" section. The section focuses on stylish environmental trends. It is featured at men.style.com.

The mention highlights Living Room Theaters' energy-efficient projectors as well as its focus on independent movies and rare foreign imports.

The "Captain Crunchy" spotlight also shines on actor Woody Harrelson, a $388 sweater and Highland Harvest scotch, an organic brew honored by none other than Prince Charles with an eco-seal of approval.

http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2007/03/05/daily21.html?f=et75&hbx=e_du

[Dougall5505]

more on untraceable
Broadway Bridge to be closed three nights next week
Posted by The Oregonian March 09, 2007 16:13PM
Categories: Breaking News, Portland
The Broadway Bridge and its westside ramps will be closed to vehicles for three weeknights beginning Monday to allow a movie company to prepare the bridge for filming a scene in the movie "Untraceable" later this month.

The bridge will be closed from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday and Tuesday and from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Wednesday, with short closures from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday. The bridge will remain open for bicyclists and pedestrians and will always be open during peak commute periods, said Mike Pullen, Multnomah County spokesman.

When the bridge is closed, TriMet's No. 9-Broadway bus line will be rerouted across the Steel Bridge, via the Rose Quarter transit center.

The Broadway Bridge will be closed several other times later in March to film a scene and then to remove production equipment, said Pullen.

The film is being produced by Lakeshore Entertainment Corp., which also made "The Feast of Love" in Portland.

-- James Mayer; jimmayer@news.oregonian.com

[der Reisender]

they have been doing filming up in Irvington, and they have the on-street parking marked off on a couple blocks along 17th, by Tillamook. Signs say they'll be filming till the 16th, for whoever is interested. Kinda cool to see all the stuff they have

[MarkDaMan]

The other Pearl District
BACKSTORY: Affordable housing rises along with high-end condos
By peter korn
The Portland Tribune, Mar 13, 2007

Ezeji muYesu’s cat, Compani, is more than willing to sit on his owner’s lap and enjoy the million-dollar view from their living room on the 11th floor of Station Place Tower in the Pearl District. Downtown spreads out through one window, Mount Hood peek-a-boos the clouds through another.

Great location, great view, neat little apartment, but this is no high-end condominium that muYesu and Compani share. It’s what the city calls affordable housing, in one of the low-rent buildings that are sprinkled in among the high-priced condos.

And there’s more of it in the Pearl than most people realize.

While the Portland City Council is set to enact a new policy requiring 30 percent of spending in urban renewal districts be devoted to affordable housing, experts say the Portland Development Commission did a pretty good job in requiring a mix of housing for low- and moderate-income people in the Pearl.

And, they say, the fact that nobody notices the Pearl’s subsidized housing is testament to how well that housing has been integrated.

“My favorite thing to do is to take people into the middle of (the Pearl’s) Jamison Park and say, ‘OK, which one of these is the low-income housing project?’ ” says Patricia Gardner, chairwoman of the Pearl District Neighborhood Association Planning Committee. “It just kind of integrates. I don’t think people think twice about it.”

MuYesu, 60, works part time and takes classes at Portland State University. And though he won’t provide details, he says he has little savings or income. Living in the Pearl, in a building with subsidized rent, a computer lab and a fitness gym, suits him just fine. Rents at Station Place, which is reserved for those 55 and over, can run as low as $400 a month.

“I sit here sometimes and I wonder, ‘How did I get here?’ ” he says.

MuYesu got here because the Pearl District and the larger River District, both just north of downtown, were planned from the ground up, and because when they were planned, few knew how successful and expensive the Pearl would become.

The Pearl grew out of a development deal between developer Homer Williams of Hoyt Street Properties, which owned the more than 30 acres of mostly vacant land where the neighborhood now sits, and the PDC.

Hoyt Street wanted the Portland streetcar put in and the Broadway Bridge ramp removed. The PDC needed Hoyt Street to donate land for the Pearl District parks.

In addition, the PDC required Hoyt Street to provide that 35 percent of the units in its properties would be for what PDC called “affordable housing.” But not all affordable housing is created equal.

Hoyt Street is supposed to provide at least 15 percent of all units for low-income renters, defined as households earning less than half the median income of the Portland metro area. The median income for a family of four in Portland – $66,900.

Hoyt Street is further required to provide 20 percent of its units for moderate-income renters, whose income can be up to 80 percent of median income.
Half’s not so bad

So far, the total affordable housing Hoyt Street has provided is about 17 percent of units, far short of the targeted 35 percent.

The low-income units, supposed to be 15 percent, are only 6 percent of the total.

But Hoyt Street will be considered in compliance by the PDC when it builds one more proposed affordable housing development within the next two to three years.

Michael Anderson, communications director of the Community Development Network, a nonprofit devoted to housing issues, says the short-of-the-mark figures for affordable housing in the Pearl can be deceiving.

“Considering the high-end nature of the Pearl District, the effort made by the city and PDC shows great promise,” Anderson says. “Did it meet the citywide profile? No. It’s far from it. Unfortunately this is a situation where things are relative.”

Anderson’s relative point in this case is the newer South Waterfront development, also called North Macadam.

“Relative to North Macadam the Pearl is a success story,” Anderson says. “Am I satisfied with the Pearl? It could be better. Did the city do work in the Pearl that went above and beyond what they did in other urban renewal areas? Yes.”
Families few and far between

But a decent portion of affordable housing in the Pearl has done nothing to avoid another reality: There are almost no children here.

The courtyard at Pearl Court looks like a place that should have more children. There is plenty of room for kids to run around. But 3-year-old Cyan Hartley rarely finds playmates there.

The building, run by the Housing Authority of Portland, offers the lowest-rent units in the Pearl – like Station Place, as low as $400 per month. But it has 199 apartments and seven children.

Cyan’s mother, Abra Hartley, 25, says Pearl Court is the first apartment she’s ever lived in. She likes being in the Pearl District, for now.

Hartley’s boyfriend pays $1,200 a month for a market-rate one-bedroom apartment a few blocks away, but Hartley’s rent for a two-bedroom apartment is just $740.

“The ambience is mediocre,” Hartley says. “Other people play their music loud. I make a lot of noise because of my son.” But together, Hartley and Cyan stroll to the playground in Couch Park at Northwest 19th Avenue, take public transportation to the Portland Children’s Museum and in the summer dance in the water at Jamison Square’s fountain, just across the street.

“It’s a really fun place for this time in my life,” Hartley says. “I wouldn’t want to live here forever.”

Some wonder whether the Pearl’s almost childless environment is encouraged by Pearl residents and property owners.

Peggy McGuire, executive director of the Fair Housing Council of Oregon, which investigates housing complaints, says she has received about a half-dozen complaints from people looking to live in the Pearl who felt they were discriminated against because they had children.

So far, McGuire says, Fair Housing’s investigation of the allegations is inconclusive.

But the PDC says its wants families in the Pearl.

Next month, the commission will ask developers for proposals on building an apartment building that would feature 70 to 100 two- and three-bedroom apartments. Bids that include amenities such as on-site playgrounds and day-care facilities will be given priority.

The majority of the apartments will be made available to people earning no more than $40,750 for a family of four, and the lowest priced units will be restricted to families with combined incomes of no more than $20,350 for a family of four.
Mixture gets respect

Back at the adult-dominated Pearl Court, sitting in the lobby with his walker off to the side, Tommie Stallworth doesn’t have to worry about children. He doesn’t have to worry about much, actually.

“This place is lovely,” says the 58-year-old Stallworth, a Vietnam veteran who has a first-floor studio apartment that rents for $491 a month. “I haven’t heard a loud noise, I haven’t heard a ruckus, I haven’t heard an argument. I haven’t heard fighting. Everybody gets along.”

Stallworth says he’s been homeless and he’s lived in other affordable housing buildings. And no, he doesn’t see many fellow blacks in the Pearl. But that doesn’t bother Stallworth any more than the fact that he’s poor in a wealthy neighborhood.

“It’s not all about the money,” he says. “It’s the people. Nobody is walking around with a T-shirt saying ‘I’m poor,’ and nobody is walking around with a T-shirt saying ‘I’m rich.’ It’s the respect people have for one another in the Pearl District. If you smile at a person and they smile back, that’s worth its weight in gold. It’s the respect people have for one another here.”

“I’ll die here,” Stallworth says. “I told my daughter that she doesn’t have to look for me anymore. I’ll be right here from now on.”
No students allowed

Lifetime occupancy doesn’t appear to be an issue a few blocks away, at the apartment building at Northwest 11th Avenue and Northrup Street. On a sunny Thursday morning, most of the residents heading out the front door of the Sitka Apartments are not nearly as diverse in age as those at Pearl Court.

In fact, most look like they could belong to the same fraternity or sorority, what planners these days are calling the creative class – young people, most college-educated, but not yet earning serious money.

To some, the Sitka Apartments stretch the idea of affordable housing. Eric Campbell, a natural-resource consultant who works downtown and lives at the Sitka, says it’s hard not to notice the age range of residents – mostly people in their 20s and 30s.

They could be college students but they’re not, at least not full time; federal housing regulations won’t allow full-time students.

Campbell says living in the Pearl is about more than just an affordable apartment for many of the young residents at the Sitka. A certain cachet has developed around being able to say you live in the Pearl.

“It’s like a brand,” he says.

There are 209 apartments at the Sitka, with 263 people living in them. And the building allows slightly higher incomes than Pearl Court. The building is restricted to those making no more than 60 percent of the median family income. For a single person that translates into $28,500 a year. Two people can earn no more than a combined $32,600.

Ed McNamara, who heads the development company that built and runs the Sitka, says the fact that the building doesn’t serve the lowest-income residents shouldn’t count against it.

“The intent was to do a good building for working-class people,” McNamara says. “What people call affordable housing can mean a lot of different things.” Among his building’s residents, McNamara says, are downtown clerical workers, art gallery workers, part-time students and retirees. About three out of four are under 35.

Despite its Pearl District cachet, the apartments don’t compare to market-rate apartments, McNamara says. Washers and dryers are down the hall, and none of the units have air conditioning.

Still, the Sitka maintains a substantial waiting list. But the creative class is mobile, and about 100 units become available every year. So a few months of patience will get most prospective residents in.

Gardner of the Pearl neighborhood association thinks it’s only a matter of time before those waits become longer.

“It’s a great neighborhood to live in if you qualify for affordable housing,” Gardner says. “We have great schools, and you don’t have to have a car. And that’s a great way to get a leg up if you’re trying to get to the next level.”

peterkorn@portlandtribune.com
http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=117373388024001500

[MarkDaMan]

where did we have the public market discussions?

oh well...


Market idea far from dead
$25,000 study under way to probe Union Station site, hotel plan and more
By Jennifer Anderson
The Portland Tribune, Mar 16, 2007

After striking out repeatedly on his grand plans to bring a public market to Portland over the past seven years, Ron Paul is hopeful that this time around, things will be different.

Paul, a former restaurateur and city employee who now is consulting director of the nonprofit Historic Portland Public Market, says a feasibility study for his latest dream site – Portland’s historic Union Station – is due out in 60 to 90 days.

The $25,000 study, performed by Mahlum Architects and funded by the city, will “determine scenarios for the public market to happily coexist with Amtrak’s function,” Paul says.

The trade group Architectural Foundation of Oregon also contributed $5,000 to the study.

Paul and the rest of his foundation previously have floated plans to bring the market to the old Monte Carlo site on Southeast Belmont Street, the federal immigration building at 511 S.W. Broadway, downtown’s Galleria and the Old Town site of Fire Station No. 1.

Public market advocates had gone through an extensive feasibility study for the fire station site before Mayor Tom Potter and Commissioner Erik Sten decided against moving it, thus taking the option off the table.

But food enthusiasts haven’t given up hope on the public market project, saying that interest in sustainably grown food in Portland is at an all-time high, and the city is somewhat of a poster child for its advocacy of local food.

“A project of this nature, which requires buy in from so many different sectors, is always nerve-racking because you never know, even if you’ve lined up support in one arena, what might happen the next day,” said Amelia Hard, board president of the association. “It’s very much a juggling act. But I think we all toughened up quite a big deal. … We’re back in the fray, sadder but wiser.”
Financing, space questioned

The plan to locate a public market at Union Station has drawn both support and skepticism.

Critics charge that with the growth of rail travel, there is not enough room for a market at the station next to Amtrak, which leases space from the city along with Wilf’s Restaurant and Piano Bar and assorted offices and concessionaires.

“A market won’t work,” says Dan Block, president of an agriculture consulting firm whose office would be replaced by hotel rooms as part of Paul’s current plan. “It’s getting busier and busier with passengers all the time.”

Other observers doubt whether Paul’s financing plan is anything but pie in the sky. Paul brushes those characterizations aside, saying that the effort is very much growing from the ground up, building on the city’s rich history of public markets.

City officials and others have been “intrigued” by the idea of a public market at the station but don’t yet know the details, so they’ll be eagerly awaiting the information, said Brendan Finn, chief of staff to Commissioner Dan Saltzman, a board member of the foundation who thinks the market is a good fit for the station.

Paul talks about his vision of a public market, one he believes would complement Portland Saturday Market and the various farmers markets around town.

The public market would be open six or seven days a week, host about 30 vendors and offer only regionally and sustainably grown products – everything from seafood and meat to fruit and veggies, bakery goods and cheeses.

He compares it more to the Granville Island Public Market in Vancouver, British Columbia, or the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, than to Pike Place Market in Seattle.
Rooms could be part of the deal

At Union Station, he sees the public market occupying the available space in the concourse, between Wilf’s and the main hall, and beneath the veranda that extends to the south part of the building.

It also would wrap around to the northwest corner of the station and extend under the Broadway Bridge, where it potentially could occupy the space of the post office and be just steps away from access to light rail in all directions.

Once established, the market’s operation would sustain itself financially, Paul says, by both the vendor fees and an affordably priced hotel at the station that would bank on the charm and convenience of the station.

“It wouldn’t be a high-end, chichi hotel since you’d have the noise of the trains and the market – more of a travelers’ hotel,” he says.

As for getting the market up and running, Paul says it will take about $5 million to $6 million in private funding, which he is confident could be raised.

He doesn’t want to fund it publicly, since taxpayers are wary of big, city-funded projects after large cost overruns like the tram.

Taxpayer fatigue is “still a real dynamic,” he says. “This is the next public project in line. How do we solve it? Do we go to voters for a bond issue? I’m not wild about that.”

The looming question, he says, is whether the city can and will commit to fixing the deferred maintenance on the 110-year-old station without debt obligations. He would hope ideally to begin the construction of the market and major restoration in 2010, when Amtrak’s lease with the city is up.
Amtrak’s ‘happy where we are’

Vernae Graham, an Amtrak spokeswoman, said that the company is working with the consulting firm on the feasibility study. Other than that, she said, “we’re not moving anywhere. We’re happy where we are.”

That leaves the question of where the city might find the funds to address the $30 million to $40 million in deferred maintenance.

Paul says it would come from a mix of state transportation and economic development funds, federal support from Oregon’s congressmen, and tax-increment financing through the Portland Development Commission.

Since Union Station’s urban renewal area is expiring in 18 months, its fate will be left to a city and PDC committee that currently is looking at redrawing the boundaries of nearby urban renewal areas.

During the committee’s talks so far, “Union Station was flagged, pulled out as a serious consideration,” says Finn, aide to Saltzman, who serves on the committee.

Jim Coker, the city’s point person on the station maintenance, says there are no future funds dedicated to renovate the building beyond the $1.5 million in roof work under way and another $1.5 million grant for more roof work next year.

He doesn’t have an official comment on the merit of the public market idea, except to say: “It’s nice seeing someone else with a goal that wants to save Union Station. Save Union Station!”

jenniferanderson@portlandtribune.com
http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=117399168941305000

[zilfondel]

I dunno... we don't really need an Amtrak rail station in Portland, since we have one in Vancouver and one in Oregon City. You can always hop a freight train down to Cali or Seattle anyway... :koko:

[Dougall5505]

the civic and the morrison from flickr http://flickr.com/photos/preciousroy/422123876/in/pool-pdx/
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/154/422123876_7f9525a781.jpg?v=0

[MarkDaMan]

NORTHWEST
Portland Tribune
Pearlites pay to park

A scan of Pearl District condo sales for January and February shows how important a parking space can be.

According to data compiled by Willamette Realty Group on its new Pearldistrict.com Web site, the average sale price for the 62 condos sold in the neighborhood during the two months was $248,348.

The average price for the 59 condos with sales pending is a much higher $448,992.

Ben Andrews, part owner of Willamette Realty, said one reason the months’ prices were unusually low was the figures included the sale of 13 units in the North Park Blocks and McCormick Pier that did not have parking.

Andrews said assigned parking can add between $30,000 and $40,000 to the price of a condo.
http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=117434205350502900

[PDX City-State]

the civic and the morrison

Geez Dougall...Do you have a master key to every building in town, or are you a realtor? Nice shot. The coffeeshop downstairs from where you took that photo is by far the best one in NW Portland btw.

[Dougall5505]

sorry thats not my pic its this guys: http://flickr.com/photos/preciousroy...6/in/pool-pdx/ i try to give the guys on flikcr credit but sometimes people just think its me lol

[sirsimon]

Geez Dougall...Do you have a master key to every building in town, or are you a realtor? Nice shot. The coffeeshop downstairs from where you took that photo is by far the best one in NW Portland btw.

OFFTOPIC: To which coffee shop do you refer? /OFFTOPIC

[PDX City-State]

Called Coffeehouse NW on Burnside and Trinity. Willy Week wrote it up a month or so ago. It's the only place in NW that gets with Stumptown or Albina Press. They take their coffee very seriously.

[sirsimon]

^ Awesome, thanks! :)

-I.M. Coffeeslut

[Dougall5505]

i guess they closed off the bridge last night heres a movie pic (the oregonian's)
http://www.oregonlive.com/cgi-bin/prxy/photogalleries/nph-cache.cgi/cache=3000;/olive/images/6598/a001.JPG

[WonderlandPark]

Last night was the rain gig, they seriously rigged the bridge with thousands of feet of water pipe (filtered and purified). Tonight they shoot the diner again.

[MarkDaMan]

^
Portland's rain needs a stand-in?
That's showbiz our rain wouldn't have made the cut in a Hollywood production -- even if it had been pouring
Friday, March 23, 2007
TOM HALLMAN JR.
The Oregonian

If Portland has anything going for it, you'd think it would be rain. But no. Seems our drops aren't good enough for the big screen. Someone wants to film a movie here, and the next thing you know, Hollywood has to import some fancy special-effects coordinator, a man known in the industry as the "rain guy."

In "Untraceable," a thriller set in Portland, rain is part of the backdrop of the movie, currently being shot here. After all, the city plays itself, and no one expects sunny, 80-degree days. And during this time of year, we've got plenty of rain. But it's not good enough.

On Wednesday night, the director filmed a pivotal scene on the Broadway Bridge. The production was there Thursday and will be back tonight. To pull off the required rainstorm, Larz Anderson, the movie's special-effects coordinator, created the most elaborate plumbing system in his career to create a perfect storm -- on a clear night, by the way -- that was 900 feet long and 60 feet wide.

"He's the best," said Michael Umble, the film's on-site publicist. "This is his show. Rain works good in a thriller."

Diane Lane, playing an FBI agent, is tracking a serial killer who posts images of his victims on the Internet. In the scene, Lane drives east across the Broadway Bridge late at night in a fierce storm. Her car suspiciously breaks down. Naturally, trouble ensues, and the moody, film-noirish rainstorm lets viewers know instinctively that during the next 30 minutes, life itself hangs in the balance.

One detail after another

That's the art. The craft behind it had all the drama of stagehands working on sets before the Oscars. More than 150 crew members prepared the bridge for the scene, while Anderson hovered over everything, looking like a father watching his baby preparing to take a first step.

"There are so many logistical steps," Anderson explained. "We're going to be shooting this scene over three days. It costs about $200,000 a day to pull this all off."

Anderson, who has worked in special effects for 20 years, said the rainstorm presented several problems.

"I had to figure out a way to make the rain match on film over three nights," he said. "This was the biggest rain effect I've ever done. I've done 100-feet rain, but in an enclosed area. This requires long shots, close shots and over a long run. The viewer should never think it's fake rain. If they even start thinking about the rain, then I haven't done my job."

Anderson plumbed in 44 huge sprinkler heads on the bridge span, built 160-foot long irrigation boom held in place by a massive crane just above the entrance and then added an 80-foot boom held in place over the on-ramp with a smaller crane. "We'll be pumping 1,500 gallons a minute," he said. "That's a lot of water. I want a healthy downpour."

Bigger than normal drops

Umble said insiders and observant viewers can spot fake rain on screen. "You see the main character in the rain," he said, "and then 10 feet behind the character, there's no rain."

And, it seems, not all drops are created equal. Even good-old Portland rain, widely considered by residents to be one of the best in the country, isn't good enough. The problem, it seems, are the drops. They don't photograph well. Even though they're the real deal, they look fake. Even if an honest rainstorm broke out, Anderson wouldn't want the interlopers to crowd their way onto the screen.

"We have to make bigger than normal drops," Anderson said. "That way, they can be filmed."

Figuring out how to make those drops look perfect was Anderson's job. He used a two-way radio to talk to crane operators to raise and lower the boom so the "rain" would fall from the right height.

Hours later, everything seemed perfect. The director cleared the set and called for a rehearsal, the car making the trip up the bridge while the director tested camera angles. And then it was time for Anderson to do his thing.

"Rain is coming," the two-way radio crackled.

And the rain fell. It was beautiful.

Diane who?

Tom Hallman Jr.: 503 221-8224; tomhallman@news.oregonian.com
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1174620329129490.xml&coll=7

[hi123]

the wyatt, which looks to be a good quality building from xnine on flickr:
http://flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=439161291&context=set-72157600001905968&size=l
The building's design isn't great, but it looks to be well done at least :)

[hi123]

a red crane in the pearl from xnine on flickr, what is this crane for?
http://flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=439167008&context=set-72157600001905968&size=l

[hi123]

The metropolitan is looking great :) photo from xnine on flickr:
http://flickr.com/photos/xnine/439169154/in/set-72157600001905968/

[hi123]

Does anyone know what watefront pearl will look like? I've seen many different renderings,which one is the official one?

[PacificNW]

This link might be of help:

http://www.waterfrontpearl.com/

[hi123]

The waterfront pearl will have a MASSIVE waterfall, "lake" thing in between the two towers on the beatiful new waterfront walkway. I discovered this from the model and renderings on the architect website. This project will be great!

[MarkDaMan]

^the red crane is for the Encore. I agree, the Wyatt is turning out superb for a brick building.

[hi123]

Great hi res images of the wyatt. The street level looks to be very pedestrian friendly.:banana: :)
http://thewyatt.com/images/wyatt_wallpaper/The-Wyatt-Still-Aerial-NE.jpg

http://thewyatt.com/images/wyatt_wallpaper/The-Wyatt-Still-Townhomes.jpg

Imges from: thewyatt.com

[hi123]

I've just learned that the water feature at waterfront pearl will be a total of three acres!

[zilfondel]

:previous: now that's a "slab" building. :haha:

kinda late for renderings, tho? It's like half finished!

[MarkDaMan]

I still love the Wyatt and dislike 937 (although it is slowly growing on me)...I feel wrong about it though. Like urban trash or something, oh well...

I've just learned that the water feature at waterfront pearl will be a total of three acres!

I'm curious, the original plans were for four towers with the huge water feature between towers 2 and 3. Have they given up on the Albers Mill parking lot (owned by the 'other' half of the NAITO family) and the other two towers that were to be built on it?

[zilfondel]

what the hell, since this is the main thread. The Metropolitan:

http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/9946/metro1un5.jpg

http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/5739/metro2sg9.jpg

http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/834/metro3zj7.jpg

http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/7213/metro4eb4.jpg

The Wyatt:
(one hell of an overwhelmingly massive building over the pedestrian, that's for sure!)

http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/8236/wyatt1kg4.jpg]

http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/532/wyatt2ck1.jpg

...and close to the Pearl District, but since we have no more threads on the Civic, here's a pic I took of the low-income housing going up:

http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/1691/civicmu5.jpg

[MarkDaMan]

not going to sell many units with this ad :yuck:

http://adserver1.harvestadsdepot.com/portorgonian/ss/explorethepearl/023/023_001AD/023_001AD.jpg

[zilfondel]

^^^ lol

[sopdx]

They look like they drank the 'koolaid'

[Dougall5505]

i think the wyatt is topped out now if your look at the webcam

[zilfondel]

I can't believe I didn't post my own pics!

Taken recently:

http://img118.imageshack.us/img118/2499/wyatt1oq0.jpg

http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/2138/wyatt2sl0.jpg

[Dougall5505]

this pic by diz over at ssp
http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/156/dsc01644rh5.jpg
looks like the casey is topped out.

[WestCoast]

the metropolitan is really looking nice.

I was very skeptical of all the renderings, and as it went up, I disliked it more.
Now, it seems to fit in, while being different, looks great.

Drove by the Casey this morning too, weird facade treatment on the south side, can't figure that out yet as it looks like this just started it this morning.

[dizflip]

Hi @dougall, I have a ssp account too. :D

[Dougall5505]

what up diz! :) you can post your photos here too if you want

[CouvScott]

Seems like this may be a little too low rise for the area...
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e214/couvttocs/PenskeSite.jpg

[pdxstreetcar]

good to see development moving further north but hopefully this building wont be just a 6 inch wide facade as seen in the render.

[MarkDaMan]

^I'm not sure if this is what you were talking about, but what's up with the middle window sticking up above the rest of the building with no actual building behind it?

[65MAX]

That's what pdxstreetcar was talking about...
Where did this rendering come from, CouvScott?

[CouvScott]

That's what pdxstreetcar was talking about...
Where did this rendering come from, CouvScott?

From the pre-application agenda for the design commission

[CouvScott]

EOP (East of Pearl)
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e214/couvttocs/321NWGlisan1.jpg

[MarkDaMan]

^so I'm taking it they got the approval for the height extension? From my understanding the current building was already taller than current limits.

[zilfondel]

^ I just puked. Exuse me while I mop the floor...

[65MAX]

^^ Yeah, I thought they nixed this design. What gives?

[CouvScott]

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e214/couvttocs/321glisannew.jpg

[MarkDaMan]

^thank God, that image is much better...that first one belongs in South Florida or something.

[65MAX]

I wouldn't even wish that first one on South Florida.

The second one's an improvement, not great, but not horrible. I'm just happy they're reusing the existing building. They could have very easily just ripped it out altogether.

[Dougall5505]

some shots on flickr by pdx pete http://flickr.com/photos/portland-pete/
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/172/464742448_7f7bdf94c1.jpg?v=0

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/192/463682037_bf398f62c9.jpg?v=0

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/208/463685096_9b65ae4cde.jpg?v=0

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/243/459360026_c48f4429a4.jpg?v=0

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/223/457676736_eac01b8957.jpg?v=0

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/217/464719417_417fe7415c.jpg?v=0

[hi123]

What floor are they currently at on the two buildings of waterfront pearl?

[Dougall5505]

^I'm guessing at least 5 stories
I think this is 937 correct me if im wrong from flickr: http://flickr.com/photos/d5o3/
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/226/466001086_3802415a70.jpg?v=0
and you can the topped out wyatt, the pile driver for the safeway site, and the ground work for the lovejoy condos on this webcam: http://thewyatt.com/wyattWebCam.html
metropolitan webcam here: http://metropolitanpearl.com/webcam.html

[zilfondel]

wrong thread

[der Reisender]

i think the waterfront pearl buildings are at about 7 and 5 floors, respectively. that is an estimation though, taken from a Trimet bus, so don't hold me to it

also to add further, it appeared that the crane for the Lovejoy blocks was being assembled, but i only caught it from a distance so am not completely sure. anyone know?

[Dougall5505]

check this out quick before it gets dark http://thewyatt.com/wyattWebCam.html theres definetly something going on

[Dougall5505]

more 937 http://flickr.com/photos/portland-pete/
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/185/467913228_2f3b5a59c0.jpg?v=0

[MarkDaMan]

Problems in the Pearl
Some locally based retailers are wondering if there's room left
Portland Business Journal - April 27, 2007
by Wendy Culverwell
Business Journal staff writer
Story Images

Elizabeth Prusiewicz has stood watch over her corner of the Pearl District for four years.

Her tiny shop, Knit Knot Studio, occupies 450 well-organized square feet in a first-floor corner of the Chown Pella Building, at Northwest Glisan Street and 13th Avenue.

Prusiewicz and her husband, a teacher, moved to the Pearl District five years ago. Knit Knot opened about a year later, almost by accident. The space was available and Prusiewicz was tired of her former profession, hair dressing. So she turned her lifelong passion for knitting into a business and hung her shingle.

But her story might not be possible today. Retail space in the Pearl District is in short supply and small independent shopkeepers such as Prusiewicz worry their days are numbered.

"Four years ago, it had a different energy," she said.

Today, she said escalating costs threaten the business.

A neighbor left last year and was replaced by a financial services company. Last year, her rent jumped 30 percent. It costs $650 for Knit Knot to have a dot in the Pearl District Business Association's popular map. That's up from $450, she said.

"It's a lot for a one-person operation," said Prusiewicz.

According to Colliers International, the Pearl District has approximately 2.18 million square feet of retail space. There are 142,830 square feet of space available, for a vacancy rate of about 7 percent. That's up from the third quarter of 2006, when the rate dropped to about 3 percent.

In this case, the numbers are a bit deceptive. Since February, new construction has added about 42,000 square feet to the mix, giving the appearance that the amount of unused space is surging.

That's not how it looks from the trenches, according to Thom Brockmiller, principal broker with Gray and Associates. Brockmiller specializes in Pearl District retail space.

"We get calls continually every week from national companies that have to be in the Pearl. I could place three 7,000-square-foot restaurants today," he said.

He agrees that smaller businesses may be leaving, but said it's an overstatement to say they are being displaced by national retailers. Still, with new condominiums being built all the time, the neighborhood is gaining new residents. And a growing population base attracts attention, he said.

Brockmiller currently is marketing retail space at The Wyatt, the latest project from developer Robert Ball. Interest is high, from national restaurants to local businesses seeking smallish spaces in the 1,200- to 1,500-square-foot range, he said.

In the end, Brockmiller says he's "super optimistic" that the Pearl District will retain its mix of large national chains and unique local shops.

Kathleen Healy, who focuses on the Pearl District for Urban Works Real Estate, agrees that the Pearl District's national reputation and ever-increasing roster of residents has gained the attention of national retailers. Many of her listings are in the northern part of the Pearl -- the current hot spot for new construction.

With Safeway -- not one of her listings -- slated to open a grocery store on Northwest Lovejoy Street, retailers and bankers are taking note and inquiring about space in the neighborhood.

Her team is representing the retail space for Hoyt Realty Group in one of its latest projects, The Metropolitan, on Northwest Lovejoy between Northwest 10th and 11th avenues.

More than a year ago, she cold-called Eddie Bauer Holdings Inc. about leasing space. The Seattle-based retailer, which specializes in casual sportswear and accessories, was very familiar with the Pearl District, telling her, "It's on our radar."

The company signed a lease for a 5,500-square-foot space and is expected to open later this year.

"There is not a lot of vacancy for visible space in the Pearl District," Healy said.

And there is still room for small, local firms.

Pearl Nails opened about two years ago in a 552-square-foot space at 1221 N.W. Kearney St. The tiny salon has three stations each for manicures and pedicures, as well as a private room for personal services.

Its neighbors include On Deck, a popular rooftop sports-themed restaurant, and Title Nine, a women's athletic apparel store that is the first in Oregon. REI is less than a block away.

Tiffany Nguyen took over Pearl Nails less than two months ago.

Advertising consists of word-of-mouth and clients she brought from her former salon, said Nguyen.

"I love the location. Business is good," she said.

wculverwell@bizjournals.com | 503-219-3415

http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2007/04/30/story2.html?t=printable

[pdxstreetcar]

I can see national retailers going in the larger spaces but there are still many smaller spaces in the pearl that i think will remain dominated by small local stores.

[MarkDaMan]

Eddie Bauer signs lease for Pearl District space
by DJC staff
04/30/2007


Eddie Bauer will open a new retail location in The Metropolitan Condominiums, a 19-story residential tower between Northwest 10th and 11th avenues and Lovejoy Street in the Pearl District.

Situated along the Portland Streetcar line, the Washington-based retailer plans to open this winter. The company will lease 5,619 square feet of street-level retail space from Block 9 LLC of The Metropolitan Condominiums, a company of Hoyt Street Realty.

Eddie Bauer representatives worked with Kathleen Healy of Urban Works Real Estate to complete the transaction.
http://www.djc-or.com/viewStory.cfm?recid=29353&userID=1

[MarkDaMan]

Hoyt Street Properties Vying for Participation in Pilot LEED for Neighborhood Development Program
www.hoytstreetproperties.com
04/09/2007

Pearl District Developer Submits Portland Urban Renewal Zone for Consideration

Hoyt Street Properties, the largest developer in Portland’s Pearl District, is vying for certification in the U.S. Green Building’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Neighborhood Development program, a pioneering rating system that extends the possibility of LEED certification from individual buildings to entire neighborhoods. In its pilot phase, the program is intended to become the first national standard for green neighborhood design. Hoyt Street Properties has submitted its urban renewal project in the Pearl District for consideration by the U.S. Green Building Council, detailing how sustainable development practices helped to realize one of the most efficient, progressive, and renowned neighborhoods in the United States.

“We are excited to see strong parallels between our longtime approach to the Pearl District and the ideals described in the LEED for Neighborhood Development Program,” said Tiffany Sweitzer, President/CEO of Hoyt Street Properties. “Involvement in this groundbreaking program would complement our plans for the continuing development of the Pearl District. We will uphold and expand upon our longtime commitment to exploring and implementing eco-friendly solutions,” Sweitzer added.

Similar to the LEED program for individual projects, The LEED for Neighborhood Development program is a rating system that integrates the principles of smart growth, new urbanism, and green building. In the program’s pilot phase, the U.S. Green Building Council will select up to 120 projects to participate. After the pilot phase, the council will introduce the system to its comprehensive suite of LEED assessment tools, used to promote sustainable design, construction, and operations of the built environment.

Hoyt Street Properties is the development company responsible for transforming a 34-acre retired rail yard in a worn Portland industrial zone into a thriving mixed-use community called the Pearl District. A prime example of successful urban renewal, the area integrates homes, businesses, retail shops, restaurants, galleries, and parks into a vibrant and efficient multiuse neighborhood. In addition to incorporating eco-friendly components and features throughout its buildings, Hoyt Street Properties has applied an equally green approach in creating a community where limited car usage is made possible. Residents and visitors in the area enjoy the convenience of transportation options such as a streetcar, buses, and carefully designed roads and sidewalks where pedestrian and bike-friendly living is accommodated and encouraged.

Internationally recognized as a working model of responsible urban renewal, the Pearl District and Hoyt Street Properties have hosted dozens of visits from city planners, developers, and urban renewal experts from around the world. Most recently, Hoyt Street Properties has been studied by an Arkansas-based development company, Moses Tucker Real Estate, which is modeling an $80 million, 500,000-square-foot community in Little Rock after Hoyt’s development in Portland’s Pearl District.

Hoyt Street Properties has also been recognized by the Sierra Club, America’s largest grassroots environmental organization, for spearheading the transformation of a faded industrial zone into a revitalized multiuse community. In a first-of-its-kind report entitled, “Building Better: America’s Best New Development Projects,” the Sierra Club named the Pearl District as one of the nation’s 12 most eco-friendly development areas, and commended Hoyt Street Properties for working with the Portland Development Commission in creating a pedestrian-friendly environment where walking, cycling, and streetcars are embraced as viable means of transportation.

Hoyt Street Properties’ commitment to sustainable urban renewal practices will be paramount as the company approaches the second phase of development in the 34-acre parcel of Pearl District land. With over 2,500 dwelling units constructed to date- including condos, live/work spaces, affordable housing, and rentals- plus two city parks and approximately 90,000 square feet of retail space, the company’s plans for the remaining 10 acres will be devoted to high-performance designs with low environmental impact. Teaming with Portland firm, BOORA, as an architectural partner, Hoyt Street Properties has been devising a comprehensive Master Plan, which addresses the future vision for the remainder of the industrial land.

“Our efforts in the Pearl District are but halfway completed,” Sweitzer said. “ We will continue to support the evolution of this special neighborhood architecturally, culturally, and by continuing to make green, responsible development a top priority,” she added. “We are proud to play a role in fostering what has become one of the nation’s most sustainable neighborhoods, and we will continue to meet and exceed national standards in neighborhood design. Participation in the LEED for Neighborhood Development program would be a great honor for Hoyt Street Properties, the Pearl District, and our city as a whole,” Sweitzer concluded. Selected program participants will be notified in May 2007.

The LEED for Neighborhood Development system is from the U.S. Green Building Council in collaboration with the Congress for the New Urbanism and the Natural Resources Defense Council. LEED certification provides independent, third-party verification that a development's location and design meet accepted high standards for environmentally responsible, sustainable, development.
http://www.hoytstreetproperties.com/news_detail.html?nid=385

[pdxstreetcar]

This LEED-ND for Hoyt Street Yards would be for the entire Hoyt Street Development or just the new BOORA plan north of Lovejoy???

I would be very surprised if Hoyt Street Yards wasn't one of the pilot neighborhoods especially if there's 120 pilot projects.

[360Rich]

Brewery Blocks up for sale
Posted by The Oregonian May 02, 2007 15:09PM

http://blog.oregonlive.com/business/medium_brewery.jpg

Portland's Gerding Edlen Development Co. is putting most of the Brewery Blocks development up for sale.

The three blocks included in the sale are Block 1, which houses a Whole Foods store; Block 4, known as M Financial Plaza, which houses the financial services firm of the same name, the Art Institute of Portland and P.F. Chang's restaurant; and Block 5, which includes The Louisa apartments, and retail tenants West Elm and The North Face.

Experts had expected Gerding Edlen to hold onto the investment for a decade or more so the listing, which the company made known to The Oregonian today, comes as a surprise to many.

The sale could continue a string of record-setting sales prices in recent years. Large pension funds and private equity firms are investing tens of billions of dollars in real estate nationwide, pushing sales prices for office buildings and urban apartments to new heights in the Portland area.

For a complete story, see Thursday's Oregonian.

http://blog.oregonlive.com/breakingnews/2007/05/brewery_blocks_up_for_sale.html

[pdx2m2]

Hoyt Street's LEED ND is for the entire Hoyt Street Yards..past and future projects. The entire project could be LEED Certified or better...the future work could be Silver LEED ND or better. Decision from LEED sometime in May

[alexjon]

Land speculation, eh

That sounds like a GREAT idea!

[MarkDaMan]

Thursday's story...

Brewery Blocks looking for new owners
Filled up and thriving - Strong demand encourages the original investors to market three mixed use redeveloped blocks
Thursday, May 03, 2007
DYLAN RIVERA
The Oregonian

When the Stroh Brewing Co. decided to close the Blitz Weinhard brewery in 1999, the hodgepodge structures covering five blocks north of West Burnside were relics of another era, the specter of demolition looming.

Gerding Edlen Development Co., known mostly for its nondescript suburban office buildings, saw a different future. The Portland-based company took up a challenge that many considered overwhelming in size, risk and logistics.

What emerged, after years of high-risk financial dealings and an intensely challenging balancing act of historic preservation and new construction, would become a symbol of creative reuse of urban land. The Brewery Blocks, as they came to be known, are among the city's most popular places for locals and tourists alike.

Brokers on contract for Gerding Edlen Development this week have started marketing three of the five blocks for sale, The Oregonian has learned. The condos and office building on the other two blocks have already been sold to office and condo owners.

The public may see little or no impact from the sale, at least in the short term. Nearly all of the tenants are in long-term leases of about 10 years or so. A buyer of high-priced commercial real estate is likely to want to retain the property's mix of chic national retailers and tony apartments.

Seven years after the brewery purchase, the blocks are brimming with tenants, and many of the eight local investors that invested with Gerding Edlen are ready to move on.

Met objectives

"We've accomplished all the development objectives we wanted to achieve -- the street-level retail, the mix of uses, demonstrating sustainability in a big way," said Mark Edlen, co-founder and managing principal.

The properties could fetch $250 million or more and will set a new per-square-foot price for office space in the region, said John Kohnstamm, a commercial broker with Capacity Commercial Group, which is not involved in the sale.

"It's new construction, its location is perfect," Kohnstamm said. "It's got everything an institutional investor would want."

The Louisa apartments, included in the sale, will fetch far more than the $254,487 per unit that the City Heights Apartments sold for in December, said Ann Blume, an apartment broker for CB Richard Ellis.

"It's the nicest building in the market," Blume said.

For Edlen and Robert Gerding, co-founders of the firm that took the blocks from disrepair to regional shopping and workplace hub, the sale is bittersweet. The pair say they are emotionally tied to the project that consumed their company full time for more than two years and put them on the map of major West Coast urban developers as they expanded in Portland and beyond.

But in the end, creating the project was the main thrill, Gerding said.

"The act of creating wonderful places is the part that is most exciting to me," he said.

In recent years, investor interest in selling has been stoked by several factors, Gerding said. Most of the initial investors that took great risk early on in the deal are interested in cashing out and deploying their capital elsewhere.

They are also encouraged to sell by historic high demand for commercial real estate that is sending sales prices skyrocketing nationwide, including in the Portland area. In 2004, the peak sales price for Portland-area office space jumped from $199 a square foot to $259 in about eight months.

Ashforth-Pacific Inc., based in the Lloyd District, set a new record when it paid $309 a square foot for the ODS Tower in 2005.

Early doubts

Urban mixed use didn't always look so attractive. Banks and investors were openly skeptical the project could work.

At an early meeting about financing, one investor from the East Coast put his feet on Gerding Edlen's conference table, Edlen recalls. Mow down the old brewhouse, he directed. Build a 10-story parking garage above ground and then start.

Gerding Edlen would not brook that.

Bank of America brought its national head of real estate in from Atlanta three times to look at the project, said John Petersen, who was head of real estate lending in Oregon for the bank at the time.

"Pioneering scares people because you don't know if it's going to work until it's done successfully a few times," Petersen said.

The deal hinged in large part on the confidence and idealism of local investors, such as Peter Stott, the former timber company chief executive. Stott had invested in five other deals with Gerding Edlen and put up $13 million of the $19.5 needed for the original brewery purchase. He said he had no particular expectations about his return.

"I was confident it would be a good investment long term and that we would create a good neighborhood, and try to bridge the then up and coming Pearl District with the more core part of downtown," Stott said.

That was also a key goal of then-Mayor Vera Katz and the Portland Development Commission. The PDC loaned Gerding Edlen $6 million to make parking spaces open to the public and priced at city-owned garage rates for 10 years. And the agency granted $2 million to pay for ornamental streetlights and sidewalk extensions to enhance the project.

Edlen is skeptical the Brewery Blocks will make urban mixed use projects any easier to build, even though large pension funds and other institutions are eager to buy them up now.

"I haven't found any easy project yet," Edlen said. "I don't think it makes it any easier, but it certainly has emboldened us to do more of it."

Dylan Rivera: 503-221-8532; dylanrivera@news.oregonian.com
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/117816450627430.xml&coll=7

[Dougall5505]

here are some pics around the pearl today
waterfront pearl
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/200/485657568_6bc1017ec4.jpg?v=0

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/210/485690831_2b40d16014.jpg?v=0

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/227/485691317_56f0b6f4c7.jpg?v=0

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/224/485692005_3e2631a4bd.jpg?v=0

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/173/485659542_9de2ebece5.jpg?v=0

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/226/485660020_02f5ca6ed7.jpg?v=0

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/228/485661926_7d4d5cbee5.jpg?v=0
the encore
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/195/485660478_3c19044b64.jpg?v=0

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/230/485693687_42f720ce78.jpg?v=0

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/209/485661414_d6a7025b83.jpg?v=0

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/229/485695159_03bf2f5fba.jpg?v=0
the safeway site (btw the bridgeport brewery STINKS!)
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/204/485662888_7ee157332e.jpg?v=0

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/178/485664478_de1081a6fe.jpg?v=0

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/171/485697801_ae1b9388de.jpg?v=0
the metropolitan
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/201/485696689_137861d3fe.jpg?v=0
riverscape
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/219/485698265_b7f2dd4a06.jpg?v=0

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/206/485699597_7c8e30b7a5.jpg?v=0

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/205/485669090_08768f7750.jpg?v=0

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/215/485701503_220f54ecb6.jpg?v=0

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/187/485705501_5a6e3ddd02.jpg?v=0
and the pano deserves its own post

[Dougall5505]

all right heres view of HSP's properties and the rest of the pearl
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/172/485766970_6a90c55f8d_o.jpg

[bvpcvm]

There's an article in this month's NW Examiner about Robert Ball's "four blocks" (did you know he had more property down there?) along Pettygrove and his development plans. Sounds like they're still pretty vague; he's just talking about how to activate the street, but there were some nice drawings.

[sirsimon]

Nice pano, Dougall!

[pdx2m2]

Great panoramic pic!!!!

Bob Ball's 'master plan' is a great start...He doesn't own the land...as I recall he owns one block and is developing the 'vision' with the cooperation of the other landowners...still it's a vision of something more whole than developing one block at a time. When he presented this to the North Pearl Steering Committee the reaction was generally positive although lots of people expressed concern that it was too introverted....that the massing of the towers created a center around Pettygrove and 13th but also created a wall against the rest of the neighborhood. It would be better if he had more height and thinner towers.

[Okstate]

Yes Dougall, very nice. If you feel the urge to take photos near the Sitka apartments & its environs, that would be awesome. It's my future home & i've never seen them in person.

[MarkDaMan]

^When you moving out? Here is a pic I took last spring of the Sitka (the date stamp is wrong and shouldn't have been placed on the pic)

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/43/102689798_55506fe707.jpg?v=0


Nice pic's Dougall, I'm diggin the pano.

[MarkDaMan]

looks like they started on this guy...

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e214/couvttocs/321glisannew.jpg

the building is fenced and I saw some construction dudes coming out of the place yesterday.

[pdx2m2]

the scaffolding is down on the large stone wall at the Metropolitan office building...i didn't have a camera although if anyone is in the neighborhood it would be great to get a photo..it's pretty stunning.

[edgepdx]

the scaffolding is down on the large stone wall at the Metropolitan office building...i didn't have a camera although if anyone is in the neighborhood it would be great to get a photo..it's pretty stunning.

I have to agree, I like the live/work building more the Metropolitan itself. To me Metropolitan suffers from being somewhere in between a slab and a tower. It doesn't have the visual texture of some of the best slabs designs like the Eliot or upcoming 937, but also lacks the slender grace of the SOWA buildings.