Hyatt Centric (619 SW 11th Ave) | 150' feet | 15 floors | Complete
 

Now here is a perfect example of the type of high-rise development opportunities I'd love to see more of in Portland. Neither this building nor the parking lot would be missed (sorry for the tiny image):

http://x.lnimg.com/photo/thumb_144/e...45c2ed2dc3.jpg

With hot market in mind, United Way looks to sell downtown building and adjacent lot

Mar 6, 2015, 12:42pm PST

Jon Bell
Staff Reporter-
Portland Business Journal

http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/...s-to-sell.html

Is that lot in the 460'-unlimited zoned area? Can we please get something over 500 here? Maybe break the block down and make 4 towers that are varying heights over 500-600? Fine grained, super high density. Ugh, I can dream.

Wow, this is a nice surprise. Getting rid of that awful United Way building would be fantastic, though we've got plenty of lots downtown in more need of redevelopment than this spot. Still, I wouldn't be sad to see this one go.

Anyone know which surface lot nearby is theirs?

460' will remain the height limit downtown, so no one will be building 500-600' tall towers any time soon. At present the site has a 150' height limit, or 325' if the extra height is entirely used for housing:

Was wondering the same thing.

Good news, I would definitely like to see this building replaced.

Here's the problem, I don't think there is a demand for a high rise in that location when you could easily remodel that building with lots of retail on the ground floor and offices above. Values aren't where they should be to justify ripping that building down and replacing it with something much larger.

It would be tough to remodel that building given that the exterior walls appear to be the primary structural frame. Plus, it's a fairly unusual half block redevelopment opportunity not owned by the Goodmans. I wouldn't necessarily bet on a high rise, but I wouldn't bet against it either.

You really think the exterior walls are part of the structural frame? I was assuming it was the columns. Part of my thinking is that it could be one large retail space that you likely wouldn't have in a high rise. I'm not sure who the tenant would be. Maybe a drug store?

I've always been surprised by the lack of drug stores in the central city. In most other cities I've been to, there are several Walgreens and CVS stores downtown that seem to do well. The only drug store that I can think of downtown is the Rite Aid on Alder. I know Walgreens backed out of the basement location of the Portland Executive Hilton tower many years ago. Seems odd we don't have more drug stores downtown.

I certainly could be wrong, but when I look at the building in Google Streetview it looks like the exterior is all in-situ concrete. Just remodeling that to add storefront windows along SW 11th could be a major undertaking. That said, it's not a construction type I'm very familiar with given that it's almost never done these days.

My guess is the building will probably just be reused as office space for the short term and any developer who buys this building will probably just hold onto it until there is a demand for an office building on site.

So the parking lot they own is at SW 13th & Washington, adjacent to Blackbox.

...continues at the Portland Business Journal.

That's fantastic news! I always thought that quarter block lot would make for an amazing tall, skinny residential tower.

So according to the PBJ, this was two separate buildings:

"The office complex, at 619 S.W. 11th Ave., encompasses two buildings, one built in 1928 and one built in 1979. The two were joined in 1979 and given uniform facades."

It was be awesome to look at pics of the original building. I had no clue but you can see the windows are different on each side of the building. Anyone have photos?

Not a very close shot, but here is a pic:
https://vintageportland.files.wordpr...hwest-1964.jpg

That is an amazing photo. You can see Henry's brewery or Blitz back then perhaps. You can also see the Cathedral Church and so much more.

I think I could look at that photo for hours, and not just because you can see my apartment in it.

Thanks for posting!
Great to see the buildings where 405 is now. Actually looking at that photo, it makes me wonder how much further ahead that neighborhood would have been without 405. A lot was taken out for the freeway and it's amazing to see how little things have changed.

Seriously! Two apartment bldgs I lived in along Burnside are in the shot. So weird, and also sad, to see the stretch of blocks running north-south that would soon be razed for I-405. Great pic.