2006 proves a watershed year for South Waterfront activity
Portland Business Journal - January 26, 2007
by Wendy Culverwell
Business Journal staff writer
Construction workers, real estate agents, architects and publicists got welcome company at the South Waterfront in 2006: After years of planning and construction, Portland's newest urban neighborhood welcomed permanent residents and workers as construction cranes gave way to moving vans at the first two buildings.
The Meriwether Condominiums, two towers with a total of 245 residential units, opened first. The spring opening brought the first permanent residents to what had been a noisy, muddy construction zone. The project cost $121 million to build and like the other buildings in the 38-acre South Waterfront neighborhood, was developed by a team led by Portland's prolific Gerding/Edlen Development Co. LLC.
Oregon Health & Science University's 400,000-square-foot Center for Health & Healing opened in late 2006. The 16-story building sits at the district's northern edge.
The center has eight levels of hospital space for medical practices, clinics and surgery. Three floors contain health and wellness center, including a four-lane lap pool, and four are dedicated to education and research, with laboratory space for OHSU's biomedical engineering program.
Three floors of parking and a level of retail space round out the building -- designed by GBD Architects Inc. to be among the greenest new buildings in the land. It is expected to receive one of the top environmental designations from the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program.
Hoffman Construction Co. was the contractor, Gerding/Edlen managed the project.
A green new building is one thing; a shiny new way to get around is another.
To most Portlanders who don't have a reason to visit South Waterfront on a regular basis, 2006 stands out for introducing a new mode of transportation to Portland's already impressive repertoire. We speak, of course, of the spanking new tram.
OHSU employees and soon, the public as well, can pop between the university's hilltop campus on Marquam Hill and the Portland waterfront via two shiny, pill-shaped carriages that travel along cables strung on poles.
The university, private developers and the city of Portland shared unequally in the $57 million construction cost. The fare to users remains undecided -- the city proposed a $4 round-trip fare to cover the cost to operate the system, but is now weighing the need to cover costs against public policy issues such as, does it want people to actually ride the tram.
Last but not least, the tram isn't the only locomotion in town. The Portland Streetcar added South Waterfront -- its sixth neighborhood -- to its circuit in October. The streetcar line extends to the tram station on the northern side of OHSU's new building. Eventually, it will loop south to the residential portions of the neighborhood.
Alas, South Waterfront is not part of TriMet's fareless zone in downtown, so a Streetcar ride will set riders back $1.70.
The year 2006 saw two other residential towers get started -- 3720 and Atwater Place both saw construction start. The 3720 will be a 20-story tower with 331 units. The $160 million project is set to open a year from August. Atwater Place too got started. It will have 212 units on 23 stories and has a construction cost of $140 million.
The John Ross, the 31-story elliptical tower with 342 units, got started in late 2005, but the $130 million condominium project saw a substantial amount of work completed in 2006. It should be ready to welcome residents this spring.
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