major project, major money...seems like a lot of projects starting up.
Beaverton Progress Ridge development secures funding
POSTED: Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 07:40 AM PT
BY: Nick Bjork
Barry Cain, president of Gramor Development, sits in front of a 20-acre Beaverton site that will be transformed inot a 325,000-square-foot town center called Progress Ridge TownSquare. Gramor earlier this week secured a $45 million U.S. Bank loan that will helo pay for the $60 million project. (Photo by Dan Carter/DJC)
Barry Cain, president of Gramor Development, sits in front of a 20-acre Beaverton site that will be transformed into a 325,000-square-foot town center called Progress Ridge TownSquare. Gramor earlier this week secured a $45 million U.S. Bank loan that will helo pay for the $60 million project. (Photo by Dan Carter/DJC)
After five years of planning, Tualatin-based Gramor Development is finally making progress on the long awaited Progress Ridge TownSquare in Beaverton.
Gramor has secured a $45 million loan from U.S. Bank to start work on the $60 million, 325,000-square-foot Progress Ridge TownSquare project that has been in the works since 2005. Gramor will be contributing $15 million toward the development, which is set to open in September 2011.
Gramor’s announcement comes a month after the company sold the Albertsons-anchored Vancouver Market Center for $11.2 million to the New York-based Retail Opportunity Investments.
Progress Ridge, located on Southwest Barrows Road near the unincorporated neighborhood of Bull Mountain, is a 20-acre development that will be anchored by a 41,000-square-foot New Seasons Market to the east and a 50,000-square-foot luxury theater called Cinetopia to the north. Ground was broken last year on a Big Al’s Family Bowling and Entertainment Center, which will anchor the south side of the property after it opens - perhaps next month. Nine other leases have been signed by people representing a credit union, restaurants and a host of nail and hair salons.
According to Barry Cain, president of Gramor Development, 408,000 people - with an average household income of $108,000 - reside within a 15-minute drive of the site.
“We think this development isn’t only going to be a boom for the area, but a boom for the entire retail community in the Portland area,” Cain said. “Getting this financing lined up shows that money is available for good retail in a good location.”
The project is a big boost for the market. At the end of the second quarter this year, CoStar, a commercial real estate database, reported only 29,099 square feet of retail space under construction.
The loan, which is the largest retail construction loan to be processed in the Portland area since the beginning of the recession, is a clear indicator that Portland is moving through the recession, Cain said.
Gramor has overcome several bumps to reach this point.
In 2005, Gramor proposed building a two-story Fred Meyer on the Progress Ridge site, but the plan fell through because the proposed size exceeded Beaverton’s grocery outlet size limit for the area.
Then, in 2007, both Cinetopia and New Seasons approached Cain about the property, but the recession stalled any deals before they could be finalized. When both tenants finally committed last year, Big Al’s happened to be looking for a location in the Portland area, Cain said.
“We think this is going to be much better than the original 2005 proposal,” he said. “Here we have three anchor tenants that haven’t only held on, but excelled during the recession.”
In the space of 15 minutes at the construction site on Thursday, two nearby residents and an employee with Stanley Security asked Cain about the development and what kind of work will be available.
Cain believes the development will attract tenants that will create 800 to 1,000 permanent retail and office jobs to the area. The project also is expected to support as many as 2,000 construction jobs over the next year.
There is still room for about 30 more tenants. Cain is looking specifically for two restaurants to occupy the development’s west side, where there will be a pond, a fountain for children and a small vineyard.
Cain added that Gramor is moving construction equipment out to the site this week and will be breaking ground officially on the road work next week.