The Press Blocks (Oregonian Publishing Buildings) | 250' | 23 floors | U/C

[tworivers]

Bump. Submitted for permits last July -- do we have any idea when this might be u/c?

[tworivers]

What do you guys think? Is this dead?

[maccoinnich]

The applicants submitted revisions to the city for the office portion in March and for the residential tower in April. Most of the review groups have signed off on the project but there are still some checksheets open. I'd say it's pretty safe to assume that the project is alive, it's just that getting a permit in Portland is sloooooow.

[tworivers]

Thanks maccoinnich. I'm very much hoping that they get permits in hand before the project becomes untenable in the current market.

[2oh1]

This site has so much potential. I really hope construction gets going before the economy tanks, which I assume is a year or two away. The seeds for a nasty recessions have been sown. I'm hoping for another Ladd Tower type of project here, not in terms of design (though I love Ladd Tower), but rather, in terms of how Ladd Tower didn't get killed off when the economy tanked since it was already well underway. Ladd did flip from a design for condos to apartments though, but I think that was a good thing.

[johnliu]

Hope it doesn't end up like a PAW hole in the ground. I worked next to that for years. It was an embarrassment to Portland.

[MarkDaMan]

Originally Posted by johnliu

Hope it doesn't end up like a PAW hole in the ground. I worked next to that for years. It was an embarrassment to Portland.

There were special circumstances that left PAW in the hole for years. The Great Recession being the biggest issue. Banks stopped lending, the economy imploded, Moyer decided to start the tower using his own money and then wasn't able to secure a bank construction loan and cut off funds leaving the PAW pit. It was unfortunate, I don't think was an embarrassment for anyone other than TMT. "Portland" had nothing to do with the unbuilt tower.

I don't see those circumstances being an issue with currently any under construction or proposed developments.

[tworivers]

Not to beat a dead horse but I can't believe that the permits for this one are still under review. You'd think that the city would want to move more quickly on bigger projects like this that will generate higher property taxes and increased economic activity -- seems like the slower they move the less likely it is that the project will still pencil out with rapidly increasing construction costs and softening apartment market. I don't get it. Isn't BDS flush? Can't they hire more staff? It shouldn't take a year from design approval to having permits in hand.

[maccoinnich]

Not a lot of recent activity on the main building permits, but the demolition permit for the existing half block building has been issued.

[ORNative]

Wow - Next week will be 14 months since it was submitted for permits. How can a developer wait that long (after a year of design review) and expect a project to pencil out? What do other cities do to encourage housing development?

[DMH]

Originally Posted by ORNative

Wow - Next week will be 14 months since it was submitted for permits. How can a developer wait that long (after a year of design review) and expect a project to pencil out? What do other cities do to encourage housing development?

Maybe the "market" is determining the slower pace. There are signs of a glut of new apartments. New buildings are offering incentives such as first-month free rent just to get tenants to sign a lease. Maybe rents have finally leveled off so that with the soaring cost of construction (could be Trump steel tariffs) some projects may no longer pencil out.

[ORNative]

Originally Posted by DMH

Maybe the "market" is determining the slower pace. There are signs of a glut of new apartments. New buildings are offering incentives such as first-month free rent just to get tenants to sign a lease. Maybe rents have finally leveled off so that with the soaring cost of construction (could be Trump steel tariffs) some projects may no longer pencil out.

Roger. But the the thread says that the developer proposed the building June 30, 2015, made it through design review and then submitted the projects for permitting in July 2017. It seems like a year of waiting for the permits to review and issue creates another level of uncertainty for building here. Of course, nobody could have predicted international tariffs a year ago. Everybody has to look into their crystal balls to project population trends, future economic downturns and the price that the market will bear. Those are conditions that developers will confront in all cities. Here, though, from proposal to shovel in the dirt seems like a very long time with design review and such a long permitting process. Like I say, I don't know what it looks like in other cities but the longer it is between proposal and construction the bigger the gamble to invest your money - I would think.

[zilfondel]

Seems pretty normal for permitting. This is why you are given the option to pay staff overtime for them to expedite permit reviews. ☺

We once waited 9 months for the city to issue a permit for a sidewalk connecting to the parking lot, which delayed the occupancy.

[CouvScott]

From the DJC (Puget Sound)


Security Properties and Urban Renaissance Group are redeveloping The Oregonian's former printing plant at 1750 S.W. Yamhill St. in the Goose Hollow neighborhood of Portland.

[maccoinnich]

From the press release I just received:

Press Blocks Fact Sheet

About the Project

Led by Urban Renaissance Group and Security Properties, the Press Blocks project will redevelop the former Oregonian publishing buildings. The property, which spans one-and-a-half city blocks, was previously home to the newspaper’s main printing facility. Urban Renaissance Group acquired the site in 2017 following the decision by the publisher to outsource printing services. The project will be completed in two phases. Phase I is an office building, known as Canvas, constructed on the half-block located at 1750 SW Yamhill St.

Phase II is located at 1621 SW Taylor Street and comprises a thoughtfully-articulated, full-block site that includes a 23-story residential apartment tower and a boutique, three-story office and retail building separated by a landscaped midblock pedestrian plaza. Upon completion, this portion of the Project will include 341 luxury apartment units, 12,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, 19,800 square feet of creative office space and four levels (475 spaces) of underground parking. Phase II is expected to break ground in early 2019.

Canvas at Press Blocks

The Canvas office building project will break ground in October and is located directly to east of Providence Park. The eight-story building includes 130,000 square feet of creative office space and 8,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Amenities include:

• Private outdoor deck on 7th floor
• Common area rooftop terrace and lounge
• Premium bike parking
• Showers and lockers
• Walk Score: 98, Transit Score: 91, Bike Score: 94
• 40 below-grade executive parking spaces

Development Team

• Developers – Urban Renaissance Group and Security Properties
• Architect – GBD Architects
• Contractor – Lease Crutcher Lewis
• Leasing – JLL (Office) and Urban Works (Retail)

Key Dates

• Demo begins in early October 2018
• Scheduled completion of Canvas (Phase I) - June 2020

[geohiker]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

From the press release I just received:

I'm glad this project is moving into demolition. I was beginning to think that project would get stuck in the permitting process for all eternity.

[tworivers]

Fantastic news. I was suspecting that the next time this thread got bumped the title would be changed to "canceled". Fingers crossed that Phase II actually begins early next year.

[maccoinnich]

Seattle developer to start construction on 'Press Blocks' office building



A Seattle developer is set to demolish part of the former printing plant for The Oregonian and start construction on an eight-story office tower.

Fences went up around the building at 1750 S.W. Yamhill St. earlier this week. Demolition work could begin within days, said Tom Kilbane, the who oversees Urban Renaissance Group's Portland office.

Invesco Real Estate of Atlanta joined Urban Renaissance Group and another Seattle firm, Security Properties, as a partner in the project, clearing the way for work to begin.

The tower, which Urban Renaissance has named Canvas, would bring a large office property to a neighborhood with few similar offerings. No tenants have signed on, but Kilbane said his company is in talks with several firms.

...continues at the Oregonian.

[maccoinnich]

Permit for the half block office building is “Approved to Issue” as of yesterday.

[maccoinnich]

Permit for the half block office building was issued yesterday.