Toyoko Inn | 357' | 32 floors | Dead

[zilfondel]

Originally Posted by AdamUrbanist

Dividing site area by the building square footage is not a great way to estimate the height because...

I know, but it was just a quick 'back of the napkin' calculation. I didn't get to bill anyone on it, after all.

I threw in the +30% - 50% addition as a fudge factor for floorplate erosion for unit access to daylight and other issues.

[maccoinnich]

No real news about this, other than that it came up in conversation between Charlie Hales and Patrick Quinton (of the PDC) today at City Council. According to Hales, he was speaking to some people in Japan who are very excited that Toyoko Inn will be building their first (?) US hotel in Portland.

[maccoinnich]

Title passed to Toyoko Inn earlier this month:

[pdxtraveler]

I was just wondering about this one the other day! Interesting.

[pdxtraveler]

Any news on this? Wonder if they backed off due to the amount of hotels going up right now. But it would be GREAT to have this lot taken up. Also they are a budget brand, it would be nice to have that price point.

[innovativethinking]

Originally Posted by pdxtraveler

Any news on this? Wonder if they backed off due to the amount of hotels going up right now. But it would be GREAT to have this lot taken up. Also they are a budget brand, it would be nice to have that price point.

It's cancelled

[Derek]

Originally Posted by innovativethinking

It's cancelled

Source?

[2oh1]

As of last month, it wasn't cancelled.

Central City Development & Redevelopment Projects
Prepared by Heritage Consulting Group
May 2017

Toyoko Inn (209 SW Oak Street) – Japanese hotelier Toyoko Hotels, the largest hospitality operator in Japan with 240 properties, is proposing a 300-400 room economy hotel on this quarter block vacant site that once housed the Portland City Jail. The parcel was owned by Portland Development Commission and awarded to Tokoyo Inn during a competitive bidding process. McKenzie Architecture is engaged in the building design.

[maccoinnich]

Under the terms of the Purchase and Sale Agreement between Toyoko Inn and the (then-) PDC, the PDC has the option to buy back the site at the original price if construction has not commenced within two years of the closing date. I'm not sure if the closing date is the same as the 09/27/2016 sale date listed on portlandmaps.com, but assuming it is, that gives Toyoko a little over a year to get through the design review process and get (at a minimum) an excavation permit. That's doable, although tight.

[MarkDaMan]

I noticed yesterday they've taken down the chain link fence and put up a more permanent fence. That doesn't seem to indicate any immediate progress is happening.

[innovativethinking]

Originally Posted by MarkDaMan

I noticed yesterday they've taken down the chain link fence and put up a more permanent fence. That doesn't seem to indicate any immediate progress is happening.

Of course

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by MarkDaMan

I noticed yesterday they've taken down the chain link fence and put up a more permanent fence. That doesn't seem to indicate any immediate progress is happening.

Nah, it is just from all the complaints about the sex pit....yeah, it is a hot spot for the junkies that hang around there to crap, shoot up, and have sex. That site had so many complaints that a more permanent fence to keep them out was needed.

[MarkDaMan]

^I'm still pissed we don't have the Oak Tower there because of Randy Leonard. The neighborhood is in great need of a catalyst project.

[innovativethinking]

Originally Posted by MarkDaMan

^I'm still pissed we don't have the Oak Tower there because of Randy Leonard. The neighborhood is in great need of a catalyst project.

What happened?

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by MarkDaMan

^I'm still pissed we don't have the Oak Tower there because of Randy Leonard. The neighborhood is in great need of a catalyst project.

I wanted the Oak Tower too, that was a great building proposed for that lot. My biggest issue was PDC trying to say the lot was work -$1million. There is no way any land in downtown is worth a negative value. It shouldn't have been an issue for the developer to pay a market rate value on that land to build condos that were selling like hot cakes at the time.

Honestly I wish someone would revive the Oak Tower and still get it built. This Toyoko Inn is nothing more than a farce, basically they are holding onto the land until someone comes along with a big enough check. All of this goes against the purpose of the PDC to begin with since they were suppose to buy up land and find developers that actively wanted to build rather than sit on land.

[justrmor]

Originally Posted by urbanlife

All of this goes against the purpose of the PDC to begin with since they were suppose to buy up land and find developers that actively wanted to build rather than sit on land.

The PDC (Prosper Portland) is great at developing areas of the city that are primed to be developed. e.g. The Pearl District would have happened with or without PDC. But other areas, eh... They tried to develop Lents and it was a disaster.

I'd be quite alright if the city just disbanded Prosper Portland. I am not sure how much benefit the organization provides the city. And I would much rather see those property tax dollars go straight to the city.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by justrmor

The PDC (Prosper Portland) is great at developing areas of the city that are primed to be developed. e.g. The Pearl District would have happened with or without PDC. But other areas, eh... They tried to develop Lents and it was a disaster.

I'd be quite alright if the city just disbanded Prosper Portland. I am not sure how much benefit the organization provides the city. And I would much rather see those property tax dollars go straight to the city.

The early days the PDC functioned like it was suppose to and did a great job fast tracking development and getting land into the hands of those that wanted to develop. The Pearl would have probably happened eventually, but I do think they played an important role in it happening much sooner. Unfortunately I don't think they function the same way anymore and I have to agree, it should either be disbanded or greatly reformed into something that focuses on large scale affordable housing projects or something like that.

[subterranean]

Originally Posted by urbanlife

I have to agree, it should either be disbanded or greatly reformed into something that focuses on large scale affordable housing projects or something like that.

We already have something like that. It's called the Portland Housing Bureau.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by subterranean

We already have something like that. It's called the Portland Housing Bureau.

Then in that case, it should just be disbanded because the PDC no longer functions like it was intended to.

[MarkDaMan]

Originally Posted by urbanlife

Then in that case, it should just be disbanded because the PDC no longer functions like it was intended to.

Don't jump on that bandwagon so quickly. Prosper Portland (PDC) has a unique ability to ready land for development that otherwise wouldn't be redeveloped or developed to the higher density. There's no way the Pearl would have developed in the manner it did without the PDC removing and cleaning the rail yards, remove the Lovejoy viaduct, fund the streetcar, remove brownfields and many other large scale, expensive improvements that would not be funded by developers or the city's general fund. Not every ball they hit out of the ballpark but they've played an instrumental role in so much of Portland's modern built form.

The USPS site is a perfect example. The city swooping in to get a sweet deal with two government agencies working together will allow the city to sell off pieces of land (possibly for even more than they paid) to developers to build at desired densities. One only needs to look at the Lloyd parking lot that is going to be developed to see what the USPS site could be, if left to the private market forces. Also keep in mind that the PDC has leveraged private development in URAs to create more affordable housing, such as Hoyt Street and Zidell's commitments.