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Malsin's Beam Development on the move
"Sometimes we think losing the bridgehead project was meant to be."
New ideas push Malsin ahead
TribTown • Losing bridgehead project just opened more doors for developer
By Jim Redden
Developer Brad Malsin stands on a seventh floor balcony of the newly restored Olympic Mills Commerce Center in the central east-side area. The project on the former flour mill is one of many Malsin’s company, Beam Development, has going in Portland.
From the seventh-floor balcony on his newest redevelopment project, Brad Malsin can see the one that got away.
Looking north from the recently opened Olympic Mills Commerce Center at 107 S.E. Washington St., Malsin can see the future site of the Burnside Bridgehead mixed-use development project at the east end of the Burnside Bridge.
The Portland Development Commission awarded the project to another developer – Opus Northwest – after a highly public and controversial selection process in 2005.
Ironically, the loss marked the beginning of two years of intense work and growing visibility for Malsin’s company, Beam Development.
Although the bridgehead project is stalled as Opus searches for an anchor tenant and the right housing mix, Beam Development is busier than ever.
“We’ve never been involved in so many projects. Sometimes we think losing the bridgehead project was meant to be,” Malsin said.
In addition to finishing the conversion of the B & O Warehouse into offices and restaurant spaces and the Old Town planning effort, Beam Development also is working with nonprofit HOST Development on Milepost 5, an affordable live-work community for artists at Northeast 82nd Avenue and Oregon Street.
But without a doubt, the biggest project is the planned redevelopment of five blocks in the Old Town/Chinatown area owned by the Bill Naito Co.
Malsin’s company is the master developer for the project, which stretches from the former Import Plaza block on Northwest Naito Parkway four blocks to the west and also includes most of the block behind the landmark Salvation Army building at the west end of the Burnside Bridge.
“We hope to create a critical mass of housing and businesses that will spread beyond the project itself,” Malsin said.
The redevelopment also is planned to include hallmarks of Beam’s work – extensive reuse of existing buildings combined with energy-saving technology.
For example, for the Olympic Mills Commerce Center project, the company recycled original wood in the building into wall treatments that give the massive lobby a warm and natural feeling.
Other touches include skylights and windows that can be easily opened to bring natural light and fresh air in the offices spaces.
“Sustainability is all about saving energy, and if you don’t have to turn on the lights or the air conditioner, that’s a great start,” Malsin said during a recent tour of the project, which already was 40 percent leased before it opened to the public last Friday.
Trip sharpens a vision
Such ideas prompted the Seattle-based International Sustainable Institute to invite Malsin on a recent tour of green building sites in Sweden, Norway and Germany with Metro President David Bragdon and city Commissioner Randy Leonard.
“We were impressed by his open-mindedness and willingness to pursue new ideas,” said Patricia Chase, the director of the institute, which works to expose developers and decision-makers to the newest sustainability ideas from around the world.
The day after he returned from the trip, Malsin testified about the future of downtown development before the Urban Renewal Advisory Group, a committee including representatives of the City Council, the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners and the Portland Development Commission that will help reshape the city core.
Although he said he was suffering from jet lag, Malsin used the opportunity to sketch a vision of a vibrant, densely packed city where residents freely mingle in redeveloped older buildings and along bustling sidewalks lined with cafes and coffee shops.
“We have the opportunity to re-create the best of European culture here,” he said.
Reaching out to neighbors
All of this is just the most recent change for Malsin, a New York eye doctor who moved to Portland more than 10 years ago looking for a change of pace.
With the support of his wife, a lawyer, Malsin began exploring sustainable redevelopment opportunities along the inner east side. His first project transformed a neglected warehouse into the Eastbank Commerce Center, a small-business incubator at 1001 S.E. Water Ave.
Although he lost the competition for the bridgehead project to the larger, more established Opus Northwest, Malsin won admirers throughout the city by reaching out to east-side residents and businesses during the competition.
“His ability to work with neighbors really impressed me. I’m used to seeing developers butting heads with the community, not working with them,” Leonard said.
Now the company is using the same approach in its Old Town/Chinatown development. Malsin and Pete Eggspuehler, the company’s director of real estate development, have met repeatedly with area residents, property owners and social service providers while drafting their redevelopment plans.
“The goal is for everyone to work together and be happy with the results. We don’t want to change the feel of the area; we want to enhance it,” Malsin said.
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