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  #21  
Old Posted Dec 27, 2006, 5:25 PM
PDX City-State PDX City-State is offline
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I read in the Trib that there is an agency that actively recruits companies to HQ in Portland.
They have an uphill climb. I would have previously joined the chorus of people defending Portland as business-friendly--but as I have recently been helping a friend with a start-up business here, I have been in state of utter disbelief. We have all the ingredients of a great place for business--good geography, a cool city where intelligent people flock, a fantastic downtown, educated populace, and tons of close-in underdeveloped land. However, it's the small county and city taxes that honestly make the burbs more attractive. To someone who has never ran a business, two or three percent sounds miniscule--but two or three percent can be half a profit margin of a big company. I would be very surprised if Portland ever lands a truly big company that didn't originate here.
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  #22  
Old Posted Dec 27, 2006, 6:00 PM
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^Portland is in serious need of tax reform, moreso than the State of Oregon. If the city/county tax on businesses was dropped, and instead a payroll or some other small tax applied to replace part of the lost revenue, Portland would have companies crawling all over themselves to locate here...especially with the news that the state might refund 67% of all business taxes collected due to the f'in kicker.
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  #23  
Old Posted Dec 28, 2006, 3:42 AM
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^ I thought the city tax on business was just for companies doing business in the city of Portland. Example: If GE moved here their taxes would be the same in Portland as in Beaverton because all of the business takes place outside of the city.

But I agree with both of you. Portland needs some serious tax reforms. The city has everything employers could ask for (as mentioned by PDX city state). It seems like Portland is still trying to win that egalitarian tax battle with companies from the 70s and companies just go somewhere else.
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  #24  
Old Posted Dec 28, 2006, 3:59 AM
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Does anyone know of a site that lists the complete tax burdens of locating/doing business in the top 30 U.S. cities in a comparable fashion? (30 is just a number off the top of my head...any number of cities, including Portland, would work).

Quick late note: I just found the following site: http://www.competitivealternatives.c...cationmenu.asp

Portland seems to be pretty competitive in many regards....the property tax issue seems to be an issue compared to some cities but Portland is far from being the worse.

Last edited by PacificNW; Dec 28, 2006 at 4:58 AM.
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  #25  
Old Posted Dec 28, 2006, 5:35 AM
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Lol, the list on that site has Colorado Springs and not Denver....

With the low vacancy rates, what a perfect time for a new tallest
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  #26  
Old Posted Jan 6, 2007, 9:42 AM
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Portland ranked No. 10 for investment opportunity with office space
Posted by The Oregonian business desk January 5, 2007 17:48
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Real estate brokerage Grubb & Ellis Co. has ranked Portland No. 10 in the nation for office building "investment opportunity" in 2007, indicating the recent strong demand for purchase of office buildings will continue.

With investors spending tens of billions of dollars chasing real estate investments in recent years, buildings in top-tier cities have become extremely expensive, said David Hill, an investment broker with the firm's Portland office.

"They're saying, 'Where else can we go?' " Hill said. "They're starting to look around."

In 2006, office building sales totaled more than $850 million in about 50 transactions, compared with about $750 million in about 60 deals the prior year, Hill said. Both were record dollar amounts.

This year will continue to be strong, though the dollar volume will likely not match 2006, Hill said, because of that year's sale of the U.S. Bancorp Tower for $279.5 million.

Grubb & Ellis, based in Chicago, also ranked the Seattle area No. 6 for office investment.

Portland stands out as a market with "strong fundamentals," Hill said. Office vacancy rates are in the single digits and are expected to continue to fall. Significant rent increases started two to three years ago in the Kruse Way area of Lake Oswego and have more recently spread to downtown.

A shortage of available sites for buildings, due in part to government restrictions on development, adds to the market's appeal, Hill said. That makes it hard for developers of new buildings to compete with existing buildings for office tenants.

" Dylan Rivera
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  #27  
Old Posted Jan 8, 2007, 3:58 PM
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A shortage of available sites for buildings, due in part to government restrictions on development, adds to the market's appeal, Hill said. That makes it hard for developers of new buildings to compete with existing buildings for office tenants.
what does this mean? Are they talking about the UGB?
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  #28  
Old Posted Jan 8, 2007, 7:47 PM
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I think the article is referring to the CBD. Looking at it via Google Earth, one can see that most sites are already developed (save a few).
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  #29  
Old Posted Jan 8, 2007, 8:12 PM
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^that's what I figured, though there is still plenty of surface parking and even several buildings that could be demolished...Plaid Pantry on Jefferson anyone?

I don't consider downtown to be that tight where new developers can't purchase and build...and I really don't see how the city council has imposed any 'government restrictions on development' that would cause hardship to developers.
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  #30  
Old Posted Jan 9, 2007, 4:11 PM
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Real estate sectors see solid year ahead
by Kennedy Smith
01/09/2007


Commercial real estate professionals should be “cautiously optimistic” about the year to come in all sectors – office, industrial, retail and investment – according to year-end reports from Grubb & Ellis and Colliers International, two commercial real estate firms with branches in Portland.

“We’re going to have another strong year,” said Tom Lawill, head of the Portland branch of Colliers International. “I don’t see anything on the immediate horizon that will affect us negatively.”

Office space

In the central business district, office space is tight, with vacancy rates hovering around 6 percent for Class A space. Both 2005 and 2006 saw demand outpace available space in the CBD, giving landlords the upper hand, with rental rates averaging about $21 per square foot by the end of last year. It should remain a landlord’s market in the immediate future, according to Grubb & Ellis.

“Portland does not have a myriad of huge downtown office tenants, but those that exist are facing a dilemma,” said Patricia Raitch, communications and research director at the Portland office of Grubb & Ellis. “Renewal options are limited because of growth encumbrances, and there are few existing options for relocation.”

The good news is that larger tenants who can’t find what they want may consider new construction this year – even in the central business district. “Those large tenants can wield enough leverage to kick-start a major project and may be able to put their own touches on a new trophy building downtown,” she said. “The question remains who will be the first to secure an anchor tenant and put shovel to ground.”

There are currently three office buildings in development downtown: One Waterfront Place, 100 Columbia, and First and Main. “If a major tenant stepped up and began negotiating for a pre-lease, they could have a say in some of the design aspects of the property,” Raitch explained.

Another project in the Pearl District at Northwest Ninth Avenue and Lovejoy Street will offer about 70,000 square feet of retail space when the mixed-use project is completed later this year.

If all else fails, there’s always Kruse Way. Like it has been for the last few years, Kruse Way, off of Interstate 5 in Lake Oswego, is the poster child for a strong office rental submarket. Tenants who can’t find space in the CBD “always have opportunities out in the Sunset Corridor,” Colliers’ Lawill said. “The Tigard Triangle (near Interstate 5 from the southbound Haines Road exit) is as good as ever also; it still has drawing power.”

Ross Moore, senior vice president and director of market and economic research for Colliers, predicts office rents will increase anywhere from 12 percent to 15 percent in 2007 due to spikes in additional expenses such as insurance, maintenance and property taxes.

Industrial

“There are a few yellow lights on the horizon” for industrial space, Raitch said.

The housing market, which is finally slowing from a boom in the last couple of years, could spell trouble for industrial investors, especially as marble and tile companies, countertop distributors, window manufacturers and other home product makers abandon some space.

Best bets for 2007, she said, are Airport Way and the Northeast Columbia Corridor, which should both enjoy higher rental rates and low vacancy rates in the year to come.

Retail

The slowing housing market will also affect retailers in 2007 as consumer spending growth moderates. The International Council of Shopping Centers last week reported combined November and December same-store sales at U.S. chain stores rose 2.8 percent, which trailed last year’s 3.6 percent gain.

However, wage gains and new jobs should somewhat neutralize this, Colliers’ Moore said. The state’s unemployment rate stands at 5.3 percent, down from 5.8 percent a year ago, according to the Oregon Employment Department. Nationwide, unemployment over the last year has dropped from 5 percent to 4.5 percent.

Lifestyle retailers will likely bear the brunt of the slowdown in spending, he said, but not enough to cause any tenant closures.

“The biggest success stories in the coming year are bound to be high-end retailers and those with strong brand image, as well as apparel retailers, who should have a solid year,” he said. “Overall, owners of retail real estate can expect another solid year, similar to 2006.”

Investments

It was an interesting year for investments in the Portland area in 2006, with major properties like the U.S. Bancorp Tower, One Main Place and Columbia Business Center changing ownership. Investors will keep their eye on the area in 2007, Raitch said.

“Overpricing in tier-one markets continues to push investors to review offerings in second-tier markets, benefiting sellers in Portland,” she said.

Both Grubb & Ellis and Colliers see green building as a major staple in the real estate industry in years to come. They predict that new office development will be built to the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards.

Eyeing Vancouver

With a tight CBD and increased rents in the industrial sector in the Portland area, tenants may start eyeing Vancouver as a viable option.

In fact, Lawill said, “there’s more of a psychological drive to be either on the east side or west side of the Willamette River than there is to relocate to Vancouver,” meaning there’s less of a stigma for Portland companies to move to Washington than there is for a company to consider relocating from the eastside to the westside.

“Vancouver is phenomenal,” Lawill said. “There’s a good market and strong demand, and with 70,000 cars a day that come and go across the river the psychological reasons for relocating to Vancouver are quickly disappearing.”

http://www.djc-or.com/viewStory.cfm?...28685&userID=1
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  #31  
Old Posted Feb 16, 2007, 8:40 AM
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Booyah Baby! Looks like 1st and Main is still a go

I thought this was going to be scrapped after the announcement of the moyer tower but it looks as though its on its way to being built. Lets hope it stays that way

Planned bike hub is a tip of the helmet to commuters
A 16-story office tower to be built downtown will offer cycle storage, showers and lockers

Friday, February 16, 2007
FRED LEESON
This could take some of the sweat out of Portland's growing peloton of bicycling commuters:

A new downtown office building to rise on a surface parking lot at Southwest First Avenue and Main Street is the first to feature a "bicycle hub," offering 933 square feet of indoor storage for 34 bikes, showers and lockers.

The 16-story tower, being developed by Equity Office Properties Trust, based in Chicago, and Gerding/Edlen of Portland, will offer the perks to earn a square footage bonus allowed by downtown development regulations.

Bike riders may work in the new building or other downtown locations, according to the tentative plan. It would be the first office tower greeting riders as they enter Portland off the Hawthorne Bridge, which during summer peaks carries 5,500 daily bike trips.

But the cyclists' bennies will not be free. "As I understand it, these operate for a fee," said Richard Dobrot, one of the building's architects.

Roger Geller, bicycle coordinator for the Portland Office of Transportation, said the new building would be the first here offering bike amenities to its own tenants as well as employees in other buildings. He said some large employers provide secure parking and showers for their own employees.

In addition, Bike Central, a Portland cooperative, offers secure parking and showers at two Portland private athletic clubs.

The developers have yet to hire an operator to run the bike hub. Bike repair and sales of bicycle-related gear could become part of the setup, too.

Portland's downtown development regulations offer bonuses for desired uses in various locations, including housing, rooftop gardens, retail space, decorative fountains and public art.

The new tower, which the Portland Design Commission approved Thursday, takes advantage of a "locker room bonus option" to encourage bicycling. The rules allow an extra 40 square feet of building space for each square foot devoted to the locker bonus.

In this case, the bonus amounts to 37,320 square feet, or nearly an entire floor on a downtown-sized block.

Of course, the bike is not yet king. Three basement levels in the tower will hold 294 parking stalls.

Fred Leeson: 503-294-5946; fredleeson@news.oregonian.com
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  #32  
Old Posted Feb 16, 2007, 2:34 PM
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great news i wonder how far off we are from this starting
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  #33  
Old Posted Feb 16, 2007, 4:07 PM
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The new tower, which the Portland Design Commission approved Thursday
seems like it could start soon, I think the PDC might have been negotiating the MultCo courthouse issues (the tunnel idea to the Justice Center) so possibly the PDC threw in the money MultCo didn't have to make it a reality? Pure speculation on that front though!
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  #34  
Old Posted Feb 16, 2007, 5:57 PM
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There's a small article in the Oregonian today that the construction loans have been arranged and that construction will begin soon on the ZGF Tower.
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  #35  
Old Posted Feb 17, 2007, 5:36 AM
nehalem5 nehalem5 is offline
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I'm not sure these updated renderings of first and main have been posted yet. They were given to me by a friend who works at GBD.
I have been reading this site for a while...decided to join the fray




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  #36  
Old Posted Feb 17, 2007, 5:58 AM
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Welcome to fray! and thanks for a nice first post...the renderings look nice. i particularly like the blue glass set next to the white
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  #37  
Old Posted Feb 17, 2007, 6:05 AM
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Welcome Nehalem5!
That rendering looks so much better than the rendering they posted at the site. It looks like the entire exterior was completely redesigned. I'm so glad they put the extra effort into this.
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  #38  
Old Posted Feb 17, 2007, 6:11 AM
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Wow! Those renderings look a million times better than the previous...and welcome to thunderdome nehalem5
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  #39  
Old Posted Feb 17, 2007, 7:42 AM
Drmyeyes Drmyeyes is offline
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From the article above: Planned bike hub is a tip of the helmet to commuters

"...offering 933 square feet of indoor storage for 34 bikes, showers and lockers."... and ..."The rules allow an extra 40 square feet of building space for each square foot devoted to the locker bonus.

In this case, the bonus amounts to 37,320 square feet, or nearly an entire floor on a downtown-sized block."

More than a thousand square feet of extra building space for each bike. That's quite an incentive. Wonder how that pencils out. The idea of providing facilities for cyclists is a great idea. For 150 cyclists would be even better.
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  #40  
Old Posted Feb 17, 2007, 4:24 PM
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Nehalem5: Welcome to our happy family!

I, too, find these latest renderings much more pleasing than what we were originally presented with. Glad to hear this is still a "go"!
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