Ankeny Blocks - Goodman Lots | 11 Buildings

[Photogeric]

Goodman said today that he hopes that the two lots closest to the Morrison Bridge (38 and 40 I think) will start construction this year...

[MarkDaMan]

Could downtown Portland's food carts be a thing of the past?
By Samantha Bakall | The Oregonian/OregonLive
on February 08, 2016 at 4:45 PM, updated February 08, 2016 at 5:26 PM

http://www.oregonlive.com/dining/ind...ml#incart_2box

A massive new development deal planned for downtown Portland is expected to reshape the city's skyline.

On the street level, an equally momentous change could take place: the end of downtown Portland's food carts as we know them.

As first reported by The Oregonian, the Goodman family hopes to build as many as 11 new buildings, a grocery store and $1.5 billion in investment in between local landmarks like Voodoo Doughnut and the Portland Saturday Market.

The recently unveiled proposal, called the "Ankeny Blocks," would rise on a handful of City Center Parking lots that nearly 70 food carts currently call home -- the pods at Southwest Fifth Avenue and Stark Street, Southwest Third and Washington and Southwest Second and Stark. If the development goes through, it would wipe half of downtown's food cart scene off the map.

The lot at Southwest Fifth and Stark was Portland's first pod, a model for gathering a number of food carts in one place that has been replicated in cities across the country.

No plans or blueprints are in motion for the large-scale project yet, though the Goodmans say they are eager to get started. The family is in conversations with potential tenants but declined to reveal names.

Food Carts Portland, a local cart blog, took the announcement as a sign that downtown Portland's food carts could soon be a thing of the past, calling on cart owners to "get in front of City Council" and lobby for the city to amend the "no business in the right of way" law enforced by Portland Bureau of Transportation. The law precludes trucks from moving about the city, temporarily parking and serving for a set amount of time, like carts in Los Angeles, Boston and Seattle.

...(continues)...

[maccoinnich]

Betteridge's law of headlines

[mhays]

That would encourage buildings to be bigger, to the extent that developers and tenants are only willing to be so aggressive on the space/spaces ratio. I'm a car-less urbanist/enviro but I sort of like that tradeoff within limits.

But it sounds problematic if you want to have a subway someday.

[pdxf]

I would love to see these parking lots filled with nice towers, but I will greatly miss the food carts. I didn't get to see the KATU interview so I'm not sure what they're planning, but it would be nice if some of the towers could accomodate them on their ground floors -- perhaps not true food carts, but food stalls of some sort to preserve that bit of Portland culture. Either that, or we should steal a lane on Broadway and on Fourth (or perhaps just a row of parking), and use it for food carts and some awesomely designed "eating pavillions" -- just small, covered places to eat whatever you grab at the carts.

The food carts are such a big part of Portland. Maybe we should look at this not as the end of the food carts, but an opportunity to more fully integrate them into the urban fabric and solidify them as part of Portland's culture.

[Abide]

Originally Posted by Photogeric

Goodman said today that he hopes that the two lots closest to the Morrison Bridge (38 and 40 I think) will start construction this year...

Seems unlikely, but I wonder if this means they are already deep into negotiations with a developer for those two lots.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

Betteridge's law of headlines

I have never heard of that law, but it makes sense and definitely applies here.

[Encolpius]

Originally Posted by pdxf

[W]e should steal a lane on Broadway and on Fourth (or perhaps just a row of parking), and use it for food carts and some awesomely designed "eating pavillions" -- just small, covered places to eat whatever you grab at the carts.... Maybe we should look at this not as the end of the food carts, but an opportunity to more fully integrate them into the urban fabric and solidify them as part of Portland's culture.

That sounds like a good idea, and I completely agree on the last point. The food cart phenomenon has been made possible from the beginning by rededicating space once intended for cars (parking lots) to instead serve the human needs of eating and socializing. Even if technically sited on private land, they've always been effectively an extension of the street ('street carts'). Develop the parking lots and put them in the actual streets, then.

[2oh1]

Originally Posted by Photogeric

Goodman said today that he hopes that the two lots closest to the Morrison Bridge (38 and 40 I think) will start construction this year...

WOW!

Originally Posted by Abide

Seems unlikely, but I wonder if this means they are already deep into negotiations with a developer for those two lots.

My thoughts exactly. They'd have to already something in the works in order to break ground this year. And they're talking about breaking ground on TWO major downtown full block projects? This year? Wow again.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by 2oh1

WOW!



My thoughts exactly. They'd have to already something in the works in order to break ground this year. And they're talking about breaking ground on TWO major downtown full block projects? This year? Wow again.

I am curious and skeptical as well, though not about it being two blocks that could be developed because it would probably be completely different developers for each one.

Plus for those two blocks, we would be talking about two smaller buildings that could be built.

[ZigzagMan]

To be fair here, nothing is starting "soon". I also watched the Katu interview and Goodman made it pretty clear that everything is "years" away from happening and also even mentioned that the food carts will def be part of the picture "when" all this actually ever happens.

I think all this is just to stir some hype to bring developers in. I think all this hooplah is about nothing..

[BrG]

Originally Posted by Derek

People keep saying this, but I'd like to see concrete evidence as to why. Some of the lowest vacancy rates in the country in both apartment rentals and commercial space, growing hotel needs, yet most of what we're getting is 6 story boxes. I've said this before in another thread somewhere on here, but I just don't get it. I get the whole "lack of large corporate presence" thing, but I don't see why we can't get a tower that's 20 stories of office, 20 stories of apartments, and 20 stories of hotel rooms. I'm not an economic major or anything, but a mixed use tower like that seems like it would make a ton of sense in Portland. PAW is a good start, I just can't get why developers and investors in Portland can't think big. It's pathetic with how much growth Portland has had in the past few decades that our tallest building was built in 1972. It would be nice to get something that pushes the 600 foot mark just to modernize the skyline a bit. I know, I know, built urban form is more important than tall buildings. I just think a new tallest would make a huge impact for this city.

It's simple, really. The math doesn't work 98% of the time.

I wish it did and more tall buildings could occupy the skyline. Portland's zoning code requirements are especially adept at making the ground floor areas feel better than other cities, so it would retain it's unique quality, IMO.

Developers need the math to point to good IRR and cap rates, because their investors expect it. Especially the institutional ones. The cost to build here in Portland like this....just doesn't yield the necessary revenue to justify the investment. It's really expensive to build taller than 240' (required redundant structural systems, etc. and even more expensive to build above 420'.)

South Waterfront is a great example. Lots of taller zoning and little to nothing tall proposed.

The 2% of the time where an exception is present, like being an early bird (or so late, you're early for the next wave) you get the Park Avenue West, apartment tower. A fantastic project in the literal center of the city, at the right time. (4 years of the absolute 'wrong' time preceded it... so it remained a hole in the ground.) Or Cosmopolitan, which was in the works when the economy was busted but recovering.

More tall buildings will happen in the future, but not to the frequency that some envision or expect. Unless the economic landscape evolves further upward in Portland. It's debatable whether the city wants $5-6 dollar/ft apartment rent, $1,000 to $1,200/sf condo prices and $50-$60 dollar/ft/year office rent. That's San Francisco money. Seattle is on its way in that direction, already.

Hard to see wages supporting that here, at least for the time being.

[BrG]

Originally Posted by ZigzagMan

I think all this is just to stir some hype to bring developers in. I think all this hooplah is about nothing..

It's not about 'nothing' as they are involved in development too, but it certainly is a strategy to bring awareness to THEIR develop-able real estate offerings.

Which, incidentally are easily indexed and searched right there on their dedicated web page.

http://theankenyblocks.com/

and a bullet list... of EVERYTHING they have available

http://www.ddgportland.com/property

[mhays]

You don't need those prices. Seattle is more like $4/sf apartments, $750/sf condos, and $40/sf offices that justify new highrises. Portland needs to go higher if you want a lot of highrises, but probably more to Seattle's level than SF's. As for Seattle heading in SF's direction, we'll never get as high as they are, because it's easier to develop here, with a lot more developable land and an easier (in relative terms) process without a potential veto at the end.

We get a lot of woodframes too, because (a) some land is zoned low, (b) much of the market doesn't want to pay "concrete" prices, and (c) the City of Seattle charges very large fees to go above the lower old zoning which varies by neighborhood, so any highrise is paying in the millions.

[ZigzagMan]

Originally Posted by BrG

It's not about 'nothing' as they are involved in development too, but it certainly is a strategy to bring awareness to THEIR develop-able real estate offerings.

Which, incidentally are easily indexed and searched right there on their dedicated web page.

http://theankenyblocks.com/

and a bullet list... of EVERYTHING they have available

http://www.ddgportland.com/property

All I'm saying is that the following things seem to be missing from this plan as described:

-Actual architectural work:

-A timeline

-A deadline

-Anyone willing to write a check to make this happen

The Oregonian’s article was newsworthy, but it was also in some ways a big classified ad dressed up as a news story. I think what really is making people happy is those pictures. Which should be mentioned is just an idea that is not currently nowhere near being reality.

[BrG]

Originally Posted by ZigzagMan

All I'm saying is that the following things seem to be missing from this plan as described:

-Actual architectural work:

-A timeline

-A deadline

-Anyone willing to write a check to make this happen

The Oregonian’s article was newsworthy, but it was also in some ways a big classified ad dressed up as a news story. I think what really is making people happy is those pictures. Which should be mentioned is just an idea that is not currently nowhere near being reality.

10-4, you are correct, yes. They've done feasibility studies and dressed them up a bit to evoke possibilities. No doubt.

[BrG]

Originally Posted by mhays

You don't need those prices. Seattle is more like $4/sf apartments, $750/sf condos, and $40/sf offices that justify new highrises. Portland needs to go higher if you want a lot of highrises, but probably more to Seattle's level than SF's. As for Seattle heading in SF's direction, we'll never get as high as they are, because it's easier to develop here, with a lot more developable land and an easier (in relative terms) process without a potential veto at the end.

We get a lot of woodframes too, because (a) some land is zoned low, (b) much of the market doesn't want to pay "concrete" prices, and (c) the City of Seattle charges very large fees to go above the lower old zoning which varies by neighborhood, so any highrise is paying in the millions.

Sorry I'm venturing a bit off topic for the thread....I wasn't saying you need those prices at the outset. More of the destination for rates, and questioning if Portland want's that for itself. Good points about Seattle's process. SFO is no picnic either.

[maccoinnich]

The Goodmans tee up Portland's next definitive district (Photos)



They may have built their empire on downtown parking lots and the parking business, but with their Ankeny Blocks idea, the Goodman family has shifted its focus sharply toward the property development game.

Earlier this year, the Goodmans unveiled their vision for 11 of their 30 developable downtown properties, a grandiose plan that could bring 4 million new square feet and more than $1.5 billion in new development to a relatively tight pocket of inner downtown.

The vision, which they're calling the Ankeny Blocks, would bring a range of mixed-use buildings full of office space, residential units, retail shops and restaurants to a neighborhood that's already home to a growing employment base and a popular night life and lunchtime food cart scene.

In advance of this week's cover story in the Portland Business Journal that profiles the longtime Portland real estate family, our photographer Cathy Cheney took a tour of the Goodmans' 11 downtown properties that they've teed up for the Ankeny Blocks.

...continues at the Portland Business Journal.