Pearl District News

[MarkDaMan]

Bob Ball is back with a new Pearl project
Portland Business Journal by Wendy Culverwell , Business Journal staff writer
Date: Tuesday, December 6, 2011, 9:28am PST

Developer and one-time mayoral candidate Bob Ball is back in the spotlight and ready to dig dirt — in the Pearl District.

Ball said Monday he will build a 177-unit luxury apartment project in the Pearl in answer to a blistering 2.37 percent vacancy rate.

The announcement signals a return to real estate development for Ball. Ball has kept a low profile since 2007 when he played a key role in exposing Sam Adams’ relationship with a teen during the run-up to the 2008 mayoral election.

Ball, who like Adams is gay, reported rumors of Adams’ relationship with then teen-aged Beau Breedlove. Adams denied the relationship. Ball was widely discredited and his own mayoral ambitions were shelved. Adams went on to defeat Sho Dozono to become mayor.

The truth — that Adams indeed had a relationship with Breedlove — didn’t come out until after he took office in 2009. He apologized then survived a criminal investigation and two recall attempts. He is not seeking a second term.

In one of Ball’s first public moves since the scandal, he said he will construct The Parker in the block bordered by Northwest Pettygrove, Quimby, 12th and 13th streets at the north end of the Pearl District. The site currently is occupied by a warehouse. The Eugene-based owner, Evergreen Galway LLC, paid $6 million for the property on Oct. 21, 2005.

In a rare move for a developer, he pointed out that the project will generate about $2.4 million in permit and other fees for the city that Adams now oversees. The project budget was not immediately available. Ball said only that it will be “privately funded”.

Architecture firm Fletcher Farr Ayotte has designed a six-story building around a courtyard. Amenities include 181 parking spaces, a workout facility, coffee bar, 180 bicycle stalls, a dog-washing area and a bicycle repair station.

The project is designed to qualify for LEED Platinum status.

Ball, CEO of Astor Pacific, has developed a series of residential projects in the Pearl District.

The Wyatt, a 244-unit condominium building, was his last major project. The property at 1221 N.W. Marshall St. opened in 2008 and is operating as an apartment building.

He is one of just a few developers with concrete plans to answer soaring demand for rental units in Portland, one of the nation’s hottest markets for multifamily real estate.

Across Portland, the average apartment vacancy rate was 3.44 percent in a fall survey conducted by the Metro Multifamily Housing Association.

It was even tighter in Northwest Portland, which includes the Pearl District. The average vacancy rate was 2.37 percent and the average asking rent for a one bedroom one bathroom unit was $1.94 per square foot or about $1,550 for an 800-square-foot unit.

“I wanted to create a building of distinction and The Parker will deliver quality apartments at a time when the rental market is tightening,” Ball said in a press release.

Wendy Culverwell covers real estate, retail and hospitality.

http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/..._du_pub&page=2

[Sioux612]

(Oregonian)

[bvpcvm]

design advice request

[New Madrid]

Christ that's ugly...

[MarkDaMan]

Fletcher Farr Ayotte is capable of SO much better. This should be embarrassing to them.

[cab]

Jesus how long does it take a writer to get to the point. I'm surprised he didn't describe Balls bathroom habits before getting to the actual story of the building. Really he's gay, my god that means the building will be....what..."gay"??? Point of this story?

[maccoinnich]

Yeah, I was actually a little offended by the article. If the gossip stuff has a place in the article at all—and I'm not sure it does—it belongs at the end.

[Leo]

Originally Posted by New Madrid

Christ that's ugly...

I kinda like it. It has nice proportions… My preference would be for something more modern, but if you have to build something “traditional”, I ‘d much rather see buildings like this than, for example, the Ramona.

Then again, Bob Ball’s buildings all tend to look good … Living inside them is a whole other matter…

[CouvScott]

This appears to be on the block that should have had a 19 story building according to HSP's master plan. I may be off a block though.

[cab]

Developers and the city are making a huge mistake by not requiring more out door space in these buildings. By not having balconies there will be more pressure on the park system to provide ALL out door needs. Take a look at vancouver BC every unit seems to have some kind of out door space provided.

[tworivers]

This appears to be on the block that should have had a 19 story building according to HSP's master plan. I may be off a block though.

I thought that was the block to the east of this one?

Also: agreed on the PBJ article and the design itself. This being Portland, though, I wasn't surprised by the caliber of either.

[zilfondel]

Its a building. Its density. Its a filler/background building. And boy I'd hate to have a ground-floor unit facing the sidewalk... unless it was a live/work unit and I ran a biz out of the front door.

[2oh1]

Originally Posted by zilfondel

Its a building. Its density. Its a filler/background building. And boy I'd hate to have a ground-floor unit facing the sidewalk... unless it was a live/work unit and I ran a biz out of the front door.

I agree. It's not spectacular, but like it or not, it'll fit into the neighborhood. It's density and it's housing we need.

[CouvScott]

Originally Posted by tworivers

I thought that was the block to the east of this one?

You're right. My bad

[MarkDaMan]

PDC approves Homer Williams' hotel project
Portland Business Journal by Wendy Culverwell , Business Journal staff writer
Date: Thursday, December 15, 2011, 6:27am PST - Last Modified: Thursday, December 15, 2011, 6:36am PST

Homer Williams cleared a hurdle to building the Pearl District’s first hotel.

The Portland Development Commission agreed Wednesday to let Hoyt Street Properties sell the hotel site at Northwest Ninth and Northrup streets to a Williams-led entity that aims to build a $20-plus million 225-room Residence Inn by Marriott.

Hoyt acquired the property from PDC in 2002 on the understanding it would build market-rate apartments on the property, with 30 set aside for residents earning up to 120 percent of the area’s median family income, or $59,280 for a family of two. Hoyt Street has agreed to develop 30 so-called affordable units elsewhere in its Pearl District development zone.

Williams is teaming with a Portland-based investment broker to construct the project under the name Pearl Hotel Investors LLC. The firm will buy the property from Hoyt. It has agreed to follow PDC development standards, including designing the 170,000-square-foot building to qualify for LEED Silver standards, and to make extensive use of minority and women-owned firms during its construction.

SERA Architects designed the building. Howard S. Wright Constructors , a division of Balfour Beatty, will build it.

PDC also agreed to lease 100 parking stalls in the neighboring Station Place garage to Pearl Hotel Investors LLC for 10 years, with four 10-year extensions. Pearl and Marriott will pay market rate rent for the parking spots and have agreed to annual increases of three to six percent.

The Marriott project will employ 200 construction workers and 60 permanent staff once the hotel opens in 2014. It will generate about $2 million in development fees for the city, as well as hotel taxes, property taxes and other benefits.

Business Journal subscribers can read more about the project's unusual financing in Friday's paper.

Wendy Culverwell covers real estate, retail and hospitality.

http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/...ana=e_ptl_rdup

[Derek]

Sweet, right around the corner from my apartment.

[Shilo Rune 96]

Pearl District Parking Lot has, "Fallen between the cracks"

The surface parking lot in between Northwest Northrup and Overton streets at 10th and 11th Avenue has been ordered to pay $5,500 in fines and $1,475 in city investigative services. The developer - Hoyt Street Properties - constructed the surface parking lot illegally. Last year the parking lot was paved and striped, but lacked some serious requirements like sidewalks, landscape buffers, and proper drainage. According to the Portland Tribune, Hoyt Street Properties gains $10,000 in revenue each month or $100/month for each spot. In 2008, the city notified Hoyt Street it was violating city code. A followup was not made.


Read the full blog post here.

[2oh1]

Hang on. Hoyt illegally built a parking lot that makes $10,000 a month? And they're only being fined $6,975? That's nothing. How are fines like that a deterrent? Hoyt might as well keep the lot as is and pay more fines. Sheesh!

I guess it really is easier to ask forgiveness than to ask permission. If Hoyt pays the fines next month, they'll still make $3,025 instead of making $0 for a parking lot they're not supposed to have. I realize that kind of profit is pennies to Hoyt, but the fine is pennies too.

[Shilo Rune 96]

12th & Everett Photo Update →

[Shilo Rune 96]

Originally Posted by 2oh1

Hang on. Hoyt illegally built a parking lot that makes $10,000 a month? And they're only being fined $6,975?

And this has been going on since 2008. I say, job well done Hoyt Street. :x