Pearl District News

[philopdx]

You know, reading the article above, I couldn't disagree more with Patricia Gardener about trying to set aside the lion's share of 20 acres of land for one MEGA-employer.

She keeps referring to the two stories of the major corporations moving to a new city, but the other side of that story is that each city lost a major employer.

While I agree that we need to make our city an attractive place for investment an easy place to set up and do business, I think that designing a whole section of newly-developed area around just ONE employer is a very ill-advised idea.

I keep remembering the time I spent in North Sioux City, SD and the story of Gateway 2000 computers (later changed to Gateway). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gateway,_Inc.

North Sioux City actually built a new exit off of the interstate just to serve the anticipated business that the sprawling Gateway campus would surely provide for many years. New sub-developments went up, a new grocery store,a couple of funky restaurants, etc. etc. Then they started outsourcing, downsizing, and eventually moved their entire operations elsewhere. By 2003, it was a hollowed-out ghost town. Even the grocery store closed.

It also reminds me of a gig at Kodak in Rochester, NY I had last year. Kodak had once employed tens of thousands of professionals in warehouses of cubicles, most of which now stand empty. While walking past empty cube after empty cube to get to the project manger's office, I could not help but to get a sense of doom, decay and broken dreams.

So while the presence of one major corporate player can potentially benefit a city greatly, let's not forget to diversify our economy and design the city for its citizens first.

Even better, let's aim for attracting 2 or 3 medium-sized firms that will happily each fit into just one or two buildings of that 20 acres we have to play with.

In sum, let's make our first priority creating a livable, enjoyable environment with all the subtle charm that jives with the rest of our fair city, including some PARK BLOCKS.

There's more to a city than mounds of cubicles and harried VP's sweating bullets over the latest 10Q's

[edgepdx]

Originally Posted by philopdx

You know, reading the article above, I couldn't disagree more with Patricia Gardener about trying to set aside the lion's share 20 acres of land for one MEGA-employer.
...

I couldn't agree more. The siren song of a huge corporate headquarters is very tempting for a city government, but putting all your eggs in one basket is never a good idea. I think the reason Portland isn't seeing the kind of economic collapse your seeing in many parts of the country right now is it's diversity of employers.

How about a green technology campus for companies large and small focused on alternative energy and green products. Portland seems ideally positioned to be ground zero for the next big thing:

http://www.harpers.org/archive/2008/02/0081908

We already have the North American headquarters of Vesta's wind turbines and the largest solar cell plant in the US under construction in Hillsboro.

[zilfondel]

Originally Posted by philopdx

You know, reading the article above, I couldn't disagree more with Patricia Gardener about trying to set aside the lion's share of 20 acres of land for one MEGA-employer.

...
So while the presence of one major corporate player can potentially benefit a city greatly, let's not forget to diversify our economy and design the city for its citizens first.

Even better, let's aim for attracting 2 or 3 medium-sized firms that will happily each fit into just one or two buildings of that 20 acres we have to play with.

I couldn't agree more, particularly in these economic times when we have companies moving, merging, and going under at a phenomenal rate.

I'd also like to point out that the point of a "mixed-use district" is to have a mix of uses... this goes for employers. Downtowns are so strong economically because one company won't bring them down (at least healthy ones). I would rather see this site become open and public, the complete opposite of a corporate campus. I mean, c'mon - haven't we learned anything from the past 20 years of urban design? Where do these dimwits come from?

And I quote from the Pearl District Neighborhood plan, adopted by the city and PDC:

Objective 6: Reduce the dominance of
the Post Office and integrate it into
the fabric of the community.

Identify opportunities to provide for
infill development along the perimeter
of the Post Office property that is
better integrated with the surrounding
neighborhood.

The corner of NW Ninth Avenue and Lovejoy,
and along Ninth Avenue, are opportunities for
redevelopment which would change the
relationship of the Post Office to the
neighborhood. (See conceptual design on facing
page.) PDC should sponsor a design process to
engage the community and the U.S. Postal Service
in addressing a wide variety of issues, including:
urban design and landscaping where the site
interfaces with the neighborhood; economic
feasibility; operational impacts on the postal
facility; opportunities for improved access to the
riverfront and Union Station; and the visual
impact of the facility from the perspective of the
North Park Blocks. Other opportunities include
providing for parking under the Lovejoy Bridge
or structured/shared parking for community
users and post office employees.

^ I don't see the plan where they want to give the whole site over to one mega-employer. Do you guys?
Would seem to make sense to just provide larger office space for firms that outgrow the smaller loft/warehouse spaces throughout the district. Some nice, rough-ed out open floor plans to allow homegrown companies to transition from small to medium.


Even worse, this idea sounds like a great excuse to give 20-year tax abatements to whatever corporation they can lure over here. However, those are perhaps the worst way to land a company. Improved schools and a good workforce are still #1.

Wasn't Boeing's original plan to move all 180,000 workers to Chicago? But they scaled it down to just the HQ.

[PacificNW]

No, Boeing never had plans to move their aircraft manufacturing to Chicago but there still is the possibility some of this manufacturing could be relocated to Boeing plants in Kansas. (Wichita???).

[NJD]

DJC: But not service or retail jobs, right?

Gardner: No, real jobs.

Apparently the majority of people on this planet work fake jobs...

[digme]

Yea, the whole "real jobs" seems incredibly condescending. Turned me off to everything else she had to say.

[brandonpdx]

My dream for the spot is a central park. Of course it will never happen. There's too much tax revenue to be made from that spot.

[zilfondel]

retail jobs don't really generate wealth in an area, and are lower wage than professional service and industrial ones. If you can create jobs that are based on bringing outside wealth in (like a Nike or other big corporation), those high-paying jobs will then have a cascade effect by supporting successive tiers of lower-paid jobs.

[urbanlife]

the city has already said the park blocks would be extended to lovejoy. the other blocks would be up for development, either masterplan project or sold off for smaller projects.

[RED_PDXer]

Agreed. Those two stories aren't Portland stories. They are cities chasing soulless corporate employers who will eventually leave for a new tax break after their current deal ends. I'm all for growing local talent and enterprise as opposed to importing a non-committal international corporation.

[philopdx]

You know I do cringe at the statement that retail jobs aren't "real" jobs, and that would indeed make most of our economy imaginary. But I see the essential point which is you want to attract high-paying, professional jobs.

But the flip side is, look at Seattle and SF (being influenced by silicon valley), places where mere mortals can barely afford to buy even a condo due to the proximity and abundance of millionaire-factories.

I'm not sure I would ever like seeing Ferraris, Lambos and Maseratis become a common sight on NW 23rd avenue. I think the bimmers and Mercs we have now are a nice compromise. ;-)

I would just hate to see land prices inflate so wildly out of control that we all get to take a 90 minute one-way commute every morning just for the privilege of working in Portland.

[joeplayer1989]

Is Columbia sportswear ever going to relocate?

[NewUrbanist]

Does anyone know who originally designed the Main post office? I am looking for design/ construction info. What was there before the Post office, current interior space... etc?

[philopdx]

Looks like they closed the apartment viewing office for the Wyatt. I stepped in a few months back to take a look.

[dkealoha]

Is this the same space that the leasing office was located in or is that a different space?

[philopdx]

Same space - I went in that exact door not very long ago to look at the mockups documented a few pictures above.

[MOPIdaho]

Originally Posted by PacificNW

And the condo market will rebound.. I think this slow down, in construction, is a good thing. Once the market rebounds we may see new architectural designs and materials than are presently being utilized.

This will be great for the south waterfront, maybe the next building boom they can think outside builder tan.

[IHEARTPDX]

The rental office has moved into the the first floor of The Wyatt.

[philopdx]

Ah-ha that would explain it, then.

[MarkDaMan]

PNCA to acquire main campus building
For almost 10 years, the Pacific Northwest College of Art has leased its space in the Pearl District. As part of its ambitious expansion plans, it will finally purchase the property.

Daily Journal of Commerce
POSTED: 06:00 AM PDT Tuesday, April 15, 2008
BY TYLER GRAF

In the wake of its March acquisition of the federally owned 511 Building, the Pacific Northwest College of Art has expanded its real estate portfolio to include its Pearl District building at 1241 N.W. Johnson St., which it had leased since 1998.

Administrators believe property ownership lifts the college’s profile within the city core.

“We don’t need to have a monolithic 40 acres in a suburban area to be a college,” said Tom Manley, PNCA’s president.

Manley said the acquisition allows the school to leverage its permanent presence in the city, spreading itself out from one of Portland’s newer neighborhoods, the Pearl District, to its oldest neighborhood, Old Town, where the 511 Building is located.

The school began leasing its Pearl District building in 1998, after the former warehouse was redesigned by Holst Architecture. Plans to purchase the property date back to 2005, when a master plan executed by architect Brad Cloepfil of Allied Works Architecture outlined growth goals for the school, including the acquisition of Northwest Portland property.

Cloepfil, who will design the new space, toured the 511 Building and expressed excitement over its possibilities.

Manley says the school’s vision is to create an integrative urban campus unlike the typical American campus. He calls it the European model of interspersing a college campus into “the urban fabric” of the city.

As part of the Pearl District acquisition, the PNCA announced in earnest Saturday that it’s in the process of a $32 million fundraising campaign to signify its 100 year anniversary in 2009. Prior to Saturday’s announcement, the campaign had been moving quietly. The school had already obtained $26 million in fundraising before it made a public announcement.

The $32 million will be used on different aspects of the school’s growth: $12 million for refurbishment of the Pearl District building, $12 million for new endowments and scholarships and $8 million for special projects.

None of the money will be used to acquire more property, Manley says.

“It’s safe to say we’ve identified the two anchors of PNCA’s campus and those will support its growth over the next decade,” Manley said. “Although new opportunities may arise over that time, and though we may be leasing other spaces, we are not in the mode of acquiring more property.”
http://www.djcoregon.com/articleDeta...-of-Art-has-le