14620 SE MCLOUGHLIN BLVD.
Looks like it. A commercial tenant improvement license has been filed with Clackamas County. The spot is the former Starbucks space (moved across the street) and the long-shuttered Pizza Schmizza. Interesting move here. Growing area, lots of traffic, close to Portland. We’ll be keeping an eye out on this one for sure.
The best of the week in commercial real estate and architecture news.
Planned 24-story downtown building nets investment from Opportunity Zone fund
A $325 million fund has announced an investment in an opportunity zone project in downtown Portland. Cresset Capital chose the Eleven West project, planned for 1116 S.W. Washington St., as one of three projects it will fund. —Portland Business Journal
Burnside Bridge, build a new one or retrofit the existing one?
Multnomah County commissioners voted unanimously to approve moving forward on an environmental impact study of four remaining options to improve the bridge.—Portland DJC (Subscribers only, support local journalism and subscribe).
Portland bike map, 1896
This amazing map—just for bicyclists— from May, 1896, made another appearance on Reddit this week. The area covers the city of St. Helens in the north, Cornelius to the west, Oregon City to the south, and Camas, Washington to the east. The first person to print this and sell it it going to make a mint.— Multnomah County Library
Sprucing Up Slabtown
Formerly oily machine shop to become hub for soft-handed creatives in Slabtown, as creative office space continues to boom. —Portland Business Tribune
Sited along the Orange Line, across from the Iron Fireman building (and Ruse Brewing), strategically located off of McLoughlin and SE 17th. The parcels are zoned for IG-1 (General Industrial ) and CE (Commercial Employment). Approximately 2.53 acres.
Price: $11,500,000
Check out the website for more information.
What we think of today as Portland covers a broad swath of land on both sides of the Willamette River. In the late 19th century, that same area contained several mostly independent communities, including Albina, St. Johns, Sellwood—and East Portland, a small city on the eastern shore of the river roughly bounded by Division Street to the south, 12th Avenue to the east, and Sullivan’s Gulch to the north. While people had lived in this area for far longer than recorded history, East Portland only existed as an official city for two decades before merging with Portland and Albina in 1891.
The Architectural Heritage Center’s latest exhibition, East Portland: A Changing Landscape, a Forgotten City, focuses on the historic city of East Portland from the 1840s to the 1910s. It explores the people who lived there, the impact of the arrival of the railroad and industry, and the changing landscape that in the course of only a few decades turned a flood zone into a thriving city.
The exhibit runs through April 25, 2020.
929 North Russell Street, 1980, pre-Widmer Brothers. Source.
And for Portlanders that really only means one thing: Widmer Brothers.
Here’s more from the press release on the sale:
“Today’s announcement represents an exciting next step in a long and successful partnership with Anheuser-Busch, whose support for the growth of our business and brands traces back over 25 years,” said Andy Thomas, CEO of CBA. “By combining our resources, our talented teammates, and dynamic brands, we will look to nurture the growth of CBA’s existing portfolio as we continue investing in innovation to meet the changing needs of today’s beverage consumers, all while delivering certainty of value to our shareholders.”
Beacon Capital has sold the Power + Light Building to Gerding Edlen for $131.5 million, according to Yardi Matrix data. The seller had owned the 16-story property, also known as the Public Service Building, for more than 25 years, paying $3 million for the structure in mid-1992.
The seller had extensively renovated the property in 1999, per Yardi Matrix data, with additional updates completed in 2018. Following the improvements, the building now has an upgraded lobby and a modern amenity mix including a conference center, rooftop deck and fitness center.
For architecture and building fans, the Power + Light Building was designed by A.E. Doyle and originally named the Public Service Building, the third of three similarly Italianate buildings built in Portland by his firm.
Read more about the sale here.
A new article on Smithsonian.com unveiled that a research team at Portland State University has built a mapping tool, called the Trees and Health App. It overlays tree density with vulnerability and lets users see where poverty intersects with lack of vegetation. The tool also “lets urban planners, neighborhood groups, and local government find the most polluted neighborhoods in their city and then figure out how many trees they would have to plant, and where to put them, to improve air quality.” The article goes on:
The Trees and Health App is being put to use in Portland, where the city and Multnomah County just passed a climate action plan informed, in part, by Portland State University’s work on heat islands and tree cover. Neighborhood groups are using the tool to set agendas. The Johnson Creek Watershed Council, for instance, is working on a tree planting project in the diverse Powellhurst-Gilbert neighborhood in southeast Portland.
Read the whole thing here.
Wells Fargo Center, pre-retrofit, 2014. Source.
CBRE Portland announced last week two leases totaling more than 27,000 square feet at the Wells Fargo Center in downtown Portland. Campbell Global, a sustainable timberland and natural resource investment management firm, has signed a 17,520-sq.-ft. lease, and will move its corporate headquarters into Oregon’s tallest building; while the Portland branch of San Francisco-based law firm Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani will take 10,068 square feet.
If you spend any time in downtown Portland, you’ve seen the scaffolding and orange cones—Wells Fargo Center is wrapping up a major renovation.
The Mayo House, constructed in 1895, is a Queen Anne Cottage with a complex history. Source.
Restore Oregon has unveiled its list of Oregon’s Most Endangered Places for 2020. From their website:
Nominated from people and organizations across the state, Oregon’s Most Endangered Places list sheds light on important examples of our state’s heritage that are at risk of destruction or irreparable damage. The 2020 list includes endangered places from communities that for too long have been underserved–that embody Oregon’s diverse cultural heritage and require concerted efforts to be retained and passed forward.
I’m especially excited about the Mayo House:
The Mayo House now sits on the property, representing an opportunity to repair a grave injustice. The Davises envision the Mayo House with a multipurpose future by creating a hub for African American arts, history, and culture.
The Portland Business Journal has picked 20 area projects that “exemplify excellence in construction and real estate development.” The projects range from luxurious condos to shelter for the homeless and also include schools, a soccer arena and a convention center. The owners, developers, architects and builders will be honored Nov. 21 at the PBJ’s CRE Transformer Awards event at the Sentinel Hotel.
Here’s a slideshow of all of the nominated buildings. (The Redd has my vote in case you were wondering.)
(And speaking of the PBJ, Jon Bell has left the building for other pastures. His “5 things” column is going to be missed!)
