Hyatt at the Oregon Convention Center | 180'-6" | 14 floors | Complete

[tworivers]

Portland convention center hotel is dead
by Ryan Frank, The Oregonian
Friday September 18, 2009, 7:46 PM

Portland's plans for a convention center hotel -- a legacy project eyed by politicians for 20 years -- are dead.

Mayor Sam Adams, Metro Council President David Bragdon and Multnomah County Chairman Ted Wheeler said Friday that the 600-room, government-owned hotel isn't feasible in a crippling recession.

The city, county and Metro had for months debated spending $12 million for the next phase of planning. But new projections showing a 20 percent drop in hotel taxes over two years convinced them it was time to stop. Those tax revenues were supposed to help cover the planning costs.

The trio made their decision in a private meeting.

"We don't have enough money to go forward to the next phase," said Adams, who had been the project's chief supporter. "I'm absolutely supportive of the decision to stop. It would have been unwise to move forward at this time."

The declaration marks the final turning point for this version of the expensive and controversial proposal. The hotel has been in Portland's plans since Mayor Bud Clark's administration declared it Goal 1.1 when it began urban renewal work in the Lloyd District in 1989. The City Hall debate has been most intense since the city sought developer proposals five years ago.

Even after 20 years, politicians have been reluctant to let the idea go.

They've been romanced by the argument that the hotel would draw more and bigger conventions. Tourism boosters said visitors would dump millions each year in new spending at restaurants, shops and galleries. They pointed out that other cities from Baltimore to Austin to Omaha had built convention center hotels.

Portland, they said, needed its own to keep up.

The sticking point has always been the risk to taxpayers. Convention center hotels require more rooms and meeting space than markets typically can support. Cities that have built comparable hotels have leaned on taxpayers to plug the gap.

In Portland, the proposal called for the city to sell bonds to pay for the hotel construction, then pay off the debt with the hotel's income. The hotel also would have required a taxpayer backstop to please bond holders.

Supporters stared down heated and well-funded opposition from hoteliers and their lobbyist, Len Bergstein. Other hotel operators didn't want to face a deeply subsidized competitor that, if it failed, would drive down room rates citywide.

Portland politicians faced their own constituents who generally favor government spending on bike parking, not $200-million-plus hotels.

Adams, Bragdon and Wheeler came to Friday's meeting with conflicting views.

Adams has more than once rescued the hotel from near-certain death. Bragdon turned from lukewarm to skeptical late in 2008 when his staff suggested halting the project. Wheeler has been most critical.

But even Adams couldn't escape the drastic numbers laid before him.

The trio faced a hotel industry that's in a deeper and longer slide than what followed the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Layoffs, salary cuts, stock market declines and corporate cutbacks after AIG's much-publicized spa trip have crimped travel spending across the board. Leisure, business and international travel are all down.

Nationally, Wall Street rating agency Standard & Poor's projects that hotel revenue per available room -- a key industry measure -- will be down 15.5 percent this year and another 4 percent next year.

"I don't think there's going to be a significant recovery until 2012 -- at the earliest," said Mark Basham, a hotel analyst with Standard & Poor's equity research.

What's made matters worse is that developers continued to build hotels conceived during the financial boom but finished in the bust. Basham said the growth rate of new hotel rooms will be about 2.4 percent in 2009, nearly 2 1/2 times a typical year's expansion.

"It's making the recovery that much more difficult," Basham said.

That same theme has played out in Portland.

Sage Hospitality Resources of Denver last year opened the 331-room Nines luxury hotel atop Macy's downtown store. The company followed that with the opening of the 256-room Courtyard by Marriott just off West Burnside Street.

With supply up and demand down, hoteliers have had to drop room rates to attract guests.

The result of that new supply: The average room rate for downtown hotels in July was down 14 percent from a year earlier to $125 a night, according to Travel Portland. Sage was forced to ask for a delay in its repayment of city loans to The Nines to prevent a default on a different loan. The Hilton's landmark downtown tower will go dark for four weeks during the winter slowdown.

The declines have put equal pressure on hotel tax revenues generated within Multnomah County.

Taxes paid into a regional tourism fund were down 13 percent to $7.3 million in the fiscal year that ended June 30. The county expects that figure will drop another 8 percent this budget year.

The trio's evaluation didn't even get to the question of whether the convention center hotel makes financial sense. That decision could resurface in more prosperous times or under different leadership.

In the meantime, the three leaders said they'll look for other ways to support the region's tourism and convention business.

-- Ryan Frank: ryanfrank@news.oreognian.com


Joint Statement from
Metro President David Bragdon,
Portland Mayor Sam Adams and
Multnomah County Chair Ted Wheeler


Today we have agreed that now is not the right time to move forward with predevelopment efforts to build a convention center headquarters hotel due to the current economic climate. Estimates we received this week of likely future revenues for the Visitor Development Initiative are not sufficient to support the project's predevelopment costs. The tourism and hospitality industries have been hit hard by the national economic recession.
The Portland metropolitan area remains an attractive tourist destination, an important economic center for the region and a vibrant hub of the arts and cultural activities. We acknowledge and are grateful for the efforts of many individuals who have worked hard on this project.
Job creation and economic development remain critical goals for our respective organizations and we will continue to work together in pursuit of those objectives. The current climate requires a focus on maintaining what we have and we will work with partners and stakeholders to develop new strategies for making the most of our existing facilities.

[Tykendo]

Truly sad. This convention center will never meet it's potential until that Hotel is built. Podunk thinking will never help Portland escape the recession. Portland Government lacks the vision & creativity to make it a player in world industry. They ALL should be fired immediately. Portland could be SO MUCH MORE!

[WestCoast]

more short term thinking from our political leaders.

[tworivers]

I think I'm still smarting from the decision (right after the tram debacle, with Potter as mayor) to renovate Fire Station 1 instead of tearing it down and trying to do right by that important block next to Skidmore Fountain... talk about shortsighted.

The convention center is kind of a blight on its own (as a dysfunctional piece of the severely f'ed up urban fabric from Lloyd to Rose Qtr), and its underlying purpose (serving the "convention industry") and lack of financial success remind me of why I don't think Portland should necessarily buy into the "world city" propaganda -- sorry Tykendo if I'm putting words into your mouth but that's what I thought of when I read "a player in world industry". The global economy (or "world industry") is a big punch on the mouth for most life on earth, and the iconoclastic way that we are already a "world city", by emphasizing human scale, transportation choices, local economies, and ecological awareness, is fine. More than fine: smart and lucky. And while having a shiny new building on those blocks along MLK would have been nice, I wasn't exactly sold on the publicly-owned hotel. With the gross oversupply of hotel rooms right now, it's pretty easy to see why they decided not to proceed. Let's see what the streetcar can do...

[Tykendo]

Fair enough tworivers. I just think that the more people from all over, see Portland, and what a great place it is to both visit & live, the possibilities for more industry to plant it's roots in the Rose City increase. Thus bringing more jobs and money to the local economy. Everytime a major convention passes up on Portland due to the lack of a major hotel across the street, Portland loses not only dollars, but the opportunity to showcase itself to future business.

[MarkDaMan]

Friday, September 25, 2009
Headquarters hotel talks could resume in months
Portland Business Journal - by Wendy Culverwell Business Journal staff writer

Twenty years in the offing, plans to build a 600-room hotel at the Oregon Convention Center won’t disappear overnight.

Regional government Metro, together with Multnomah County and the city of Portland, jointly agreed not to continue efforts to complete the convention center with a Westin-flagged hotel. The decision, based on falling demand for hotel rooms and an 11 percent drop in visitor taxes, was announced Sept. 18.

City and county leaders already are talking about how to restart the project in a few months, said Jeff Miller, president and CEO of Travel Portland, the agency responsible for boosting tourism in the region. Travel Portland is a long-standing advocate for the so-called headquarters hotel, which would be adjacent the convention center, 777 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

Supporters want to take advantage of the competitive construction market to build the hotel now when costs are lower and open it later when the economy improves.

“It would make a lot of sense to me to make this a very short hiatus,” Miller said.

Metro, the lead agency on the headquarters hotel project, won’t extend its four-year-old development agreement with a team led by Garfield Traub Development and Ashforth Pacific Inc. when it expires Sept. 28. The decision means $12 million to design the project — estimated at around $200 million — won’t be spent.

Scott Langley, president of Ashforth Pacific, declined to comment on the decision to let the convention hotel languish, saying he needed more time to study the issue.

The decision means lost business for the entire development team: Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects, which was to design the building; Turner Construction, which was to build it; Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide LLC, which was to operate it; and RTKL International LTD, a global engineering firm.

ZGF spent four years on the project and developed conceptual designs. It signed on because it supported the project.

Its compensation never matched the work it did, said Larry Bruton, a ZGF partner who said he was disappointed by the decision but not particularly surprised.

“No question it is an opportunity for work that we will miss,” said Bruton, who worked on the original Oregon Convention Center.

The headquarters hotel has always been part of the overall convention complex scheme. The site is across the Willamette River from downtown, in the Lloyd District.

Without an on-site hotel, the center loses tens of millions of dollars worth of business each year but opponents said it made little financial sense and its public-private financial structure put taxpayers at risk.

After four years of starts and stops, Bruton said ZGF has adjusted staffing levels to the reality the project won’t advance for the time being. The missed work goes beyond the architecture firm. Engineers and other consultants won’t have the opportunity to contribute.

Bruton said halting the project means Portland will miss out on an opportunity to shave millions from the budget because contractors are eager for work and material costs have dropped.

ZGF estimates current market conditions could result in bids $10 million to $15 million lower than projected.

Garfield Traub estimates the 23-story project wold cost about $182 million to construct, a figure that does not include financing costs.

The project would have been built with bonds backed by the city of Portland, but operated by a private company.

wculverwell@bizjournals.com | 503-219-3415
http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2009/09/28/story9.html?t=printable

[pdxtraveler]

I have been getting frustrated with this again. They might as well tear down the convention center if they aren't going to get a hotel going (exaggerating of course). All brought on by the update pics of the new Dallas convention hotel. Ft Worth is just finishing theirs. Now, I just heard last night that Columbus, OH just broke ground. We are going to be one of the few without. It will be hard to get conventions in here at all.

End of vent. :)

[PacificNW]

⇈ I wonder who is paying for these hotels in these other cities. Local governments or hotel chains looking to expand/locate? Or...a combination of both??? It would seem to me that Portland should be able to get this thing off the ground.

[WonderlandPark]

In the case of LA, the local govt. backed and guaranteed the construction loan. Bookings at the LA Convention center are already way, way up. Staples will now likely get NHL and NBA all star games and probably a final four NCAA because of the new Marriott/ Ritz Carlton. Expensive but worth it. LA has already forced San Diego to strongly consider a half billion $ + expansion.

[Okstate]

Right now there is a thread in Austin's forum titled "City Council to discuss ways to get second convention hotel built". Thought it was kind of humorous in light of our situation.

[pdxtraveler]

Right now there is a thread in Austin's forum titled "City Council to discuss ways to get second convention hotel built". Thought it was kind of humorous in light of our situation.

Yeah, I saw that thread. It shows the hotel can really pay off.

[Tykendo]

C'mon Guys, you know Portland doesn't need that hotel. I mean , then bad things like larger conventions with thousands more people to infuse the local economy and that freakin' NBA All-Star game would probably happen. God Forbid if that happened. Portland doesn't need more people from out of town spending their dollars in Portland businesses. Get real people. Let birkenstock wearin',makeup scorning, Subaru driven soccer moms, smoke their hippee lettuce in peace.

[MarkDaMan]

Well, well, look who's waking up from their deep slumber.

Willamette Week
February 10th, 2011 By NIGEL JAQUISS | News | Posted In: City Hall, Politics
City's Budget Includes Millions for HQ Hotel
2 Comments

One of the longest running sagas in local political history—proponents' two-decade long quest for a "headquarters hotel" adjacent to the Oregon Convention Center—may have new life again.

The Portland Development Commission budget released Jan. 31 by PDC director Bruce Warner in consultation with Mayor Sam Adams shows the agency will spend 32 percent less money next year overall—$144 million, down from $211 million this year.
But page 43 of the budget shows a projected expenditure of $3.2 million for a line item described as "HQ Hotel," up from zero last year.

Adams was a strong supporter of developing a hotel early in his mayoral tenure but the project collapsed most recently in 2009 under the weight of the global recession and a lack of support from then-Metro Council President David Bragdon and then-County Chairman Ted Wheeler. (Metro is involved in the hotel because it runs the convention center. And the county is a recipient of the lodging tax, a key component in financing any hotel deal).

Now, Bragdon and Wheeler have moved on and the convention industry still wants a hotel. Adams, who faces re-election in 2012, would like to have some concrete achievements to parade in front of voters and a revived hotel project would certainly be that.

PDC spokesman Shawn Uhlman did not immediately respond to a request of comment on how the $3.2 million would be spent.

Lobbyist Len Bergstein, who represents Portland hoteliers threatened by a publicly-subsidized headquarters, says he was unaware the city may be putting more money into the long-contemplated project.

"You're telling me something I did not know," Bergstein told WW. "I thought that project was dead."

http://www.wweek.com/portland/print-blog-26471-print.html

[tworivers]

Weird. I wonder if this isn't some sort of accounting fudge, and that money isn't actually being directed to the plaza currently U/C on the hotel site? Seems unlikely that they'd put millions into HQ hotel planning and the plaza simultaneously...

[65MAX]

^^^^
Unlikely they'd spend 3.2 million on a "plaza" that will be torn up in a couple years. I'm sure this is a revival of the project, now that the stock market is back above 12,000 and vacancy rates have improved.

This is a project that won't die because it just makes sense. Any city with a convention center understands this. A headquarter hotel attracts larger and more frequent conventions which fill their rooms, but it also grows the overall convention market which then fill the other hotel rooms in the city. The pie gets bigger, so if an additional 1000 people a day (on average) visit the city, yes, the HQ hotel may get half of them, but the rest go to the other hotels. It's a win-win for ALL of the hotels. Not to mention restaurants and bars and the entire hospitality industry. Why don't the other hotels see this?

[pdxtraveler]

This is really good news! I don't know if anyone noticed the article this week in the Portland Business Journal about the Metro controlled facilities economic impact, http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/news/2011/02/08/public-venues-have-big-impact.html. The article restates the importance of the hotel in maximizing the potential of the Convention Center.

[GreenLivingDave]

I hope that not just any hotel gets built as a Convention center headquarters hotel. To fit the city (and for good marketing) I feel it should be one of, if not the greenest hotel in the world. 2nd, it should be architecturally unique, something that is in itself an attraction that people want to come and see for themselves.

[MarkDaMan]

HQ Hotel talks revive
Premium content from Portland Business Journal - by Wendy Culverwell
Date: Friday, February 18, 2011, 3:00am PST

As Portland continues to debate whether to build a major hotel next to the Oregon Convention Center, other cities are proceeding with similar projects.

Washington, D.C., Dallas, Nashville, Tenn., and Birmingham, Ala., are among cities actively constructing headquarters hotels to woo conventions.

The Oregon Convention Center, 777 N.E. Martin Luther King Blvd., is separated from the city’s downtown hotels rooms by the Willamette River and a ride on Max. There are no current plans to construct a hotel, though the long-debated subject never totally disappears from the civic conversation.

The issue resurfaced last week during an economic impact study that touted the potential hotel as an economic driver.

“We’re worried about losing ground to other cities,” said Roy Kaufmann, spokesman for Portland Mayor Sam Adams, a staunch advocate for the hotel.

Eighteen months ago, Portland civic officials, including Adams, then-Metro President David Bragdon and then-Multnomah County Chairman Ted Wheeler, shelved plans to develop the Westin Portland at the Convention Center, citing the downturn in the economy. The 600-room project would have been publicly financed.

Hotel advocates say the Oregon Convention Center loses business because it lacks on-site guest rooms; critics say the economic argument is flawed, and the tax-supported hotel would offer unfair competition to private operators.

Portland’s much debated headquarters hotel project generated a few recent headlines, but there are no concrete plans to advance the concept.

The first mention came from Susan Sieger, president of Crossroads Consulting Services – a Tampa, Fla.-based firm that evaluated the economic impact of the convention center and other public venues for Metro, the regional government that manages land use and transportation planning as well the convention center, the Oregon Zoo and other visitor facilities. Metro will lead any headquarters hotel effort.

Sieger said the convention center’s 424 events in 2010 generated $525.9 million in activity and supported about 5,000 local jobs. The impact would have been bigger if the convention center had on-site guest rooms, she said, answering a question but offering no specifics.

“Hotel supply is one of the only things holding you back,” Sieger said.

The second mention arrived courtesy of the Portland Development Commission, which included nearly $3.2 million for the project in its 2011-2012 draft budget, down from about $4.1 million in its current budget. The money is essentially a placeholder in case a project emerges, said Shawn Uhlman, spokesman for the city’s economic development arm.

Neither Metro nor the city of Portland is formally debating the hotel project, although a spokesman for Metro Council President Tom Hughes said he supports the concept and wants to see it advance.

Kaufmann said Adams remains committed to the project because it will make Portland more attractive to trade shows and conventions.

“The conversation continues because the need continues,” Kaufmann said.

The time could be right to revive the conversation. Hotel economics have improved in the past year, with local occupancy rates increasing 7 points to 66.6 percent in 2010, according to Smith Travel Research figures.

Hotel construction projects are getting financed.

Gary Griff, a broker in the capital markets group in the Portland office of Cushman & Wakefield of Oregon Inc., said lenders want projects with well-known brands. They look favorably on public-private partnerships.

“It is doable today,” he said.

Heywood Sanders, a University of Texas San Antonio professor who studies the economics of headquarters hotel, said the economics of publicly sponsored hotels remains shaky. Few if any hotels built have met their financial projections, necessitating subsidies from the governments that sponsor them.
Other cities proceed

Other cities are building hotels that have the same goal of wooing convention planners by offering first-class rooms at their meeting centers.

Examples include:

• The city of Dallas and its partner, Omni Hotels & Resorts, broke ground on a $328 million, 1,000-room city-owned hotel at the Dallas Convention Center on Sept. 15, 2009. The Dallas Convention Center Hotel is slated to open in 2012.

• The city of Nashville, Tenn., and its partner, Omni, are collaborating on an 800-room headquarters hotel at the 1.2-million-square-foot Music City Convention Center. The convention center and hotel both are slated to open in 2013.

• In Washington, D.C., the $520 million city-supported Washington Marriott Marquis Hotel broke ground last fall adjacent the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The 1,175-room hotel is slated to open in the spring of 2014. The city and its convention arm are providing $206 million to the project.

• Birmingham, Ala., broke ground Jan. 24 on the 300-room Westin Hotel and Marketplace, bringing the total number of rooms at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex to about 1,000. The city extended its hotel tax by 30 years to support the $70 million project.

wculverwell@bizjournals.com | 503-219-3415

http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/print-edition/2011/02/18/hq-hotel-talks-revive.html?ana=e_ph

[davehogan]

Hopefully we can find a way for this to get built. The location is perfect for a hotel since guests would still have a short hop to downtown, and has a direct light rail connection to the airport.

[MarkDaMan]

Aging hotel may become hipster cool
Premium content from Portland Business Journal
Wendy Culverwell
Date: Friday, September 30, 2011, 3:00am PDT

A tired hotel next to the Oregon Convention Center escaped the wrecking ball when city leaders decided against pursuing a 600-room headquarters hotel.

Now its owner, the Portland Development Commission, wants developers to consider giving the Inn at the Convention Center the kind of makeover that turned the old Portland City Center Days Inn into the hipster Hotel Modera in 2008.

The city’s economic development agency bought the 97-room hotel in 2002 because it needed the land, not the building, for the future headquarters hotel. Now it says there are other ways to accommodate the headquarters hotel if and when it is built in the future.

Ideas for the Inn at the Convention Center include total room makeovers, a restaurant and even a rooftop bar overlooking the city.

Four developers, all based in Washington state, answered the agency’s invitation to submit ideas for the property.

PDC won’t publicly discuss details — including costs — until the pitches have been vetted by a committee of stakeholders. All propose extensive renovations, room upgrades, full-service restaurants and even upscale bars with indoor and outdoor seating either on the roof or elsewhere on the property.

Project manager Irene Bowers said a Hotel Modera-type makeover isn’t far-fetched.

The two hotels share a mid-century architectural vibe. Both feature L-shaped buildings constructed around motor courts and relentlessly flat horizontal lines.

Bowers said a committee will review the plans in October and could select finalists or invite more comers to the process. The deadline is 2013.

That’s when the sun sets on the Oregon Convention Center Urban Renewal Area.

“We want to close out (the urban renewal area) by taking care of the front door,” Bowers said.

The four bids arrived from:

• Malbco Holdings LLC in Spokane.

• Hollander Investments in Bellingham.

• Integrity Structures in Vancouver.

• GAHA LLC in Seattle.

GAHA — which stands for Grand Avenue Hotel Associates — is an affiliate of Red Lion Hotels and operates both the Inn at the Convention Center and the Red Lion property across the street.

A spokesman for Hollander said it’s premature to discuss its proposal. Integrity could not be reached to comment.

But principals with Malbco Holdings and GAHA agree the Inn at the Convention Center is a unique building and a rare opportunity to breath new life into an old project.

James Mulloy and his wife, Holly, formed Malbco Holdings in the early 1990s to invest in office buildings and limited service hotels. They have developed or redeveloped more than 45 hotels and finds rehabilitation projects the most interesting.

“I want to take it from what it is now, just an antiquated property that’s almost an eyesore, and I want to take it and turn it into an upscale boutique property that celebrates the architectural style,” he said. “I think that will be fun.”

Jerry Anches, a GAHA partner and also a co-owner of the Seattle Sheraton, said GAHA understands the Inn’s Lloyd District neighborhood, and the hotel itself. Minimally, Anches said it needs a serious cosmetic renovation.

“It’s just old and tired. It has all the difficulties you would associate with a building built in the mid-1960s,” he said.

It’s less certain what sort of project is financially viable. Hotel Modera, he noted, is in downtown Portland, where room rates are higher.

Rates start at $149 for Modera. The Inn’s average room commands about $58.

The Inn at the Convention Center is a profitable investment for the Portland Development Commission. By catering to bargain hunters, the hotel maintains a 70 percent occupancy rate, well above the Portland average of 64.7 percent.

The PDC splits the hotel’s profits with the operator. Once a year, the partners agree on a budget to keep the paint, carpets and beds fresh. But it’s not a long-term holding for an agency whose job is to promote businesses, not compete with them.

“The bottom line is PDC does not want to be in the hotel business,” said Shawn Uhlman, PDC spokesman.
Fast Facts

The Oregon Convention Center Urban Renewal Area was established in 1989 and includes 594.5 acres. The renewal area expires in June 2013.

http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/print-edition/2011/09/30/aging-hotel-may-become-hipster-cool.html?s=print

[MarkDaMan]

As luck would have it, I was meeting with the director of sales from the Red Lion yesterday and she told she thinks the names Aloft and Hyatt Place have been associated with two of the proposals.

[pdxtraveler]

As luck would have it, I was meeting with the director of sales from the Red Lion yesterday and she told she thinks the names Aloft and Hyatt Place have been associated with two of the proposals.

Either of those are good. I do like the Aloft concept a bit better.

[RED_PDXer]

I'm actually glad the "convention center hotel" didn't happen. This hotel makeover, and the other individual developments that will pop up, will likely be much more interesting than a 3-4 block giant building.

[pdxtraveler]

I'm actually glad the "convention center hotel" didn't happen. This hotel makeover, and the other individual developments that will pop up, will likely be much more interesting than a 3-4 block giant building.

Unfortunately that doesn't fix the fact the Convention Center is majorly underutilized due to the lack of a headquarters hotel.

[MarkDaMan]

The OCC is majorly underutilized because the location sucks. The Lloyd District is just outdated, boringly corporate in some areas, sliced up by major roads, and just dead in other areas. The PDC needs to create a URA encompassing the entire district and get to work. For the upcoming growth in our region, this is an area that needs to be, and can become the highest density urban area in our state. Metro claims we need another, what, 10 South Waterfronts over the next 25 years? A re-imagined Lloyd District, a higher density Hollywood, and a new Gateway along with build out of Hawthorne, Belmont, Division, Mississippi, among many others, can accommodate this growth without stretching our UGB.

IMHO...

[RED_PDXer]

Unfortunately that doesn't fix the fact the Convention Center is majorly underutilized due to the lack of a headquarters hotel.

I doubt that the lack of a 1000 rooms above, or next to, it is the sole reason for it's lackluster performance. Could also be.. our weather and competition (cities around the country had the same idea of hopelessly growing their own convention centers over last 20 years).

If the convention center operators had any foresight, they would build up, rather than out, and within the existing convention center site when they did the expansion. Instead, they want to suck up another three city blocks with another enervating development.

anyhow, I could find another great use (or several) for those dozens of millions of public dollars than a public hotel.

[2oh1]

I doubt that the lack of a 1000 rooms above, or next to, it is the sole reason for it's lackluster performance. ...... I could find another great use (or several) for those dozens of millions of public dollars than a public hotel.

No one is saying it's the "sole" reason. But I don't doubt that it's a factor. And, yes, there are plenty of other worthy uses for public dollars. The goal, in this case, isn't to use public dollars to help finance a hotel. The goal is to use public dollars to help bring more national dollars into Portland. Turning our convention center (and surroundings) into a place that better competes for conventions from other cities could do exactly that. Portland has a lot to offer, especially if the MAX keeps its free rail zone. We've got easy transport from the convention center into the heart of a very pedestrian friendly (and tourist friendly) downtown.

I'm not saying I want public dollars spent on a convention center hotel, by the way. But I'm not writing it off as foolish either. Portland has a lot to offer tourists (and conventions). I want those dollars flowing into Portland instead of going somewhere else.

[tworivers]

^^^ Well said, Mark. Totally agree.

[RED_PDXer]

No one is saying it's the "sole" reason. But I don't doubt that it's a factor. And, yes, there are plenty of other worthy uses for public dollars. The goal, in this case, isn't to use public dollars to help finance a hotel. The goal is to use public dollars to help bring more national dollars into Portland. Turning our convention center (and surroundings) into a place that better competes for conventions from other cities could do exactly that. Portland has a lot to offer, especially if the MAX keeps its free rail zone. We've got easy transport from the convention center into the heart of a very pedestrian friendly (and tourist friendly) downtown.

I'm not saying I want public dollars spent on a convention center hotel, by the way. But I'm not writing it off as foolish either. Portland has a lot to offer tourists (and conventions). I want those dollars flowing into Portland instead of going somewhere else.

I'm not in the convention center business, but I believe the point being made was that a much more interesting outcome for streetlife is resulting from the abandoned mega-hotel which would've taken up three city blocks, as if the convention center's 15-block development wasn't large enough. That's all i'm saying.

[pdxtraveler]

There was something in the Portland Business Journal about Weston wanting to convert his Cosmopolitan 31 story tower proposal to a 300 room hotel. So that would be two hotels at that intersection.

[MarkDaMan]

Convention hotel proposed
Date: Friday, October 7, 2011, 3:00am PDT
Developer Joe Weston wants to build a 312-room hotel near the Oregon Convention Center.
Cathy Cheney | Portland Business Journal

Developer Joe Weston wants to build a 312-room hotel near the Oregon Convention Center.
Click here to find out more!

Wendy Culverwell
Business Journal staff writer - Portland Business Journal

Prominent developer Joseph Weston wants to build a $72 million, 312-room hotel one block east of the Oregon Convention Center.

But no ground-breaking is scheduled anytime soon.

Weston said he’s being thwarted by city officials who won’t return calls and seem more interested in rebuilding the dilapidated Inn at the Convention Center than in helping a private developer build a top-flight hotel, which many say is overdue in the Lloyd District.

Weston, principal of Weston Holding Co. and one of Portland’s most successful real estate investors, wants to build the Cosmopolitan, a 31-story tower with 312 hotel rooms, 13 condominiums on the top three floors, retail space, underground parking and 10,650 square feet of event space at 1020 N.E. Grand Ave.

The city owns the vacant lot.

The Portland Development Commission signed a development agreement with Weston to build a condominium project on the property. The project was cancelled when the condo market dried up, but the agreement remains in effect.

When Portland Mayor Sam Adams and other civic leaders last year shelved plans for a 600-room, Westin-flagged “headquarters hotel” at the convention center, Weston asked his architects if the city-approved condominium structure could accommodate a hotel. LRS Architects concluded it could.

The trouble arose when he tried to secure the site.

Weston said he wrote the Portland Housing Bureau about the project but received no reply.

A housing bureau spokesman confirmed the original development agreement, which requires Weston to build approximately 200 condominiums on the site.

“He has provided a conceptual idea for an alternative proposal at this site — a hotel. PHB has spoken with Mr. Weston on several occasions,” said the statement, released Wednesday by Daniel Ledezma, director of equity, policy and communications.

“Because the hotel would be an economic development project, both PDC and PHB will evaluate how Mr. Weston’s concept might fit in with the plans for the (Oregon Convention Center Urban Renewal Area). PHB will continue to work with PDC and Mr. Weston to determine the feasibility of moving forward.”

Weston went public with his frustration when he learned the Portland Development Commission wants to renovate another hotel in the area, the Inn at the Convention Center at 420 N.E. Holladay St., into an upscale boutique.

PDC bought the hotel in 2002 to accommodate the future headquarters hotel. When that project fizzled, PDC asked developers for ideas on how to redevelop the small, 97-room property. Weston said it’s a bad use of public funds.

Unlike the original headquarters hotel proposal, which was a public-private partnership, Weston’s plan is a private endeavor.

“The improvements should be razed and a decent-sized hotel constructed,” he said in a pointed letter to Scott Andrews, chairman of the PDC.

Weston isn’t the only prominent real estate executive who says the Inn at the Convention Center is a suspect project. Scott Langley, president of Ashforth Pacific Inc., said the Inn at the Convention Center isn’t worth saving and needs to be cleared away so a proper hotel can be built.

Ashforth was part of the team that wanted to build the proposed 600-room hotel before it was shelved for economic reasons. Economic development officials say the lack of a major hotel near the convention center has costs the city business.

Langley will reassemble the development team for the project if it is ever revived.

City officials have treated Weston’s hotel proposal with skepticism.

Andrews said the site is too far from the convention center and said the Cosmopolitan lacks convention amenities. Amy Ruiz, spokeswoman for Mayor Adams, made a similar observation. She said Adams was only briefed on the Cosmopolitan last week and wants to learn more.

In the interim, the city will proceed with the Inn at the Convention Center renovations, she said. Four developers have already submitted bids to redo the hotel. The city will review those bids later this month.

The Cosmopolitan’s architect defends Weston’s proposal, saying it’s neither too far from the convention center or lacking in convention amenities.

“It’s only a block,” said Bill Ruff, of LRS Architects, noting the proposal’s nearly 11,000 square feet of meeting space and a terrace garden for guests.

Ruff said Weston can’t put the finishing touches, such as financing, in place until he secures the site from the city.

“Until you control the land, you can’t do the deal,” he said.

Weston, who owns several properties in the Lloyd District, develops and manages residential, industrial and office properties.

The Cosmopolitan’s $72 million cost is based on estimates created for the condo tower. Weston has not identified a hotel operator.
Fast Facts

In 2004, Joe Weston endowed the $100 million Joseph Weston Charitable Foundation, the largest individual fund managed by the Oregon Community Foundation.
The Cosmopolitan Hotel and Condominium Tower

Address: 1020 N.E. Grand Ave., one block east of Oregon Convention Center.

Project: 31 stories, 312 hotel rooms, 13 condos, underground parking, meeting space, terrace garden.
Developer: Weston Investment Co. LLC
Architect: LRS Architects

Background: Project shares appearance, structure with now-shelved Cosmopolitan condominium plan.

The Other Players: Portland Housing Bureau, which owns the site; Portland Development Commission, which has an ongoing development agreement with Weston, and the city of Portland, which previously approved the basic building design.

Projected cost: $72 million, based on 2008 estimates.

http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/print-edition/2011/10/07/convention-hotel-proposed.html?s=print

[davehogan]

I think that working with Weston would be a great way to spur some development along the new East Side Streetcar extension. Adding a few hundred hotel rooms is as good as a few hundred condos, and given the current market, a hotel seems like a better investment today. The city has plenty of other open lots, including the open one at NE 1st/Multnomah/Holladay across the street from the convention center.

To be honest the Lloyd Center area just reminds me of an LA highrise office complex with a mall way too much. Anything to add some life to that neighborhood would be an improvement.

[MarkDaMan]

The project that will not die...

Metro revives 'headquarters hotel'
Portland Business Journal by Wendy Culverwell , Business Journal staff writer
Date: Wednesday, January 18, 2012, 6:31am PST

The Oregon Convention Center may get its “headquarters hotel” yet.

Two years after Portland Mayor Sam Adams and other civic leaders shelved plans for a 600-room, Westin-flagged hotel at the convention center, the Metro regional government is reopening talks.

It will be different this time, with more effort to win political support and a private developer.

The Metro Council and Metropolitan Exposition & Recreation Commission were unanimous Tuesday in saying the hotel must be put back on the public agenda.

Initially, the Westin would have been funded with bonds backed by local taxpayers. That was 2009, when construction costs were soaring and hotel operators demanded public concessions to build convention-dependent facilities.

Today, construction costs are down by 10 percent and interest rates on bonds are down 1 to 1.5 points. And hotel operators are on the prowl for projects. Metro reported that it has been contacted by numerous organizations that want to enter the Portland market, making it more likely that a private developer, not taxpayers, could shoulder the cost.

The controversial hotel project is considered a critical amenity for the Oregon Convention Center, which reportedly loses business because it can’t provide the large blocks of rooms organizers demand. Elisa Dozono, a MERC commissioner, said a legal group she belongs to pitched Portland for its 2013 convention but lost to Kansas City because Portland couldn’t muster 400 rooms near the convention center.

The Metro Council will vote on a resolution to formally reopen headquarters talks later this month. Any proposal will require the endorsement of the city of Portland and Multnomah County.

In other business Tuesday, the Metro and MERC councils learned Portland residents spent more to support the Oregon Zoo, convention center and other visitor facilities in the past year but saw lower economic returns and fewer jobs.

Crossroads Consulting Services, a Tampa, Fla.-based consultant, delivered its annual report on the economic impact of the four venues that MERC manages for Metro.

In short, MERC spent more and got less during the 2010-2011 fiscal year.

Collectively, the four venues hosted more than 1,400 events and attracted 3.3 million visitors to the region.

Crossroads reported that operating losses increased to nearly $18.7 million on $51.3 million in revenue. Losses were 17 percent greater than the prior year while revenue was up about 5 percent

The venues collectively generated $51.3 million in revenue, five percent more than the prior year.

Crossroads calculates the zoo and convention center together with the Portland Centers for the Performing Arts and Portland Expo Center induced $612.8 million in direct and indirect spending on things such as hotel rooms, restaurant visits, taxi rides and other spending by visitors. That is 10 percent less spending that one year ago.

The visitor facilities supported 6,040 jobs in the most recent year, 640 fewer than the previous year.

The past two years can not be compared to prior years because MERC did not include the Oregon Zoo in its annual figures before 2010.

Supporters note that the venues must operate as businesses but turning a profit is not their mission. The Oregon Convention Center is meant to attract large conventions and trade shows that fill local hotels and restaurants.

The Expo Center caters to smaller trade shows attracting local attendees; the Performing Arts Centers contribute to the city’s cultural life and the Oregon Zoo’s mission is to protect endangered species and educate the public about wildlife.

By venue:

The Portland Expo Center posted a $244,000 profit on $5 million in revenue. That compares to an $867,000 profit on $5.08 million in revenue the prior year. The expo center is the only MERC property to to turn a profit. The center hosted 93 events with more than 390,000 attendees, resulting in $33.7 million in local spending supporting 380 full- and part-time jobs. Expo Center-related activities resulted in about $1 million in taxes to the state, Metro and Multnomah County in the form of income taxes, corporate taxes and lodging taxes.
The Oregon Convention Center posted an operating loss of $10 million on revenue of $19 million. That compares to an $8.3 million loss on $16.6 million in revenue the prior year. The convention center hosted 469 events attended by 570,400 people. The total economic benefit to hotels, restaurants and other businesses is calculated at $449.6 million and 4,260 jobs. Multnomah County, home to the convention center, is the largest beneficiary, garnering $343.6 million in spending and 3,260 jobs. Clackamas County benefited from $17.1 million in spending and 430 jobs. Washington County benefited from $60.4 million and 570 jobs. Convention center-related activities generated nearly $15.5 million in tax revenue for local, regional and state government in the form of income taxes, lodging taxes and corporate taxes.
The Oregon Zoo posted an operating loss of $5.4 million on revenue of $19.65 million. That compares to a $5.6 million operating loss on $19 million in revenue the prior year. The zoo admitted 1.5 million visitors, a drop of six percent from the prior year. The zoo generated approximately $72 in spending and supported 760 full- and part-time jobs. Zoo-related activity generated nearly $1.18 million in tax revenue for the state and Multnomah County in the form of income taxes, corporate taxes and lodging taxes.
The Portland Center for the Performing Arts posted a $3.5 million loss on $7.6 million in revenue. That compares to a $2.8 million loss on $8 million in revenue the prior year. The Portland Center for the Performing Arts consists of Keller Auditorium, the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, the Antoinette Hatfield Hall, the Newmark Theatre and the Dolores Winningstad Theatre. The theaters hosted 880 performances by the Oregon Ballet Theater, Oregon Symphony and others that attracted nearly 770,000 attendees. The economic impact is estimated at $57.4 million and 640 jobs. Theater-related activity generated $1.35 million for Multnomah County and the state in the form of personal income taxes, corporate taxes and lodging taxes.

http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/morning_call/2012/01/metro-revives-headquarters-hotel.html?s=print

[pdxtraveler]

The project that will not die...

Metro revives 'headquarters hotel'
Portland Business Journal by Wendy Culverwell , Business Journal staff writer
Date: Wednesday, January 18, 2012, 6:31am PST


Great to hear! As I have said before, I think it is a necessity for the Convention Center.

[65MAX]

The project that will not die...

Metro revives 'headquarters hotel'
Portland Business Journal by Wendy Culverwell , Business Journal staff writer
Date: Wednesday, January 18, 2012, 6:31am PST

http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/morning_call/2012/01/metro-revives-headquarters-hotel.html?s=print

So Mark, you may need to revise the "Dead" to "Revived".

[MarkDaMan]

I tried, it won't let me change it. I guess that's a mods job.

[2oh1]

So Mark, you may need to revise the "Dead" to "Revived".

Or, perhaps, Zombified. This project seems like it may forever be undead (as in, neither alive nor dead. Fascinating to some, frightening to others).

[zilfondel]

I'd rather they built this than the CRC. I call for an international design competition!

[MarkDaMan]

Fast track, eh?

Metro puts headquarters hotel on fast track
Premium content from Portland Business Journal by Wendy Culverwell , Business Journal staff writer
Date: Friday, February 24, 2012, 3:00am PST

The Metro Council may ask hotel developers to share their best ideas for adding 500 or more hotel rooms at the Oregon Convention Center as early as this spring.

Metro, the regional government, expects to solicit ideas for at least one and perhaps two or three hotels.

Details are sketchy, but Metro could select a plan by the end of 2012.

Metro Councilor Burkholder said that after 20 years of debating the need for more guest rooms near the convention center, it’s time to call the question.

“If we’re going to do this, let’s do it. Or not do it,” he said.

Metro revived the headquarters hotel debate in January. Ongoing interest from unidentified hotel developers signaled private-sector interest in such a project, officials said.

Private-sector interest is key. Prior attempts to construct a convention center hotel ran into stiff and well-heeled opposition from downtown hotel operators, who objected to publicly sponsored competition.

A 600-room Westin-flagged project slated to be built across from the convention center, 777 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., was shelved two years ago when the economy stalled. The $200-plus million project would have been built with publicly backed bonds.

However, many downtown hotel operators still oppose the proposal.

Bashar Wali, president of Provenance Hotels, has opposed previous plans that depended on tax dollars but won’t stand in the way of a private operator. Provenance operates the Hotel deLuxe and Hotel Lucia in downtown Portland.

Wali, however, is skeptical that a massive hotel could survive at the convention center. The Lloyd District locale goes quiet when conventions move on.

Hotel supporters remain adamant the Oregon Convention Center won’t reach its full potential to stimulate business in the region unless a nearby hotel can offer 500 or more rooms.

The Metropolitan Recreation and Exposition Commission operates the Oregon Convention Center for Metro. The venue hosted 469 events and attracted 570,000 visitors during the 2010-2011 fiscal year, resulting in $449.6 million in economic activity and 4,260 jobs for the region.

Managers say the property regularly loses business to cities that have lodging amenities near by.

Teri Dresler, Metro’s venue manager, said the request for proposal to developers will be crafted after Metro builds consensus about the project with its counterparts at the city of Portland and Multnomah County, both of which are partners.

The heavily subsidized model of years past is off the table.

“We realize that just isn’t going to fly in today’s world,” Dresler said.

Public involvement may still play a role. The city, county or Metro could provide the site for the project, or there could be small subsidies to encourage development.

“We are trying to be as open as possible to accomplish this,” she said.

Wendy Culverwell covers real estate, retail and hospitality.

http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/print-edition/2012/02/24/metro-puts-headquarters-hotel-on-fast.html?s=print

[davehogan]

A Convention Center Hotel will bring other businesses near it. Other hotels, restaurants, bars, and everything else. I've seen it happen in enough other cities that we have to either admit we wasted a lot of money on the Rose Quarter, the Streetcar, the MAX, and the Convention Center, or we have to take advantage of how well connected that area is to everything else in Portland.

Maybe Downtown needs to stay open later to keep people interested in visiting Portland. But not building a hotel because we might not have it full every night is a terrible idea.

[mcbaby]

Maybe Downtown needs to stay open later to keep people interested in visiting Portland. But not building a hotel because we might not have it full every night is a terrible idea.

Word.

[MarkDaMan]

Oregon Convention Center hotel idea resurfaces with improved economy
POSTED: Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at 01:49 PM PT
BY: Lee Fehrenbacher
Daily Journal of Commerce

http://djcoregon.com/news/2012/04/25/oregon-convention-center-hotel-idea-resurfaces-with-improved-economy/

A casualty of the recession may soon be resurrected: Metro is considering whether to revisit the possibility of a headquarters hotel.

On Thursday, Metro Council is expected to vote on a resolution that would authorize staffers to issue a request for proposals for development of a hotel, with at least 500 rooms, adjacent to and in support of the Oregon Convention Center.

...

Developers are taking notice.

“We have been approached by private developers who plan to develop a hotel in town and know that it’s an ongoing need that has not been met,” Soden said.

Indeed, Weston Development is pushing the idea of converting a 2007 Lloyd District plan for a 31-story condominium tower into one for a 28-story hotel called the Cosmopolitan Tower.

Development inquiries spurred Metro’s interest in re-examining the idea of a headquarters hotel on different terms.

If approved, the resolution granting the RFP process would seek proposals for a privately-financed hotel, meaning developers would assume all risk – though Metro believes a project would benefit from low interest rates and relatively low construction costs.

[davehogan]

Other than hotels near the airport and the Courtyard that's nearly under the scenic Marquam Bridge there aren't many good hotels in Portland. The location is great, but I'd love to see a 500 room seven diamond hotel there, not just a big Westin, Hyatt or Sheraton.

(I'd bet on Westin or Sheraton, mostly because I think there was a gentleman's handshake between Portland and Starwood fairly recently about a Westin opening at that site.)

Personally I think that with the location, transit, freeway access, et al it's perfect for a split brand hotel. Put a Westin on the top floors and an Element below the parking deck.

What that area really needs is more retail that's open. Something near the Rose Quarter Transit Center would be better than the nothing that is there now.

[MarkDaMan]

^Really? A seven diamond hotel? :lmao:

Ashforth Pacific had an agreement with Starwood, not the city I think. Ashforth recently sold their holdings and the new owner of their lands are focusing on the huge super-block apartment proposal.

I'd expect the RFP to bring in a whole new set of proposals. Of course, without any city/PDC/Metro help, maybe not.

[maccoinnich]

Posted without comment:

Straying from Convention

May 2, 2012

Despite declining attendance and revenue, many cities are expanding convention centers or building new ones.

http://archrecord.construction.com/news/2012/05/images/Convention-Centers/Convention-Centers-1.jpg

After decades of being dissed, New York’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center is finally getting some respect: A $463 million renovation, designed by the Manhattan firm FXFOWLE, will play to the building’s strengths (preserving its once-revolutionary space frame) while bringing massive aesthetic, organizational, and environmental improvements. And with a subway line being extended to its front door—dramatically improving access to the Far West Side location—the 25-year-old facility by James Ingo Freed (of the firm now known as Pei Cobb Freed & Partners) may finally live up to its potential.

Unless it is torn down.

...continues at the Architectural Record (http://archrecord.construction.com/news/2012/05/Convention-Centers.asp).

[MarkDaMan]

Langley, Schlesinger submit proposals for HQ hotel
Portland Business Journal by Wendy Culverwell , Business Journal staff writer
Date: Thursday, July 12, 2012, 2:22pm PDT - Last Modified: Thursday, July 12, 2012, 2:55pm PDT

http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/news/2012/07/12/langley-schlesinger-submit-proposals.html?ana=e_du_pub&s=article_du&ed=2012-07-12&page=2

Two well-known Portland developers are vying for Metro's blessing to construct a so-called headquarters hotel at the Oregon Convention Center .
Langley Investment Properties, led by Scott Langley, and Schlesinger Cos., led by Barry Schlesinger, submitted proposals to Metro in the latest effort to finally install a convention-oriented "HQ" hotel at the convention center, 777 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Langley reassembled the team that previously planned to construct a $250 million Westin-flagged project for a fresh proposal.
The second team involves Portland-based Schlesinger Cos. and is led by Mortenson Development Inc. out of Minneapolis.
Metro intends to choose a finalist by mid-August.
The headquarters hotel is the long-missing piece of the Oregon Convention Center. The convention center opened in 1990 and was expanded in 2003. The hotel was always contemplated as a critical piece of the center, which generates significant economic activity for the region.
Travel Portland estimates Portland lost 30 conventions in 2011 alone, translating into 104,250 room nights in local hotels, 50,000 out-of-town visitors and $35 million in spending.
The previous agreement with Langley, then known as Ashforth Pacific, expired in 2009, a casualty of the recession and backlash in the hotel community against plans to finance construction with a taxpayer-backed bond.
Portland Mayor Sam Adams and the then-leaders of Metro and Multnomah County agreed to shelve the hotel conversation, citing the recession and falling visitor taxes.
Metro together with the city of Portland and Multnomah County, agreed to restart work in January, citing a thawing economy, low construction costs and rising interest from private developers in shouldering the cost to build. It solicited proposals from developers in May, with the deadline passing on July 11.

Metro wants a project with a minimum of 500 rooms on a public or private site immediately next to the convention center. The winning project must meet local sustainability goals, offer full-service amenities and minimize any public financing for construction or operations.
Metro won’t immediately disclose the financial terms of the proposals, citing an exemption in Oregon’s public records law.
The two proposals:
Langley Investment Properties, a Portland-based real estate investor and developer centered in the Lloyd District, wants to construct a Sheraton-flagged hotel on one of two sites under consideration. The company declined to describe its proposal in detail, but said it followed Metro’s injunction to privately finance the hotel. Its partners are Garfield Traub Development LLC, Starwood Hotels, ZGF Architects LLP, RTKL Associates Inc. and Turner Construction Co.
Schlesinger Cos. is teaming with Mortenson Development Inc., Hyatt Hotels Corp., Mortenson Construction, Ankrom Moisan Associated Architects , Elness Swenson Graham Architects, Piper Jaffray and Co. and Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels . Spokespeople for both Schlesinger and Mortenson were not available for comment. The Schlesinger hotel would likely be constructed to the north of the convention center, where principal Barry Schlesinger controls a development site.

[NewUrbanist]

I wonder how many billable public employee hours have been dedicated to this project. If the market dictates it, then I believe it is time, however, every council or the development commission goes to a vote, they postpone or walk away from the project.

In other news, I am excited to see that the progression of development seems to be jumping the river from downtown. If a high quality, catalyst project can pencil, then the large scale building plan for the Lloyd District might seem like more of a reality. I'd happily rent in a high rise apartment building there. The views of downtown would be stunning.

[MarkDaMan]

HQ hotel contractor Mortenson opens Portland office
Portland Business Journal by Wendy Culverwell , Business Journal staff writer
Date: Wednesday, October 24, 2012, 10:29am PDT

http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/blog/real-estate-daily/2012/10/hq-hotel-contractor-mortenson-opens.html?ana=e_du_pub&s=article_du&ed=2012-10-24

Mortenson Construction has opened a Portland office to support local projects, including its role in developing a 600-room Hyatt Regency “headquarters hotel” at the Oregon Convention Center.

Mortenson leased space from its hotel partner, Schlesinger Cos., at the Selling building, 610 S.W. Alder St.

Jeff Madden is serving as general manager.

Moretenson and Schlesinger secured early approval from the Portland Development Commission and the Metro Council in September to construct the long-awaited HQ hotel at the convention center, 777 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Two separate teams submitted proposals.

The team proposed four separate versions centered on the Hyatt name, with options ranging from $157 million to $200 million. The team has refined its view to a 600-room Hyatt Regency to be constructed on property already controlled by the Schlesinger family.

The hotel team also includes Hyatt Hotels Corp., Ankrom Moisan Associated Architects, Elness Swenson Graham Architects, Piper Jaffray and Co. and Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels.

Minneapolis-based Mortenson operates 10 offices in the U.S., Canada and China, including Seattle.

The firm specializes in health care, higher education, life sciences, hospitality, data centers, historic renovations and sports and environmental facilities.

[65MAX]

"The team has refined its view to a 600-room Hyatt Regency to be constructed on property already controlled by the Schlesinger family."

So, does that mean they're doing one single tower instead of the 2 mid-rise buildings? Let's hope so.

[MarkDaMan]

^from what I've heard, yep.

[PDX City-State]

That's great news. I'd take the two stubby buildings over nothing just to give that area some type of kick start, but a tower would be so much better. Who would have thought that the Lloyd District would have so much momentum?

[Okstate]

I have a source that says the tower will be around 25 floors.

[MarkDaMan]

http://media.oregonlive.com/front-porch/photo/11949971-large.jpg

Clearer development, financing picture emerges for convention center hotel; market study released
By Elliot Njus, The Oregonian
on December 04, 2012 at 6:22 PM, updated December 04, 2012 at 6:32 PM

http://www.oregonlive.com/front-porch/index.ssf/2012/12/clearer_development_financing.html#incart_river_default

Plans for a proposed headquarters hotel at the Oregon Convention Center -- including new financing details -- are firming up, though its political outlook remains murky.

At a Metro Council work session Tuesday afternoon, the regional government's staff and the development team behind a proposed Hyatt hotel laid out new details that had emerged in their ongoing talks.

The two sides have coalesced around a single 600-room Grand Hyatt Hotel that would be located north of the Oregon Convention Center on land owned by Portland's Schlesinger family. Earlier, they were considering two smaller hotels on one of two nearby sites.

The new configuration better fits the needs of Travel Portland, which markets the Oregon Convention Center to groups that hold conventions. It wanted a block of at least 500 rooms that could be reserved during events.

But it will also add to the cost of the project, and correspondingly to the amount of a public subsidy.

In its initial proposal, a group led by Mortenson Development of Minneapolis and including the Schlesinger family said it would need between $10.4 million and $36.1 million in public loans or grants, as well a 30-year rebate of most of a city lodging tax that would be levied on the hotel.

To that end, a Metro consultant said Tuesday the agency is exploring issuing "conduit revenue bonds" on the project's behalf to be repaid with lodging taxes rebate.

That would bestow Metro's tax exempt status on the bonds, lowering the interest rate.

"That difference can make a big contribution to closing any funding gap," said Ken Rust, a financial consultant hired by Metro and former chief administrative officer for the city of Portland.

But the public agencies would not be responsible for paying back the bonds if the project went sour. The obligator -- Hyatt Corp., perhaps, or an entity set up to collect the tax rebate -- would be responsible for repaying the bonds, not the taxpayer-funded agencies involved.

"They take on no financial or legal liability by the mere action of sponsoring the financing," Rust said. "Ultimately it's the third party that is the obligator, that's who the bondholders are looking at when they're assessing if they want to buy those bonds."

If Hyatt threw its credit heft behind the bond, it could secure lower borrowing but could be responsible for making payments if the lodging tax didn't fulfill obligations to borrowers. If the lodging tax was the sole source of money to repay the bonds, the borrowing cost could be higher because of the greater risk to bondholders.

Tuesday, consultancy Strategic Advisory Group also released a study -- embedded below -- of the feasibility of a headquarters hotel mostly affirming Metro's earlier findings.

A survey of 135 meeting planners suggested a 600-room hotel near the convention center would increase the likelihood the planners would select Portland for their group's event.

The study says a headquarters hotel could bring an additional five to 10 events to the Oregon Convention Center, increasing its economic impact by $120 million a year. It also found Portland-area hotels are outperforming peers nationwide in filling rooms.

Metro Council President Tom Hughes said the study showed there's pent-up demand for new hotels in the Portland area.

"The difference is this is the only hotel that actually brings additional demand," Hughes said.

The study says also claims a convention center hotel, by luring new events, would increase citywide hotel occupancy by 1.4 percent within two years of opening .

The Metro Council, along with Portland and Multnomah County officials, had expected to be approving the general terms of a financing deal this month, with a final agreement up for approval in 2013. But prolonged negotiations between Hyatt and a hotel workers union, a precondition of starting negotiations, threw off the timeline and didn't wrap up until the end of October.

That means the term sheet will be presented in a very different political climate next year with new elected officials sitting on the Metro Council and the Portland City Council.

Teri Dresler, the manager for Metro's venues, said the "aggressive" timeline came in part because of support from departing elected officials, as well as current low borrowing and construction costs.

But Hughes said the new political climate won't threaten the project.

"Everything changes politically after the first of the year," Hughes said, "but not enough to do anything significant."

–Elliot Njus

[Eco_jt]

and in case anyone is interested:
http://www.oregonlive.com/front-porch/index.ssf/2012/12/metro_releases_market_impact_s.html

The Market Impact Study by Metro for the Convention Center Hotel is embedded into the bottom of the above link.

[MarkDaMan]

Developer: HQ hotel can be built without major subsidies
Portland Business Journal by Wendy Culverwell , Business Journal staff writer
Date: Wednesday, December 12, 2012, 10:26am PST

http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/blog/real-estate-daily/2012/12/developer-hq-hotel-can-be-built.html?s=print

A 600-room Hyatt-flagged hotel could be constructed at the Oregon Convention Center with little impact on the public purse, a Portland developer says Barry Schlesinger, principal with the Schlesinger Cos., is teaming with Mortenson Development and Hyatt Hotels Corp. to advance the hotel at the Oregon Convention Center.

The team is negotiating a development agreement with Metro, the regional government. It aims to break ground by late 2013 on a site immediately north of the convention center, 777 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. The goal is to open the hotel, the long missing piece of Oregon’s convention industry, by late 2015.

...

The project would not proceed entirely without public funds. The Portland Development Commission set aside $4 million, and Metro is “willing to consider” financial support though it has not publicly disclosed how much.

In the bid package, Metro identified federal New Market Tax Credits and the EB-5 immigrant investor program as potential funding sources, though neither is in play for the Hyatt project.

The Hyatt team proposes constructing the hotel on a block immediately to the north of the convention center, across Northeast Holladay Street. Schlesinger Cos. owns most of the site and has an option to buy the balance when it needs it.

Wendy Culverwell covers real estate, retail and hospitality.

[bvpcvm]

This is certainly good news.

[MarkDaMan]

http://imgick.oregonlive.com/home/olive-media/width620/img/front-porch/photo/11949950-mmmain.jpg
A rendering of a proposed 600-room Grand Hyatt hotel at the Oregon Convention Center. (Mortenson Development/Metro)

Convention center hotel: Metro officials to brief Portland, Multnomah County commissioners on lodging tax
By Elliot Njus, The Oregonian
on April 30, 2013 at 6:27 PM, updated April 30, 2013 at 6:35 PM

http://www.oregonlive.com/front-porch/index.ssf/2013/04/convention_center_hotel_metro.html#incart_river_default

Metro officials are meeting with Portland and Multnomah County commissioners starting this week in anticipation of a funding decision for a proposed Hyatt Hotel at the Oregon Convention Center.

Metro, the tri-county regional government that oversees the convention center, is still negotiating with the development team behind the proposal, led by Mortenson Development of Minneapolis. The developers have proposed using lodging tax proceeds generated by the hotel to help finance its construction.

The 30-year rebate on the lodging tax would help make payments on an up-front loan. Over that period, the reinvested tax revenue could add up to $111 million, according to the developer's projections.

...

[urbanlife]

I am curious, is this hotel gonna conflict with a possible development that would be surrounding the Burgerville?

[MarkDaMan]

Nope, two separate projects. It would still leave room for the office tower too, I think it was 300 Multnomah or something like that.

[MarkDaMan]

May 30, 2013, 8:47am PDT
Metro seeks $12M from state for HQ hotel
Wendy Culverwell
Real Estate Daily editor- Portland Business Journal

http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/blog/real-estate-daily/2013/05/metro-seeks-12m-from-state-for-hq-hotel.html?ana=e_ptl_real&s=newsletter&ed=2013-05-30&u=kFaEqOvgXoyG8/wIKsmMtmSIXCT&t=1369938338

Supporters of a Hyatt-flagged hotel at the Oregon Convention Center confirmed they are seeking state support for the project.

...

At a meeting with hotel industry executives this week, Cheryl Twete, project manager for Metro, disclosed they met with lawmakers to solicit state funds for the project, which is expected to cost $180 million to $200 million to construct.

Twete did not disclose the amount requested, but Nick Christensen, a reporter employed by Metro, confirmed Metro President Tom Hughes is seeking $12 million from lottery-backed bonds. Hughes discussed the benefits of a headquarters hotel at the same gathering, but did not mention his request to Salem.

...

Other funding sources include:

$4 million loan from the Portland Development Commission
million grant from Metro
$60 million to $80 million in revenue bonds to be repaid by Metro from visitor taxes assessed on Portland-area hotel guests
$100 million in private investment

...

[pdxtraveler]

I just wish this would get going. Austin is now building another hotel near their convention center. McCormick Place in Chicago is talking about another 1000 room hotel. Dallas and Fort Worth both just finished Omni hotels at there respective conventions centers. We just keep losing meetings for the lack of this hotel.

[Philby]

I just wish this would get going. Austin is now building another hotel near their convention center. McCormick Place in Chicago is talking about another 1000 room hotel. Dallas and Fort Worth both just finished Omni hotels at there respective conventions centers. We just keep losing meetings for the lack of this hotel.

This is a frequently used argument in my prior hometown of Des Moines Iowa, to explain why other cities book a lot more conferences than DSM.

I don't go to a lot of work conferences, but when I do they are usually in places like SoCal, Pheonix, Vegas, Texas and Florida, so something tells me the conference planners have other priorities in mind when picking a city then how many hotel rooms are adjacent to the conference center...

Lots of conferences happen in the "winter" and perhaps its just me, but if I'm trying to draw people to an expensive conference, I'm worried about other factors that would cause people to justify the cost, and the ability to escape the cold for the warmer temps of the places in the South and West is a pretty big selling point. How far you have to walk from your hotel room to the conference center in said mild "winter" conditions is probably less of a selling point.

Yes its true that some cities have a lot of conference hotels and those cities also host a lot of conferences....but do they host a lot of conferences because of the hotel rooms, or do they have a lot of hotel rooms because they host a lot of conferences for reasons unrelated to hotel proximity/availability?

[MarkDaMan]

This is a frequently used argument in my prior hometown of Des Moines Iowa, to explain why other cities book a lot more conferences than DSM.

I don't go to a lot of work conferences, but when I do they are usually in places like SoCal, Pheonix, Vegas, Texas and Florida, so something tells me the conference planners have other priorities in mind when picking a city then how many hotel rooms are adjacent to the conference center...

Lots of conferences happen in the "winter" and perhaps its just me, but if I'm trying to draw people to an expensive conference, I'm worried about other factors that would cause people to justify the cost, and the ability to escape the cold for the warmer temps of the places in the South and West is a pretty big selling point. How far you have to walk from your hotel room to the conference center in said mild "winter" conditions is probably less of a selling point.

Yes its true that some cities have a lot of conference hotels and those cities also host a lot of conferences....but do they host a lot of conferences because of the hotel rooms, or do they have a lot of hotel rooms because they host a lot of conferences for reasons unrelated to hotel proximity/availability?

Part of my job duties include event management including site selection for meetings, and I can tell you Portland needs a HQ hotel at the convention center. There simply are not enough rooms close enough to the OCC to take full advantage of the over 1M sq/ft of space. I can't bring in 1,500 attendees when there aren't even 150 quality rooms nearby. Also, climate seldom matters all that much. I book shoulder seasons, even off season in some markets to take advantage of the discounted rates. I often bring in people from across the country and the world to Portland in February or March.

Portland needs more hotel rooms, period. The overnight room rate downtown has jumped $50 or more a night this summer over last, and occupancy is extremely tight.

[davehogan]

This is a frequently used argument in my prior hometown of Des Moines Iowa, to explain why other cities book a lot more conferences than DSM.

I don't go to a lot of work conferences, but when I do they are usually in places like SoCal, Pheonix, Vegas, Texas and Florida, so something tells me the conference planners have other priorities in mind when picking a city then how many hotel rooms are adjacent to the conference center...

Lots of conferences happen in the "winter" and perhaps its just me, but if I'm trying to draw people to an expensive conference, I'm worried about other factors that would cause people to justify the cost, and the ability to escape the cold for the warmer temps of the places in the South and West is a pretty big selling point. How far you have to walk from your hotel room to the conference center in said mild "winter" conditions is probably less of a selling point.

Yes its true that some cities have a lot of conference hotels and those cities also host a lot of conferences....but do they host a lot of conferences because of the hotel rooms, or do they have a lot of hotel rooms because they host a lot of conferences for reasons unrelated to hotel proximity/availability?

I worked in the hotel industry for over seven years, and there were a lot of disappointed executives I met that couldn't hold conferences in Portland. Once compared the quality of our hotel selections to Buffalo. I was born in Buffalo, so that stung twice, but seriously. That's a slap in the face.

The biggest problem is that he was right. There aren't many good rooms in Portland outside the airport, and the ones that we have are scattered around parts of downtown that can get to the OCC, but they're not near the OCC.

The neighborhood around the OCC needs some serious upgrades. The streetcar and an anchor hotel aren't a bad start, but as long as people want to visit and we have the OCC we might want to find ways to take advantage of that.

On top of it, it can't really do anything but help make the city more attractive to business travelers overall since it's another decent hotel that supervisors won't question someone staying at. Having the Jupiter, the Nines, etc are great for tourists but a business traveler wants the perks they get from staying at a Marriott/Westin/Hyatt/Sheraton/Hilton.

We don't have that many of those yet (compared to other cities) so adding another 182,000 or so room nights in a major brand near a major transportation hub doesn't seem like a terrible idea.

[Philby]

Thanks for the education on the conference/hotel industry guys!

I guess the conferences that cater to my industry (telecom) have other reasons besides weather and local attractions to always locate their conferences in warm weather/"touristy" cities.

If the demand is there, then I hope the supply catches up, so that many other people can experience this great city that I am fortunate enough to call home!

[GreenLivingDave]

This is one thing that Portland is very behind on and I wish they would quickly get moving forward on. Often the most important and impactful things that happen at conferences are not the main speakers or breakout sessions. If they where there would be NO need for conventions and conferences these days, just do it online. It's the face to face discussions and personal interactions that happen after a speaker or breakout session. That can not be duplicated effectively online and it most often happens at hotels, restaurants and other casual meeting places nearby, not at the convention center itself.

[MarkDaMan]

Jun 11, 2013, 10:27am PDT
Formidable foes rise to fight convention hotel
Wendy Culverwell
Real Estate Daily editor- Portland Business Journal

http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/blog/real-estate-daily/2013/06/formidable-foes-rise-to-fight.html?s=print

A coalition of Portland hotel operators is forming to oppose the use of public funds to build a 600-room Hyatt-flagged hotel at the Oregon Convention Center.

The group, representing some of the city’s largest chains and most popular boutiques, hired publicist Paige Richardson to organize the campaign and serve as its public face.

Backers say lack of information about negotiations between Portland officials and the Hyatt team led to the decision to formalize their opposition.

The coalition has requested nearly 60 documents related to deal negotiations. It has received just eight.

It hasn't received documents about fees Hyatt will charge to manage the hotel. The documents were denied under records law that pertains to trade secrets, according to a document log maintained by law firm Jordan Ramis.

"The backroom dealings have forced us to take a more direct and precise action," said Bashar Wali, president of Provenance Hotel Group.

Wali is a long-time critic of the convention hotel who says it won’t solve Portland's larger challenges related to attracting convention business, including the lack of sun nine months of the year and relatively high air fares.

In Portland, Provenance operates the Portland Westin, the Governor Hotel, the Benson Hotel, Hotel Lucia and Hotel deLuxe.

The coalition, which does not have a name, also includes owners of the 780-room Hilton Portland & Executive Tower, the Paramount Hotel, the Mark Spencer Hotel and the regional and national Asian American Hotel Owners Association.

...

The Hyatt project would be financed with $100 million from Hyatt, $60 million to $80 million in Metro-issued bonds to be repaid with taxes levied on hotel rooms and car rentals, $4 million from the Portland Development Commission and $4 million from Metro.

Metro Council President Tom Hughes has asked Oregon lawmakers for $12 million in state bond proceeds that would be repaid from Lottery revenue. That request has not yet been approved.

The opposition group has honed in on the $60 million to $80 million bond debt that Metro would incur for the project.

Citing figures from The Oregonian, Richardson estimates it would cost $110 million to repay the debt. The Business Journal calculates an $80 million debt at the current 30-year municipal bond interest rate of 2.875 percent would take $120 million to repay, including nearly $40 million in interest.

Provenance’s Wali said the same issues that dogged a failed plan to construct a Westin Hotel in 2009 remain. Portland weather makes it undesirable for much of the year. Air travel is difficult and the city, he said, doesn’t have the destination cache of Phoenix, Las Vegas, New Orleans or other convention-oriented cities.

It also doesn’t make sense to spend some $330,000 per room to construct a new hotel when downtown hotels sell for less than half that.

The Portland Hilton sold in late 2012 for more than $100 million or about $127,000 per door. The Portland Waterfront Marriott is reportedly for sale at a comparable price.

...

[pdxtraveler]

I know, it will eat into their occupancy levels.. at first. But I truly believe that once these people visit for conventions they are back in a year with their families for leisure. I have seen it time and again with my corporate clients, they come here on business and return 6 months to a year later with family in tow. And on the next trip they will want the boutique hotel. Get over it, there was always an intention of a Convention Hotel.

[Tykendo]

Alright!, enough already. These stop progress killjoys are keeping Portland from reaching her full potential. Denver built a 1000+ room Mega Hotel accross the street from the DCC, and it didn't kill anyone. As a matter of fact, Embassy Suites built a very nice hotel next door, and another 20+ story hotel is going up behind it. It's time Portland, have some vision, take a chance, and maybe, just maybe, you'll like the outcome.

[PacificNW]

Alright!, enough already. These stop progress killjoys are keeping Portland from reaching her full potential. Denver built a 1000+ room Mega Hotel accross the street from the DCC, and it didn't kill anyone. As a matter of fact, Embassy Suites built a very nice hotel next door, and another 20+ story hotel is going up behind it. It's time Portland, have some vision, take a chance, and maybe, just maybe, you'll like the outcome.

:cheers: "I agree with you!"

[zilfondel]

I must say, they really need to build a convention center hotel next to the convention center before the land gets something else built on it and it is no longer available for that purpose. Otherwise, its stupid urban design (or lack thereof...).

Speaking of urban design, that area is a tad eclectic. Right across the street is a little gem, one of the only Japanese markets on the eastside - Anzen - kind of an odd location, IMHO.

[GreenLivingDave]

Portland has done such a great job in so many ways but here there is a major convention center that opened in 1990, plus the Rose Quarter virtually next door. This area should have developed into a major hotel/restaurant/entertainment district many years ago. This is one area where Portland has completely blown it.

[pdxtraveler]

Portland has done such a great job in so many ways but here there is a major convention center that opened in 1990, plus the Rose Quarter virtually next door. This area should have developed into a major hotel/restaurant/entertainment district many years ago. This is one area where Portland has completely blown it.


Well, you are never going to see a big restaurant/entertainment district. Everytime they suggest one certain segments of the population fight it tooth and nail. They say we are the green/independant/locally owned city. And locally owned usually can't afford the rents that are sought by those big mega developments like the district around the Kansas City arena or LA Live.

I am torn, I do see us as the more non-chain local place, but it doesn't hurt to have all the other in an area that is so different and visitor oriented like the Rose Quarter/Convention Center area.

I see both sides, I guess.

[2oh1]

Honestly, I think the Rose Quarter is such a disaster of urban planning that even if the city somehow found half a billion dollars of investment to pour into it, it still couldn't be turned into a successful entertainment district. There's absolutely nothing pedestrian friendly about The Rose Quarter. It's surface parking lot central with two massive structures that sit empty most of the time - especially Memorial Coliseum. And let's not forget how I5 takes the river away from SE. Whose genius idea was THAT?!

Bury I5 and possibilities emerge. Without that... I just don't see it.

[65MAX]

Bury I5 and possibilities emerge. Without that... I just don't see it.

Burying it is a non-starter. It would cost many billions of dollars and isn't even necessary. A much better (and financially feasible) idea would be capping I-5 and the RR tracks wherever possible, like north of the Hawthorne Bridge, or on both sides of the Burnside Bridge. Also capping the RR tracks north of I-84 all the way to the north side of Broadway for better river access from the Rose Quarter and Lower Albina.

[tworivers]

I don't think it's a non-starter. It will take some serious political will -- I'm pretty sure that the next few waves of political leaders will be all over this. There are ways of financing it and there are also ways of placating the business and freight community. It will be easier, probably next decade, once we figure out what combination of congestion pricing, tolling, and VMT taxes we're going to implement.

[Photogeric]

They are doing it in Seattle

[urbanlife]

Honestly, I think the Rose Quarter is such a disaster of urban planning that even if the city somehow found half a billion dollars of investment to pour into it, it still couldn't be turned into a successful entertainment district. There's absolutely nothing pedestrian friendly about The Rose Quarter. It's surface parking lot central with two massive structures that sit empty most of the time - especially Memorial Coliseum. And let's not forget how I5 takes the river away from SE. Whose genius idea was THAT?!

Bury I5 and possibilities emerge. Without that... I just don't see it.

Actually the Rose Quarter was perfectly designed to get people in and out of the area easily during big events.

[kvalk]

The team behind the Hotel Modera have purchased the Red Lion near the convention center...

[2oh1]

Does that mean it'll be getting a makeover? It's easy to forget what a dump the old Days Inn was downtown before it became the Modera.

It seems strange to see someone buying a hotel that close to where a monster hotel project is eventually coming unless they either don't think that hotel is going to be built, or they believe the huge new hotel will end up being good for their business too. ...interesting...

[kvalk]

I would assume there's a big renovation planned.
There's plenty of business there with or without the new CC Hotel, in fact it would only help business by bringing in more conventions.

[maccoinnich]

The team behind the Hotel Modera have purchased the Red Lion near the convention center...

By coincidence, I wound up going for a pre-Fleetwood Mac at the 'Windows Skyroom & Lounge'. The interior finishes of the hotel are frankly ghastly, but I can see a lot of potential for a considered renovation that plays off the International Style architecture of the hotel.

[urbanlife]

Does that mean it'll be getting a makeover? It's easy to forget what a dump the old Days Inn was downtown before it became the Modera.

It seems strange to see someone buying a hotel that close to where a monster hotel project is eventually coming unless they either don't think that hotel is going to be built, or they believe the huge new hotel will end up being good for their business too. ...interesting...

Oh I remember very well, I use to walk past it every day on my way to work. I use to wish they would tear down that crappy hotel and build a tall office building in its place, even possibly a tallest building.

But since the renovation, I think they did a great job turning the dump of a hotel into something classy...though I still wish it would of been torn down for a tall tower instead. I wouldn't of missed the building.

[Tykendo]

2oh1, it's not strange at all. Believe it or not, there's plenty of business to go around once you build a headquarters hotel. In Denver, we built a thousand + room mega Hyatt next to the convention center. Since, multiple other hotels, including an Embassy Suites Tower, have been built, and another 20+ story hotel is going up next door to both the Hyatt, and the Embassy. Get the darn thing built, and soon. Portland is missing out on a ton of business that would like to check out the Rose City. Including the NBA AllStar Game.

[2oh1]

2oh1, it's not strange at all. Believe it or not, there's plenty of business to go around once you build a headquarters hotel.

I hope so, because I REALLY hope a convention center hotel gets built sooner than later. It'd be good for Portland. Heck, it'd be good for Lloyd & the Rose Quarter. Tourist dollars are good for the city. I'd rather be bringing outside money in than have our dollars flowing out.

[MarkDaMan]

Jul 8, 2013, 10:45am PDT
HQ hotel scores $10M in lottery bonds
The Oregon Legislature has earmarked $10 million in state lottery bond funds to construct a 600-room Hyatt Regency at the Oregon Convention Center.
Wendy Culverwell
Real Estate Daily editor- Portland Business Journal

http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/blog/real-estate-daily/2013/07/hq-hotel-scores-10m-in-lottery-bonds.html?ana=e_ptl_real&s=newsletter&ed=2013-07-08&u=kFaEqOvgXoyG8/wIKsmMtmSIXCT&t=1373316289

Christian Gaston at The Oregonian reports Oregon lawmakers have set aside $10 million in lottery bond proceeds to support construction of a 600-room Hyatt Regency at the Oregon Convention Center.

Metro officials had sought $12 million in lottery bonds to support construction of the $180 million to $200 million project on land immediately north of the convention center, 777 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. The joint Ways and Means committee was widely expected to act on the request before the session ended.

...

[MarkDaMan]

Convention center hotel: Metro presents draft development, financing agreement
Print By Elliot Njus, The Oregonian
on July 09, 2013 at 6:11 PM, updated July 09, 2013 at 6:21 PM

http://www.oregonlive.com/front-porch/index.ssf/2013/07/convention_center_hotel_metro_1.html#incart_river_default

The financing package for a proposed $198 million hotel at the Oregon Convention Center, detailed for the first time at a work session on Tuesday, got a warm welcome from Metro councilors who will soon be asked to vote on the terms.

The Metro regional government, which operates the convention center, has proposed a mix of $10 million in state lottery funds, a $4 million Portland Development Commission loan and a $4 million grant from Metro to bolster a $118 million investment from a development team led by Mortenson Development of Minneapolis.

But the largest piece of a subsidy package will be revenue from a tax on hotel stays that will be redirected to pay back $60 million in revenue bonds to be issued by Metro. Agency officials say the hotel will allow them to lure big out-of-town conventions, increasing the amount of lodging tax collected overall.

...

[maccoinnich]

Regardless of the merits of the financing plan, that's one ugly building.

[GreenLivingDave]

Regardless of the merits of the financing plan, that's one ugly building.

I have seen much worse.

[mcbaby]

Regardless of the merits of the financing plan, that's one ugly building.

Is there a pic or a rendering somewhere?

[GreenLivingDave]

Is there a pic or a rendering somewhere?

Right in the article with the link posted above and again here...
http://www.oregonlive.com/front-porch/index.ssf/2013/07/convention_center_hotel_metro_1.html#incart_river_default

[mcbaby]

Oh, I was using my iPhone. I see it now on my laptop. Yeah, not the classiest building. Especially with that huge vacuum cleaner bag on the roof.

[2oh1]

It isn't exactly a gorgeous building, but then again, look at what else is in the area. Consider this one to be a gateway to the architectural ugliness that awaits as you head east toward the Lloyd district.

The sooner this gets going, the better. I'd love it if this could actually be completed by 2016. That'd be fantastic!

[tworivers]

This is great news. Really seems like some serious investment is going to get made in this area in the coming years. Huge for the whole city.

Wonder where the Lloyd superblock project is in the pipeline right now...hopefully still rolling...


Jul 10, 2013, 10:48am PDT Updated: Jul 10, 2013, 11:17am PDT
Red Lion getting the Hotel Modera treatment (http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/blog/real-estate-daily/2013/07/red-lion-getting-the-hotel-modera.html)
The 173-room hotel is located at 1021 N.E. Grand Ave. in Portland. Its new owners plan to give it a modern makeover starting this fall.

Wendy Culverwell
Real Estate Daily editor- Portland Business Journal


The new owners of the Red Lion Hotel at the Oregon Convention Center will begin renovations next fall.

...

“The biggest difference between this and Hotel Modera is the Red Lion property has a significant amount of meeting space. We are going to turn it into the premier meeting space in Portland, with tremendous views of downtown and the surrounding area,” he said.

...

“We’re completely supportive of the new Convention Center hotel,” Mollendor said in a press release. “It will only enhance the attraction of the Lloyd District as a business and tourist destination. As the area continues to grow and develop with new businesses, we believe we can contribute to its appeal with our own unique and special hotel.

...

[2oh1]

This is great news. Really seems like some serious investment is going to get made in this area in the coming years. Huge for the whole city.

Wonder where the Lloyd superblock project is in the pipeline right now...hopefully still rolling...

That's exactly what I'm thinking too. This is really good news, and if the Lloyd superblock projects get going too, it'll be a LOT of construction over there, which will hopefully lead to a lot more investment as a relatively dead zone becomes vibrant.

...anybody know the current status of the Lloyd superblock projects? There was a lot planned at one point, but just as quickly as news appeared it seems to have stopped.

[mcbaby]

Here's the Mercury article that discusses the Lloyd Super Block and I believe there was a design review in May.

http://m.portlandmercury.com/portland/blogs/Post?basename=signs-of-life-in-the-enormous-but-shrunken-lloyd-superblock-project&day=16&id=BlogtownPDX&month=04&year=2013

[tworivers]

Just checked Portlandmaps -- looks like they're deep into permitting, last activity was last Wednesday the 3rd.

[zilfondel]

That's exactly what I'm thinking too. This is really good news, and if the Lloyd superblock projects get going too, it'll be a LOT of construction over there, which will hopefully lead to a lot more investment as a relatively dead zone becomes vibrant.

...anybody know the current status of the Lloyd superblock projects? There was a lot planned at one point, but just as quickly as news appeared it seems to have stopped.

Design development, permitting and construction drawings take a long time. Be patient!

[urbanlife]

This is great news. Really seems like some serious investment is going to get made in this area in the coming years. Huge for the whole city.

Wonder where the Lloyd superblock project is in the pipeline right now...hopefully still rolling...


Jul 10, 2013, 10:48am PDT Updated: Jul 10, 2013, 11:17am PDT
Red Lion getting the Hotel Modera treatment (http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/blog/real-estate-daily/2013/07/red-lion-getting-the-hotel-modera.html)
The 173-room hotel is located at 1021 N.E. Grand Ave. in Portland. Its new owners plan to give it a modern makeover starting this fall.

Wendy Culverwell
Real Estate Daily editor- Portland Business Journal


The new owners of the Red Lion Hotel at the Oregon Convention Center will begin renovations next fall.

...

“The biggest difference between this and Hotel Modera is the Red Lion property has a significant amount of meeting space. We are going to turn it into the premier meeting space in Portland, with tremendous views of downtown and the surrounding area,” he said.

...

“We’re completely supportive of the new Convention Center hotel,” Mollendor said in a press release. “It will only enhance the attraction of the Lloyd District as a business and tourist destination. As the area continues to grow and develop with new businesses, we believe we can contribute to its appeal with our own unique and special hotel.

...

Oh cool, I hope Denise Corso's company is able to be involved with the redesign of this hotel as well. She has had quite the impact on boutique hotels in this city.

[2oh1]

Design development, permitting and construction drawings take a long time. Be patient!

What?! PATIENCE?!?!? For growth? You can't be serious. I want it now, now, now! NOWNOWNOWNOW!!!!! :)

I'm really excited to see good things happening in Lloyd.