Downtown Portland News

[downtownpdx]

Originally Posted by DMH

On the subject of that food cart pod at the south end of the North Park Blocks at W. Burnside, I also walked through there a week ago. It cries out for City investment in the renovation of the two historic brick buildings (presumably originally restrooms) into small cafés or bars with one or two unisex toilets, creation of a quality patio between the two small buildings, and a complete pedestrianization of the adjacent short streets around the parklet, all the way to SW Broadway, SW Harvey Milk, and W. Burnside. At some point I heard one building owner opposes pedestrianization because the building has a garage
entrance. In Europe and elsewhere I have seen the solution. A limited number of cars
occasionally crawls slowly through a pedestrian zone to a garage entrance. There îs a great opportunity in that corner of Downtown to create a
pleasant and active environment for people.

Re: The Hotel on N. Park Blocks. It is well under construction having reached nearly its full height.

Great to hear thanks for the info! I agree about the food pod area on Park, it’s needed more attention for a long long time. It’s just riiiight at the edge of a section of downtown that can be dodgy, but there’s enough traffic in the area that I think it would do well at all hours of the day with some investment, especially considering the new clubs opening nearby. Much better than it was a year ago already, it seems.

[maccoinnich]

Great to see another prominent space downtown fill in.

Luxury real estate firm Engel & Völkers opening downtown Portland office



Luxury real estate brokerage Engel & Vӧlkers will take a ground-floor retail space inside downtown Portland's West End.

Engel & Vӧlkers signed a 10-year lease for 1,700 square feet inside the 511 Building, property owners Menashe Properties said. The company plans to open the new location in August.

The 511 Building covers about 121,000 square feet at 511 S.W. Tenth Ave., across from the newly opened Block 216 tower with the Ritz-Carlton hotel and residences.

...continues at the Portland Business Journal ($).

[downtownpdx]

Akizawa Japanese Bistro is now open at 507 SW Broadway. Nice to see some new businesses in this section of downtown, including the Hana Sushi at 6th/Washington and the 40 Lbs Coffee (beer & wine also) across the street.

[PhillyPDX]

$3.25mm for this recently rehabbed building downtown? That’s crazy. Also sad the downtown area is still losing tenants in light of these extremely low sales prices. At what point does that turn into stupid cheap and new tenants move in? Soon, I hope?

https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2024...ington-center/

https://www.jkgillbuilding.com/

[DMH]

Originally Posted by PhillyPDX

$3.25mm for this recently rehabbed building downtown? That’s crazy. Also sad the downtown area is still losing tenants in light of these extremely low sales prices. At what point does that turn into stupid cheap and new tenants move in? Soon, I hope?

https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2024...ington-center/

https://www.jkgillbuilding.com/

On the other hand, this is a sign of what must happen for Downtown Portland to transition to a more residential, mixed-use central neighborhood. The J.K. Gill building would be ideal for conversion to housing. It already underwent a full renovation for office use. The low purchase price really helps to make the cost of conversion to residential pencil out. The WW article mentioned that the Menasche family also purchased the American Bank Building, which like the Gill building, would be great for housing with those large windows and smaller floor plates.

[maccoinnich]

Looking at the floor plans, I don't think the JK Gill building is a good candidate for residential conversion. It has a 100' x 100' floorplate, with vertical circulation all placed against the west facade. Although it did get a major renovation, I don't believe that included a seismic upgrade (and the city's incentives are nowhere near large enough to cover what the cost would be for this building).

The optimistic case for the building's future is that the Menashes now have such a low cost basis that they can afford to lease space in the building at a much lower price than URG could. A recent story in the PBJ highlighted leases in the American Bank Building, which was also recently acquired by the Menahses. While terms weren't disclosed, I imagine that the tenants are getting a much more favorable deal than they would at other buildings, or would have pre-pandemic.

[DMH]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

Looking at the floor plans, I don't think the JK Gill building is a good candidate for residential conversion. It has a 100' x 100' floorplate, with vertical circulation all placed against the west facade. Although it did get a major renovation, I don't believe that included a seismic upgrade (and the city's incentives are nowhere near large enough to cover what the cost would be for this building).

The optimistic case for the building's future is that the Menashes now have such a low cost basis that they can afford to lease space in the building at a much lower price than URG could. A recent story in the PBJ highlighted leases in the American Bank Building, which was also recently acquired by the Menahses. While terms weren't disclosed, I imagine that the tenants are getting a much more favorable deal than they would at other buildings, or would have pre-pandemic.

I just opened your link to the floor plans. No, the elevator core and stairs are against the blank east wall, so I think it still could be converted to residential. Are you sure that it did not get a seismic upgrade during the recent extensive renovation? I cannot imagine the City not requiring some seismic work! Consider news of other partial-block buildings in Old Town that are in the process of being converted to housing. I see the J.K. Gill building to be an equally good candidate for conversion.

[sopdx]

https://www.bizjournals.com/portland...s-suburbs.html

[maccoinnich]

Originally Posted by DMH

I just opened your link to the floor plans. No, the elevator core and stairs are against the blank east wall, so I think it still could be converted to residential. Are you sure that it did not get a seismic upgrade during the recent extensive renovation? I cannot imagine the City not requiring some seismic work! Consider news of other partial-block buildings in Old Town that are in the process of being converted to housing. I see the J.K. Gill building to be an equally good candidate for conversion.

I meant to say, east, sorry… but my point (that I should have made clearer) remains - they can’t add windows on that facade. You’d wind up either a very inefficient floorplate and/or deep, dark units.

I’m pretty sure it didn’t get a seismic upgrade; nothing in city code would trigger it without a change-of-use.

[DMH]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

I meant to say, east, sorry… but my point (that I should have made clearer) remains - they can’t add windows on that facade. You’d wind up either a very inefficient floorplate and/or deep, dark units.

I’m pretty sure it didn’t get a seismic upgrade; nothing in city code would trigger it without a change-of-use.

So by that logic, the south elevation could have property-line exterior windows. I think a good layout of apartments can be laid out with the elevators & stairs on the east wall.

[Socinus]

I worked in the building pre remodel, back when it was the Gladys McCoy building for the health department. The amount of work they would need to put into that space to make it function for living would be absurd. Even were they to add in south facing windows (which they wouldn't, because that wall of the building was terrifying from a structural stand point) There just wouldn't be enough light for humans to not want to defenestrate themselves from the building (again, I sat in an office by those windows, and found them immensely sad.). Additionally, club rouge is the most consistent source of light that building gets, and it's not exactly what I would want to live across from.

[DMH]

Originally Posted by Socinus

I worked in the building pre remodel, back when it was the Gladys McCoy building for the health department. The amount of work they would need to put into that space to make it function for living would be absurd. Even were they to add in south facing windows (which they wouldn't, because that wall of the building was terrifying from a structural stand point) There just wouldn't be enough light for humans to not want to defenestrate themselves from the building (again, I sat in an office by those windows, and found them immensely sad.). Additionally, club rouge is the most consistent source of light that building gets, and it's not exactly what I would want to live across from.

By no means do I want to insult the writer of this comment, because he or she does have work experience within the J.K.Gill building. But I do not think that the writer is an architect or building contractor. Sure, Multco Health operated in crappy spaces, but those were all gutted during the renovation. And why would the south wall be "terrifying from a structural stand point"? Any openings for windows in the south wall would be supplemented with the required structural support work. As for the existing windows on the west and north, I find nothing "sad" about the huge window sizes and placements. Go to Google Streetview to see what I mean. Those windows provide lots of air and light. The comment about Club Rouge is simply a non sequitor.

[PhillyPDX]

My wife just said rumor in her downtown office this week is Din Tai Fung is starting up a happy hour to try and drum up lackluster business in the pioneer mall location. I see it only gets mediocre online ratings. I wonder how true the rumor is. Regardless, people are talking about it amongst the downtown worker crowd.

[DMH]

Originally Posted by PhillyPDX

My wife just said rumor in her downtown office this week is Din Tai Fung is starting up a happy hour to try and drum up lackluster business in the pioneer mall location. I see it only gets mediocre online ratings. I wonder how true the rumor is. Regardless, people are talking about it amongst the downtown worker crowd.

Check out their website at https://www.dintaifungusa.com/us/loc.../portland.html

They call it Golden Hour from 3 to 6.

[PhillyPDX]

Originally Posted by DMH

Check out their website at https://www.dintaifungusa.com/us/loc.../portland.html

They call it Golden Hour from 3 to 6.

And I guess her coworkers also noted it’s the only location to try it.

[Derek]

Perhaps opening a restaurant in the basement of a mall wasn’t the greatest idea.

[dizflip]

Unless there's stores worth visiting to complement DTF, just can't see the downtown trip worth it for most people.

[DMH]

A number of us have been advocating for conversion of as many empty Downtown office buildings as possible to move our central city back to vitality. But among the challenges is the fairly flat rental rates. This Oregonian article may require a subscription to open it:

Turning empty offices into apartments could help solve Portland’s housing crisis. Here’s why it’s not happening

https://www.oregonlive.com/business/...happening.html

[PhillyPDX]

Originally Posted by DMH

A number of us have been advocating for conversion of as many empty Downtown office buildings as possible to move our central city back to vitality. But among the challenges is the fairly flat rental rates. This Oregonian article may require a subscription to open it:

Turning empty offices into apartments could help solve Portland’s housing crisis. Here’s why it’s not happening

https://www.oregonlive.com/business/...happening.html

Effective 20% decrease in rates since 2019? Yikes.

[downtownpdx]

Originally Posted by PhillyPDX

Effective 20% decrease in rates since 2019? Yikes.

Yeah not good, but not terribly surprising taking into account Covid/work from home, the 2020 riots, and just the fact that Portland has so many other lively, hip neighborhoods nearby without the social ills of a downtown. The city center has improved a lot since 2020 as far as cleaning up etc, but we gotta move past triage phase - it’s going to take some bold, creative vision to make DT a place people actively choose to live over NW, Mississippi, Sellwood, Central Eastside…. etc etc.