Block 216 Tower - Ritz Hotel and Condos | 459'-11 1/2" | 35 floors | Complete

[urbanlife]

I have to say, I really am liking this building as much as the renderings, if not more. Not every time I get to say that the actual built building looks as good or better than the renderings.

[MarkDaMan]

Taken today while picking up ramen for lunch.

[PacificNW]

Thanks for the update!

[Derek]

This building is going to make such a large, positive impact on the skyline. I mean, it already is, but it’s going to, too.

[CorbinWarrick]

Originally Posted by Derek

This building is going to make such a large, positive impact on the skyline. I mean, it already is, but it’s going to, too.

On the street level it feels massive

[2oh1]

I love seeing the impact it already has when walking along SW 10th. You can see it when walking out of the Safeway on Jefferson.

[Rob Nob]

https://i.redd.it/54rqlxtokec81.jpg

[subterranean]

Cool shot. The next bit will hopefully be more fun to watch, with more varied fenestration. The first section above the podium is exceedingly boring, particularly with how it was portrayed having an airier feel and more transparency in the renders. The balconies and angles nearer the top should add more interest.

[urbanlife]

This tower is definitely not disappointing for adding to this view. I wouldn't mind seeing a few more towers this size going up in Portland. Also makes me wish zoning was at least 450ft over in the Lloyd District.

[MarkDaMan]

Oy! This is not a great look.

Paywall warning:https://www.oregonlive.com/business/2022...ffles-on-affordable-housing-pledges.html

Portland Ritz-Carlton developer waffles on affordable housing pledges
Updated: Feb. 04, 2022, 9:22 a.m. | Published: Feb. 04, 2022, 5:59 a.m.
By Jeff Manning | The Oregonian/OregonLive

Portland developer Walter Bowen signed an agreement with the Portland Housing Bureau last March pledging to make 27 luxury condos in his opulent Ritz-Carlton tower affordable to people like the plumbers and drywallers working on the building.

At first blush, it seemed like a resounding victory for the city and a key affordable housing policy. But 2 ½ years after Bowen’s company broke ground on the project, it remains unclear what he intends to do.

Bowen’s representatives have on several occasions indicated he has no intention of putting cut-rate condos in the ultra-exclusive structure. A spokesperson says the developer likely will not but is still weighing his options.

All that ambiguity has been good for Bowen. The longer he dangles the possibility his new tower will offer affordable condominiums, the longer he can delay paying an $8.1 million fee that would otherwise have come due early last year.

Among the thousands of pages of city records obtained by The Oregonian/OregonLive are emails suggesting city officials don’t believe Bowen has any intention of including the affordable units, despite the agreement.

“They forced us into a loophole to pay it later, once the building is built, by agreeing to provide affordable units even though they do not intend to actually do so,” Portland Housing Bureau manager Dory Van Bockel wrote in April.

...

He’s also made prior affordable housing promises that have yet to pan out.

In the spring of 2020, Bowen’s team proposed fulfilling the Ritz-Carlton tower’s affordable housing obligation with a new apartment building on downtown Portland’s South Park Blocks. Only later did Housing Bureau officials realize that Bowen had already promised the same 60-unit structure to another city bureau back in 2016.

Bowen’s company has yet to break ground on the apartments, nearly six years since it agreed to build them and more than two years since the original deadline for completion.

...(continues)

[M Kass]

Originally Posted by MarkDaMan

Oy! This is not a great look.

Paywall warning:https://www.oregonlive.com/business/2022...ffles-on-affordable-housing-pledges.html



...(continues)

Maybe a naive question here, but who is shocked by this? I tend to refrain from comment on this forum, based on previous responses or lack thereof to my comments, but is this really surprising? This is the highest end hotel/condo in the city-- who would ever think that a developer would follow through on such an obvious ploy to garner a few golf claps? In my mind, of course this was going to happen... Enlighten me.

[CorbinWarrick]

I know it’s not my money but why not just pay the measly 8 million? Your already investing 150-200 million dollars..

[MarkDaMan]

Originally Posted by M Kass

Maybe a naive question here, but who is shocked by this? I tend to refrain from comment on this forum, based on previous responses or lack thereof to my comments, but is this really surprising? This is the highest end hotel/condo in the city-- who would ever think that a developer would follow through on such an obvious ploy to garner a few golf claps? In my mind, of course this was going to happen... Enlighten me.

I'm not surprised by waiting to make a payout once construction wraps. Long before they broke ground they openly contemplated paying a fee in lieu of affordable units. The affordable condos in the tower didn't make sense to me. I imagine the monthly HOA fees even on an affordable unit would be as much as some people who qualify for affordable housing take home an entire month.

I am surprised that Bowen hasn't built the affordable building promised on the Park Blocks for the Broadway Tower. He sold that tower and made a huge profit so there's no excuse that building hasn't gone up yet. That Bowen's company would offer those units for the Ritz hoping the city wouldn't notice...That's just wrong.

What recourse does the city have now to force the development of that affordable project for the Broadway Tower's larger than allowed zoning exemptions?

[maccoinnich]

Century-old downtown Portland retailer to move to Ritz-Carlton tower

Packouz Jewelers by R. Mahler will fill out the retail space at the Block 216 tower, known for its future Ritz-Carlton hotel, opening next year in downtown Portland.

The approximately 2,400-square-foot lease announced on Wednesday by BPM Real Estate Group brings the retail component of the tower to fully leased, thanks to an earlier announced food hall lease with Leeroy & Kimble.

"We are excited to secure what we feel is the best retail location in downtown Portland to continue providing the highest quality watches and jewelry to our customers," Rick Mahler, Packouz's owner, said in a statement.

"This lease will allow us to customize our space to best meet our existing discerning local, regional and international clients and continue our over-100-year commitment to being located in the heart of downtown Portland," he said.

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

[2oh1]

550 SW 10th Ave #2104
1br. $1,662,040

550 SW 10th Ave #2102
2br. $2,423,280

550 SW 10th Ave #3306
3br. $7,337,100

I can't even guess what the monthly HOA fees will be.

[maccoinnich]

I remain in shock that there's a market in Portland for this many units, at those price points.

[AdamNorthwest]

It took me a minute to realize the unit interiors weren't a rendering but a model across the street in an old office building. That explains the office "fire escape" sign in the listing.

Am I the only one that thinks a multi-million dollar condo should have a more impressive kitchen?

[PacificStates]

I'm curious to see the actual unit pictures, maybe some of these will have more impressive kitchens. I imagine it'll take quite a while to sell all of the units. There's a market, but a market for 132 of them? I imagine most units will be bought by those who do not live there full time.

[2oh1]

Originally Posted by PacificStates

There's a market, but a market for 132 of them? I imagine most units will be bought by those who do not live there full time.

...which is even wilder when you consider the cost after buying it.

The 2 bedroom, for example, costs an additional $3,009 a month, not including the HOA which one has to assume will easily push the monthly cost above $5,000 a month on top of the purchase price and any mortgage expenses.

So, that's an additional $60,000+ a year just to live there.

[Tykendo]

Can someone please post updated construction photos of Block 216 please. Thank You.