Downtown Portland News

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by MarkDaMan

https://www.bizjournals.com/portland...1(subscription required)



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That is good news, I remember when it was first put up for sale that there might be a possibility with whomever bought it might want to just tear it down.

[maccoinnich]

Posting Notice for a DAR to discuss an addition to the Galleria.

[2oh1]

They want to add a penthouse floor to the Galleria? Is Target looking for more space? I thought Target was underperforming there. Or, is this for another tenant? I sure hope Target stays in the Galleria long term. They brought so much foot traffic to that corner, not to mention bringing more foot traffic up Morrison. It's been a real benefit to that part of town.

[maccoinnich]

More office space. Target doesn’t occupy the whole building.

[MarkDaMan]

Originally Posted by 2oh1

They want to add a penthouse floor to the Galleria? Is Target looking for more space? I thought Target was underperforming there. Or, is this for another tenant? I sure hope Target stays in the Galleria long term. They brought so much foot traffic to that corner, not to mention bringing more foot traffic up Morrison. It's been a real benefit to that part of town.

There's a couple floors above the Target. A culinary school used to take up a lot of the space and other smaller offices for tenants. I was up there once and there's still an atrium up there that used to go all the way to the ground floor. I'm not sure if they're building on spec but those couple floors with a penthouse would be a mighty fine office.

[maccoinnich]

Drawings [8 MB] and Memo to the Landmarks Commission for the Galleria Addition.

[MarkDaMan]

https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/...-builders.html

Bill aims for more, cheaper condos by making it harder for owners to sue builders
Updated 9:55 AM; Today 9:54 AMBy Elliot Njus | The Oregonian/OregonLive

In Portland’s recent construction boom, condos have been a no-show.

Even as for-rent apartments have gone up by the thousands, developers have built only a handful of for-sale condo buildings, and most of those in gleaming towers in the Pearl District with prices squarely in the luxury range.

Their relative absence kept a more affordable option on the sidelines while first-time homebuyers fought over every fixer-upper on the market.

An Oregon House bill aims to make new condos cheaper and more common. It would do so by limiting builders’ exposure to lawsuits over construction defects.

The bill has the backing of developers and advocates for low-income homeownership.

“We need units that are more accessible, more affordable, more space-efficient, for seniors who are trying to downsize and millennial couples trying to start out or people who want to raise their children in the heart of a neighborhood,” said Diane Linn, the executive director of the housing nonprofit Proud Ground.

But trial lawyers and some condo associations that have been through defect battles say it could expose homeowners to huge repair bills.

“This is a bill that gets a developer off the hook, basically,” said Stan Penkin, a condominium board chair in the Pearl District.

House Bill 3432 would reduce the period set for suing developers over damage from construction defects from 10 years to six. It would require approval from a majority of homeowners before initiating a lawsuit.

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[2oh1]

I'm amazed by how long it's taken to renovate the Guild Theatre. It seems like they've been doing construction in there for ages. Finally, there's an update: Kinokuniya is opening there this summer.

Progress On Our Portland Downtown Location



The new store features a 1st floor cafe called “Book of Tea Café”. This cafe is a collaboration with a beloved local Japanese cafe called “Behind the Museum Café” which opened in December 2011. This new cafe is the ideal spot to come and relax while drinking authentic Japanese tea and eating homemade Japanese sweets.

The new store carries carefully selected books, unique merchandise and Japanese stationery, with a focus on art and comics from Japan! We hope to entertain the Portland community!

...continues on the Kinokuniya website.

[Leo]

Originally Posted by MarkDaMan

https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/...-builders.html



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That's a typo; it should read "cheaper, crappier condos."

Shifting the risk to those who are least able to carry it seems like exactly the wrong thing to do.

[2oh1]

Originally Posted by Leo

That's a typo; it should read "cheaper, crappier condos."

Shifting the risk to those who are least able to carry it seems like exactly the wrong thing to do.

I was thinking the same thing. Are you familiar with The Mosaic loft condos, downtown? That one was wild. It was built in 2004. By 2006 it had already become clear the roof needed to be replaced (an eco roof, no less), and the panels between the windows were deteriorating. One day, somebody's sliding glass door fell off (and down, outside). I wonder if they ever managed to fix any of it.

[AdamUrbanist]

Originally Posted by 2oh1

I was thinking the same thing. Are you familiar with The Mosaic loft condos, downtown? That one was wild. It was built in 2004. By 2006 it had already become clear the roof needed to be replaced (an eco roof, no less), and the panels between the windows were deteriorating. One day, somebody's sliding glass door fell off (and down, outside). I wonder if they ever managed to fix any of it.

I'm pretty sure the contractor/developer/architect would still be liable for all of those things under the proposed changes

[AdamUrbanist]

Most condo projects are much more carefully designed and built than most apartment buildings, yet lawsuits are relatively rare over apartment buildings. The probability of a condo board suing the developer/contractor is close to 100%. I don't know how you explain that fact without acknowledging that the current law creates an incentive for frivolous lawsuits.

[subterranean]

At least one planning commissioner in the region made his living from those lawsuits.

[2oh1]

Originally Posted by subterranean

At least one planning commissioner in the region made his living from those lawsuits.

Sigh... this is why we can't have nice things.

[johnliu]

It is well known that you don't buy a unit in a brand new condo. Wait until the defects are discovered and resolved.

[Rob Nob]

I was once on the Architectural review committee for a large townhouse condo development. The property management company talked the HOA board into pursuing a construction defect lawsuit. They hired a contractor who specializes in these lawsuits and issued a report with all the "defects".

Total charge per unit was going to be $25K. Only half of the units in the development were inside the statute of limitations, but we all shared the cost of the report and a lawyer to start looking at a lawsuit.

The Architectural review committee took one look at the report and most the issues were maintenance short falls by the Property Manager, sealant repair, wood shingle inspection, keeping landscaping levels below the siding.

There were some items that were just due to how building were built ten years prior (nail fin windows, sealant everywhere, no drainage path, etc.). We fired the Property management company, fixed the few actual defects, and came up with a conservative maintenance schedule for the new Property Manager. Total cost per unit of $5K.

The point is there are shady operators on both sides of the equation; builders and construction defect litigators.

[maccoinnich]

Notice of a Pre-Application Conference for the adaptive reuse of the Historic Multnomah County Courthouse.

[2oh1]

EDIT: I just realized Riverplace has its own thread. I'll post this there.

[MarkDaMan]

https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/...itors-say.html

Portland Building renovation costs obscured by creative accounting, auditors say
Updated 12:37 PM; Today 6:07 AM
By Gordon R. Friedman | The Oregonian/OregonLive

Officials managing the massive Portland Building reconstruction categorized some spending as parts of other projects to avoid disclosing a 10 percent cost overrun, city auditors said in a report published Wednesday.

The officials excluded furnishings, computer equipment and construction of a childcare facility from the renovation budget to appear to stay within a $195 million appropriation from the City Council, according to the report. The true cost for the project is more like $214 million.

Mayor Ted Wheeler and Tom Rinehart, the city chief administrative officer, strongly disagreed with auditors’ conclusions in a response letter.

Managers have been transparent about spending, Wheeler and Rinehart wrote. They said spending on office furnishings, tech equipment and the childcare buildout were truly independent projects because they “were never part of the project scope” for the Portland Building’s reconstruction.

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[maccoinnich]

Posting Notice for the Multnomah County Courthouse Re-Use. From the description it looks like a hotel is no longer planned.