It's funny how the comments above are two completely different conversations, but both are talking about the same thing, in different ways.
And both are right.
James Beard Market was a major missed opportunity - and - the changing landscape of work and workers means downtowns have to adapt in order to thrive.
Quote:
Originally Posted by subterranean
I'm not on board with this idea that public agencies and other big institutions should be forcing remote workers back in an attempt to resuscitate some downtown businesses.
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The way I see it - and I could be wrong - I expect a shift in the workforce where workers who want to work remotely will shift into jobs that allow them to do so, and they'll probably accept a lower salary in exchange for a better quality of life. And companies that don't allow remote work will (hopefully) have to pay more to acquire talent. I figure this will shake out over the next few years, at which point office leasing will reach a new normal.
In the meantime, a lot of cities are going to struggle with high office vacancy rates, which mean a lot of downtowns will suffer unless they can adapt.
Cities that went through downtown revitalizations during the past few decades are obviously in a better position to make it through some lean years. And we're definitely one of them.
Downtown Portland has such great bones, and it's got plenty of areas just waiting for new life. The Morrison bridgehead and the blocks around it are a good example. And the Goodman lots. Oh, my, god, the Goodman lots. And stretches along SW 2nd. Etc. I'm sure you'd name other areas too, which are ripe for revitalization.
There's so much opportunity to bring so much more life into downtown. The more the city can make downtown 'the' place to be, the more businesses downtown will be able to encourage workers to want to work there. But we have to be honest about the timeline. That's at least a decade's worth of effort, and it assumes we have the leadership to do it. Hopefully, we do.