Nick Bjork//August 13, 2010//
Stoel Rives announced today the law firm has extended its lease at the Standard Insurance Building, putting an end to the possibility of the company moving to the unbuilt Park Avenue West Tower.
“In light of the construction delay at Park Avenue West, we have been unable to reach the necessary agreements to relocate our offices from the Standard Insurance Center to Park Avenue West,” said Wally Van Valkenburg, managing partner at Stoel Rives’ Portland office, in an e-mail. “We have therefore extended our lease at the Standard Insurance Center.
“We are fortunate to remain in a high quality building with a good landlord, and we look forward to continuing to serve our clients from our current location.”
Stoel Rives had been in talks with TMT Development, the developers of Park Avenue West, to lease 150,000 square feet covering 11 floors once the tower is complete. The firm was the building’s only planned anchor office tenant, with Nike supposedly serving as the ground floor retail tenant.
Construction stalled on Park Avenue West more than a year ago because the developer could not secure financing, which hinged in part on the promise of future tenants. The developers hoped the project would get started again when the Portland Development Commission expressed interest in moving its headquarters there, but the PDC decided to remain at its current location, the Mason-Ehrman Building in Old Town.
While Stoel Rives’ renewed lease deals a big blow to Park Avenue West, Vanessa Sturgeon, president of TMT Development, said the company is still seeking tenants to fill spaces in the proposed 33 story building with ground-floor retail, office space and 85 housing units. The company still plans to go forward with the project as it’s planned now if it can line up enough tenants and secure the additional financing, she said.