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鈥淚t feels like the thawing of a long winter.鈥�

Executive Vice President Bart Eberwein and others expressed relief today, when announced that in late 2013 work will resume at Park Avenue West, a downtown Portland high-rise project that stalled more than two years ago.

The scheduled restart date for the project, considered by some people to be a symbol of the recession’s impacts, is based purely on an expectation that large tenants will seek space in late 2015 and early 2016, TMT Development President Vanessa Sturgeon said.

Complete construction financing for the project was procured within the last 90 days, Sturgeon said.

Park Avenue West is planned as a 27-story office and retail building in a prominent location, on a block bounded by Eighth and Ninth avenues and Yamhill and Morrison streets. TMT Development halted the project, estimated to cost more than $100 million, in April 2009 because of financing problems. The big 鈥渉ole in the ground鈥� has since generated no work except for occasional adjustments of a towering crane that occasionally blows over the neighboring Nordstrom store.

鈥淚t’s a symbolic hole in our downtown, and getting this tower under way is a positive sign for everyone,鈥� said Scott Andrews, chairman of the Portland Development Commission’s board and president of . 鈥淎nd alternatives (for leasing) are good for the marketplace.鈥�

Activity is scheduled to take place at the site soon. To make the work-free zone more attractive, crews will soon take down the crane and install an 8-foot-high wall around the site. TMT has partnered with New Avenues for Youth for homeless and at-risk youth, under the direction of an artist, to create a mural.

Meanwhile, the project team will actively seek tenants for the building planned to offer more than 500,000 square feet of Class-A office space. Presently, no lease agreements are signed and no discussions are under way with prospective tenants, according to Sturgeon, but the team believes its opening date is on target because some large corporations and law firms are expected to shop for office space around that time.

鈥淚f we target toward that date, we’ll have exactly what they’re looking for,鈥� said principal Scott Madsen, who is marketing Park Avenue West to potential tenants.

Madsen said the project could move forward earlier if tenant interest was to surge at the right time. The project did generate interest from prospective tenants, including law firms and , looking to lease space beginning in 2013 or 2014, but timing for construction didn’t work out for those tenants, and they stayed where they were.

Madsen said he doesn’t expect a big, local tenant to sign before 2015. The team wants to be prepared for that wave, however.

鈥淲hen we look into our crystal ball 鈥� the next wave is happening in the 2015-2016 range. It makes a lot of sense just to prepare for that timeline,鈥� Madsen said.

And in the fourth quarter of 2013, the team will be ready, said founder and principal Robert Thompson, who designed the building.

鈥淭here is steel sitting here in Portland, and curtain wall systems in Korea ready to erect,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he building is ready to go.鈥�