91ÊÓƵ

With new financing in place, Melvin Mark Cos. is preparing to begin work on its 2&Taylor project in downtown Portland.

The Portland-based development company announced Monday that it has secured a $10.5 million loan from U.S. Bank for its renovation of the former Yamhill Marketplace building, at 110 S.W. Yamhill St. B13 Investors LLC (a group that includes partners at Melvin Mark) in June purchased the 68,000-square-foot building for $4.5 million cash, with plans to convert it into creative office and retail space. The company renamed the building 2&Taylor.

Jim Mark, Melvin Mark’s CEO, said underwriting standards are strict for these kinds of creative office projects, but 2&Taylor attracted considerable interest. The company pitched the development to several institutions before choosing U.S. Bank.

“We’ve worked with U.S. Bank in the past, so we were really comfortable with them and they were extremely competitive,” he said. “I think there’s a huge appetite for projects like this. I think it always depends on how much cash you’re willing to put into the project.”

Besides the cash purchase, a solid track record stretching nearly 70 years helped Melvin Mark secure the loan, Mark said.

The project team has already taken 2&Taylor through design review, and Mark said it has acquired all necessary city approvals. Demolition is slated to begin next week. Hennebery Eddy Architects is the project’s designer; R&H Construction is the general contractor.

Peter Andrews and Nick Ehlen at Melvin Mark Brokerage Co. are handling the leasing effort. Melvin Mark isn’t announcing tenants yet, but Mark said essentially everything but the ground floor is spoken for.

“We’ve got letters of intent on a couple spaces, but we’re not ready to say anything until we’re completely signed up,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of interest in the building.”