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The rise of the Pearl West mid-rise building heralds the arrival of new office space in Portland.

The nine-story building will have 156,000 square feet of leasable office space and 10,000 square feet of retail space over three floors of underground parking. The half-block site is at the corner of Northwest 14th Avenue and Irving Street. Construction is approximately 60 percent complete and scheduled to finish in July 2016.

Tenants have secured 60 percent of the space. The project’s general contractor, Howard S. Wright, will occupy the fourth floor. Wacom Technology Corp., which is relocating its headquarters from Vancouver, Wash., will occupy 55,000 square feet as well as a retail space.

Rent will be $31.50 per square foot, triple-net, according to the Pearl West website. Real estate firm JLL last week reported that the average rent for Class A office space in Portland was $31.22 per square foot 鈥� a 5.9 percent increase over last year, and a new record.

The site was vacant for 15 years. For many decades it served as the parking lot for the warehouse serving the Meier and Frank retail store next door. At various times, it was considered a possible home for urban time-shares and a hotel.

GBD Architects collaborated with Hacker on the design. Window space was maximized, and the building is being finished with gray-black brick. A Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design gold rating is being pursued by the project team.

Brian Owendoff, a representative of owner Walter Bowen and BPM Real Estate, was proud that the project team navigated the design review process in 鈥渙ne-and-done鈥� fashion.

鈥淧art of this was a challenge because you’re selling an intangible good,鈥� he said.

The third quarter saw a burst of activity in Portland’s office sector, with $623 million in transactions, JLL reported. More than $958 million has been invested in Portland office space this year.

Demand is strong for office and industrial space, economist Jerry Johnson said. That’s good, he added, because it’s one of the truest signs of a healthy economy.

鈥淚t’s the canary in the coal mine,鈥� he said.

Office is also often one of the last sectors to recover from a downturn, Johnson said, as it was this time. Companies that fold or downsize leave inventory that must be backfilled when a recovery occurs.

One interesting thing about the office market rebound is the nature of the new tenants. Many are tech firms, rather the usual finance, real estate and insurance companies.

鈥淚t’s kind of a lifestyle thing,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淭here’s lots of younger guys downtown these days.鈥�