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An Oakland, California, investment firm has dipped a toe into the Portland creative-office rehab market, and an executive says the company is here to stay.

Citrine Advisors purchased the Concord Building, home of Mother’s Bistro, in July for $5.3 million. The seller was New Urban Properties.

The six-story, unreinforced masonry building at 212 S.W. Stark was constructed in 1889.

鈥淭his was not a one-off purchase for us,鈥� said Jerry Smith, president of Citrine Advisors. 鈥淭his is a market that we believe in where we are looking to build a presence. This is a part of a strategy.鈥�

Citrine plans to renovate the building’s interior, opening floor plans, modernizing HVAC equipment and replacing outdated materials. All of the nonstructural walls installed over the years will be ripped out.

Citrine is moving the building toward full-floor offices. Smith is also hoping to attract tech tenants with shorter term leases than competitors offer.

Mother’s, a popular restaurant on the building’s ground floor, has a 10-year-lease that took effect July 1 and will be staying in place, Smith said.

The 20,000 square feet of office space on the upper five floors is approximately 30 percent leased. Among the tenants is an office of Gov. Kate Brown’s re-election campaign.

The Concord Building is the oldest continuously leased office property in Portland, and was known for having some of the cheapest space downtown, Smith said.

鈥淲e’ll rehabilitate and create quality office space for tenants,鈥� he said.

Citrine has invested mainly in the Bay Area, including the Oakland, San Francisco and Berkeley submarkets. Portland was a logical next step, Smith said.

鈥淲e have a strong focus on (central business districts), a strong focus on historic mixed-use buildings in certain downtown cores,鈥� Smith said.

Portland 鈥渙ffers a large stock of vintage midrise buildings in the downtown core, which is our specialty,鈥� he added.

Downtown Portland’s nightlife and food scene were attractive amenities, Smith said. Citrine also has some Portland-based investors, whom Smith declined to identify.

Lease rates for the office space will be approximately $30 per square foot, full service. Similar office space would go for $60 to $70 per square foot in San Francisco and $48 to $55 in Oakland, Smith said.

鈥淲e see it as a value purchase and a value proposition for the tenant,鈥� he said.

The firm pounced on the Concord Building after Kensington Investment Group put the building into escrow along with the Board of Trade Building, but then decided to move forward on purchasing only the latter building.

Charles Safley of CBRE‘s Capital Markets group in Portland represented Citrine in the Concord Building acquisition. Paige Morgan of Jones Lang LaSalle‘s Capital Markets group in Portland represented the seller. CBRE Portland’s Nick Santangelo secured the acquisition financing.

The building has a number of period features, including antique bank vaults that will be turned into private rooms for office tenants to make phone calls. Walls will be taken down to the original brick, and carpet will be removed.
鈥淚t’s been neglected for many years,鈥� Smith said of the building. 鈥淚t’s an asset that deserves to be brought back to its original splendor, and that’s what we plan to do.鈥�