Chuck Slothower//July 30, 2019//

A shoring and excavation permit was issued Tuesday for the Block 216 project, allowing work to begin on the 35-story, 460-foot-tall tower in downtown Portland.
Excavators will have to go deep enough to make room for five floors of underground parking.
Block 216 will be the tallest building constructed in Portland since 460-foot-tall Park Avenue West was completed in 2016. The only taller buildings in the city will be the Wells Fargo Center, U.S. Bancorp Tower and KOIN Center.
The $600 million modern concrete and glass tower will have approximately 844,117 square feet of interior space, including Ritz-Carlton hotel rooms and condominiums, and offices. A food hall is planned for the ground floor along Southwest Ninth Avenue, where the Green Loop is expected to materialize eventually.

A spokesman for developer Walt Bowen’s BPM Real Estate Group could not immediately be reached for comment.
The project team hosted a ceremonial ground-breaking event earlier this month.
The full block at Southwest Ninth and 10th avenues and Alder and Washington streets was until June 30 home to Portland’s largest food-cart pod, with more than 50 carts.
The Portland Design Commission approved GBD Architects‘ design in December. The project team also includes general contractor Howard S. Wright, a division of Balfour Beatty; interior designer HKS Architects and landscape architect PLACE. The Goodman family’s Downtown Development Group owns the property, and has agreed to a long-term ground lease.