Construction of a 24-story mixed-use building in Portland’s West End wrapped up last week – after about three years of work.

Downtown Development Group‘s 300-foot-tall 11W, designed by ZGF Architects, is at 1140 S.W. Washington St. The building features approximately 8,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space, about 107,000 square feet of office space, 213 apartments, and four levels of underground parking. There are also separate amenity spaces for office and residential users.

Casey Miller, a Turner Construction project manager, said about 40,000 square feet of office space is leased and approximately 24 residential units are rented so far. That includes the mega penthouse – a 3,700-square-foot suite on the top floor.

Residential amenities include a lobby, a commercial chef’s kitchen with a dining area and balcony on the 25th floor (for private events), a fitness studio, a yoga room, a spa treatment room, an outdoor pool, a TV theater and bar, a work lounge, a pet spa and an irrigated pet relief room, and rooftop barbecues and firepits.

Every level of office space features a different layout and balcony configuration accessed by large, operable doors. In January, Downtown Development Group and investment firm Cresset Partners announced that Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, an international law firm, will lease 12,339 square feet – it was 11W’s first lease agreement for office space.

Due to different activities in the building, careful consideration was given to sound and acoustics, especially between floors, Miller said. For instance, a conference meeting taking place in an office underneath a residential fitness room where weights are being dropped would not be ideal. In building areas where sounds could drop to the floor below, a kinetic system involving rubber pucks designed for sound isolation was installed between the concrete structural slab and the topping slab. Under the pool deck, an extra layer of insulation was even added, and in the fitness room, the flooring system includes a 2½-inch padded floor as well as a spring system in the ceiling to reduce noise.

11W is on track to achieve a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design platinum rating.

The post 11W arrives with office space, apartments and more appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

A new mixed-use development is coming to North Portland. The city’s Bureau of Development Services recently approved the design and land use for Coho Commons, a six-story, 42-unit apartment building that will be at 3836 N. Vancouver Ave., near the intersection with Northeast Failing Street.

San Francisco-based Eastwood Development is the developer and contractor for the project. This is the firm’s fifth market-rate project in Portland since opening an office in the city two years ago.

Coho Commons will include a mix of studios and units with one, two or three bedrooms; all will have their own balconies. The three-bedroom units – all on the top floor – will have access to their own private rooftop outdoor space that will be surrounded by an eco-roof.

Lucas Eastwood, principal and owner of Eastwood Development, said the firm wanted a broader range of unit sizes that would be inclusive to individuals, couples and families seeking to be in the area rather than maximize the building’s density.

On-site amenities will consist of automated stacker parking for 14 vehicles, plus an adjacent ground-level ADA space, 65 long-term bicycle parking spaces and five short-term spaces, and a bike wash and maintenance area.

BAMA Architecture + Design principal CJ Shumate said the size and building make-up represents the direction of development on North Vancouver Avenue since it was rezoned for higher density.

The building’s design features primarily a horizontal brick cladding with corrugated metal and spandrel wood panels, which Shumate said will bring a slight residential nature.

The team hopes to break ground by the end of the year, Eastwood said.

The post Portland market-rate housing project advances appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

Florida-based developer Mill Creek Residential Trust has kept busy in the Portland market in recent years with multifamily projects. Its latest proposal is for a 13-story building on a full block in Goose Hollow, bounded by Southwest Main and Madison streets and Southwest 19th and 20th avenues.

As submitted to the Portland Bureau of Development Services, the building would hold 330 apartments, and below-grade parking would accommodate up to 399 motor vehicles. Parking would be split between building residents and members of the nearby Multnomah Athletic Club.

A site plan submitted to BDS shows a U-shaped building with a central courtyard, which would open to Madison Street. Two rooftop amenity decks – one on the east wing and one on the west – would be included.

BDS staffers on Wednesday met with representatives of Ankrom Moisan Architects, the firm designing the project, during a pre-application conference. Mill Creek Residential Trust will serve as both developer and general contractor.

The project team now will seek Type III design review.

The post 13-story tower planned in Goose Hollow neighborhood appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

Vacancy rates for apartments in the Portland-metro area surged past 4 percent in February, and rents flattened as multifamily property owners and managers adjusted to a flood of units coming online.

Vacancies grew to 4.02 percent, up from 3.71 percent in fall 2016, according to Multifamily NW, a trade organization for the apartment industry.

The spring report, released Tuesday, adds to mounting evidence that the white-hot apartment market of 2015 and 2016 has cooled considerably. The report provides a snapshot of market conditions on Feb. 10, when Multifamily NW surveyed rental companies.

Rents rose 3 percent since fall 2016, according to the report. That’s the lowest increase in the past two years, the organization reported. Some areas saw rents decline. Hillsboro experienced a 6 percent rent decrease, while Northwest Portland and Beaverton saw rents drop 4 percent.

The largest rent gains were seen in Southeast Portland (9 percent), and East Vancouver, Washington, and Aloha (both 6 percent).

The apartment market continues to be backed by solid fundamentals. In-migration to the region continues to provide a major boost, and statewide unemployment in March fell to 3.8 percent – a record low.

Yet new units are beginning to balance the market. The luxury market is showing signs of excess capacity.

“With increased competition among higher-end projects, concessions are getting more and more aggressive, and renters are finding some great move-in deals,” the Multifamily NW report states.

Managers of Yard, at the Burnside Bridge’s east end, are offering one month free with a new lease. The same deal is being offered for vacant units at Hassalo on Eighth, in the Lloyd District.

The lowest vacancies in metro Portland were in the St. Johns neighborhood, at 1.4 percent, and East Vancouver, at 1.8 percent.

The Portland-metro area is expected to gain 6,000 to 7,000 rental units this year.

For investors, property tax increases averaging 7 percent have dented returns, according to Multifamily NW. The inventory of multifamily buildings on the market remains very low.

Average rents in Portland-metro area

Studio: $1,078

1 bedroom/1 bathroom: $1,127

2 bedrooms/1 bathroom: $1,102

2 bedrooms/2 bathrooms: $1,374

2-bedroom townhomes: $1,228

3 bedrooms/1 bathroom: $1,220

3 bedrooms/2 bathrooms: $1,489

The post Portland-area apartment market softens appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

As Portland moves forward with ridding city code of parking minimums, a Seattle-area firm is heavily investing in a series of urban studio apartment buildings with no parking.

The developer’s plans are not dependent on city officials’ decision, enacted in a Nov. 23 City Council vote, to do away with requiring developers to include parking in multifamily projects of more than 30 units. The changes, part of comprehensive plan amendments, will take effect in January 2018.

But the project illustrates the type that Portland is poised to see grow as millennials demand apartment units in close-in neighborhoods and developers find they can build them with little or no parking.

The development model is likely to exacerbate existing conflicts between developers and residents who fear greater traffic and a deficit of street parking in established neighborhoods.

Koz Development, based in Snohomish, Washington, recently asked for planning assistance with a proposal for an apartment building with 95 studio units and no parking at 1111 N.W. 16th Ave., in the Northwest District near Interstate 405.

Koz is also developing across the street, at 1015-1039 N.W. 16th Ave., a project that calls for 128 units and no parking. A design review hearing was held Dec. 1, and the developer hopes to obtain a building permit soon.

Residents are deeply concerned that Koz will plop down 223 units in an established neighborhood with no additional parking and little city investment in infrastructure.

“I know the city’s wishful thinking is that they think once the traffic gets bad enough, everyone’s going to get around on mass transit,” said Roger Vrilakas, a resident who serves on the Northwest District Association planning committee. “But they don’t have any plans to make a world-class mass transit system.”

The many-units, no-parking model is most profitable for both the city and the developer, Vrilakas said.

“The additional increase in services to the Northwest (District) is nil, so (city officials) get to rake it in and the developer gets to rake it in, but the rest of us get to live in the type of cities we left in the ’80s,” he said.

Vrilakas emphasized he wasn’t speaking for the planning committee.

Koz Development works to find urban sites where the model makes sense, chief executive Cathy Reines said.

“We for the most part build our projects with little or limited parking while making sure we’re located near mass transit,” she said.

Koz was attracted to Portland by strong economic indicators and a growing rental-friendly population, Reines said.

“Portland has a great millennial demographic, and that’s growing,” she said.

Brian Worley, a spokesman for Mayor Charlie Hales, who backed eliminating parking minimums, said Hales was not available for an interview.

Increasingly, developers are building studio apartments, which offer the highest returns per square foot. That’s beginning to make a dent in the need for more affordably priced rental housing, but it’s also causing parking congestion across Portland and leading tenant advocates to point to a lack of larger units.

While some residents of Koz’s developments will surely have cars, the developer seeks to appeal to non-drivers, said Joshua Scott, a vice president with the firm.

“We are certainly looking for residents that have limited or no interest in automobiles for transportation,” he said.

Most of Koz’s units are studios, but some units at the 128-unit development in Northwest Portland will offer two bedrooms, Scott said.

The apartments will be distinct from “micro-units,” which often share bathrooms and kitchens, Scott said.

In Seattle – where development often serves as a harbinger of what’s to come in Portland – apartment units have become ever smaller. The Seattle Times recently spotlighted an ad for a 130-square-foot “studio” apartment that includes a sink and a toilet open to the rest of the unit. One Reddit user referred to the apartment as a “prison cell with large windows.”

That is not Koz Development’s model, Scott said. Each Koz unit will have its own cooking facilities, bathroom and loft used for sleeping or storage.

“We do fully self-contained, small studio apartments,” he said.

The interiors themselves are high quality, with durable finishes and a modern aesthetic, Scott said. Also, ample bike parking will be provided.

The model is intended for young people who want to live in the city and not stay holed up in their homes.

“We don’t have a lot of other amenities because we really encourage residents to live in their communities,” he said.

In addition to the Northwest Portland projects, Koz is at work elsewhere in the city. Scott expects to break ground within a month on a 30-unit project, with no parking, at 2161 S.W. Yamhill St. in Goose Hollow.

Then Koz will tackle a 114-unit project at 2211 S.W. Fourth Ave. near Portland State University, with 25 parking spaces located in a ground-level garage. Finally, the developer plans an approximately 80-unit project at 1299 S.E. Ankeny St. with approximately 15 parking spaces.

Koz designs its projects with in-house architects. Seabold Construction is under contract for the Goose Hollow project, and general contractors have not been selected yet for the subsequent projects.

Koz found success with several projects in the Seattle area, including in the University District, before replicating the model in Portland and Tacoma, Washington. Koz is looking at additional markets, Reines said.

Many new, large projects offer parking, although parking ratios have declined in some cases to 0.7 parking spots per unit or less.

Investors continue to support parking, believing many prospective tenants still demand space for their cars.

“To create even a small amount of parking, just five or 10 stalls, is everyone doing their part,” said Noel Johnson, a principal at developer Cairn Pacific.

Building no parking at all can lead to problems, Johnson said.

“It creates a hotspot in the neighborhood,” he said. “It creates frustration.”

Koz’s Northwest Portland projects are near several bars and eateries. Scott said the buildings will provide a noise buffer from Interstate 405.

Northwest Portland neighborhoods have created parking districts to give residents the ability to find street parking. Koz’s projects near Northwest 16th Avenue and Marshall Street are in a parking district known as Zone K. Nearby, in Zone M, residents who serve on a parking committee have discussed capping the number of parking permits issued to residents. Already, there are twice as many passes as spaces, which is possible because not everyone parks in the neighborhood at the same time, said Karen Karlsson, who serves on the Northwest Portland parking stakeholder advisory committee.

Zone K’s parking regulations are less robust, Karlsson said.

“That number of units in Zone K is a disaster,” she said.

The post Seeking tenants, but not cars appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

NBP Capital LLC is proposing to build in Sellwood a 232-unit apartment building – the largest project yet in the development pipeline for the Southeast Portland neighborhood.

An early assistance request for the project at 7119 S.E. Milwaukie Ave. was published Monday by Portland’s Bureau of Development Services. The public notice indicates that NBP Properties is planning to build a four-story structure with basement storage at the site of a former Boys & Girls Club building. The Portland developer purchased the 1.2-acre block in June for $8.825 million.

“We are excited about the project and we engaged the best design and architecture teams, both locally and out of state, to ensure we bring an exceptional product to the market,” NBP Capital managing member Lauren Noecker Robert stated in an email message. “At this point, we are not deep enough into the programming to discuss specifics, but the opportunity to provide something that is well-received by the Sellwood community is our top priority.”

The architect is listed as Jennifer Nye of William Wilson Architects. Path Development LLC is listed as the owner.

Portland has seen strong demand for apartments, particularly in close-in neighborhoods like Sellwood.

The project joins a parade of recent multifamily projects in the area, said Gary Winkler, a broker with ABR Winkler Real Estate Services.

“There’s a lot of stuff happening over there, where houses are being knocked down and apartments are going up to increase density,” he said.

The neighborhood now has more than 900 units in the development pipeline, said David Schoellhamer, chairman of the Sellwood-Moreland Improvement League’s land use committee.

“We’re having quite a bit of construction activity at present and we’re taking on a lot more units, and this is the largest project,” he said. “With all of that construction, there’s obviously a lot of concern.”

Residents are concerned about traffic and parking congestion, and nearby business owners are increasingly concerned about access, Schoellhamer said.

NBP has agreed to meet with the neighborhood association, also known as SMILE, at a Sept. 7 general meeting, Schoellhamer said.

SMILE has requested that the city’s Planning and Sustainability Commission create a design overlay zone to allow for a greater voice in the area’s development. To this point, the commission has not been supportive, Schoellhamer said.

“There’s going to be more growth, there’s going to be more development, but we want to keep what we consider the historic charm of the neighborhood,” he said. “It’s sort of a difficult balance to strike. It’s a desirable neighborhood to live in, but if too many people live there, it’s no longer desirable. That’s the difficulty a lot of neighborhoods in Portland are having.”

The existing Boys & Girls Club building is one story, encompassing nearly 25,000 square feet. The nearby Galaxie Apartments, at 7420 S.E. Milwaukie Ave., is also four stories, the same height as NBP proposes, but has only 76 units.

Other recent projects in the neighborhood include Brooklyn Yard, with 46 units at 4780 S.E. Milwaukie Ave., and Spokane 13, a four-story project from local developer Vic Remmers at Southeast 13th Avenue and Spokane Street.

Portland had a vacancy rate of 3.5 percent during spring 2016, according to Multifamily NW, an association of apartment owners. Vacancy rates have remained below 4 percent since 2010.

The sales market for apartment buildings remains brisk, although there is some indication of recent cooling. The median price per unit fell in July to $100,250, down 2.4 percent from a year earlier. The median capitalization rate was 5.55 percent, down from 5.95 percent a year earlier, according to CoStar.

The post 232-unit apartment project proposed in Sellwood appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

Holst Architecture‘s design for a sizable mixed-use project in the Lloyd District failed to gain the Portland Design Commission‘s approval on Thursday, but the firm is optimistic about the next meeting.

Capref Lloyd Center LLC is planning two six-story buildings that will provide 677 apartments and about a dozen live-work units, five micro-restaurants, close to 40,000 square feet of retail space and four interconnected public plazas. The development site is a 700-space parking lot that currently serves the Lloyd Center mall.

Thursday’s design review hearing was the project’s first before the Design Commission.

“I think we had a good hearing today and I think that if we answer all the questions asked, that we would be prepared for a vote at the next meeting,” said Holst Architecture partner Jeff Stuhr.

He expects the Design Commission to approval the project when it returns on Aug. 6.

But there are still some kinks to be worked out. City planner Staci Monroe said city staffers did not recommend approval this time and outlined some problem areas. These include long-term viability of several green walls, the need for more details for an interactive digital art installation in one of the plazas and the use of exposed wood at the ground-floor level.

Monroe added that before the Design Commission can approve the project, the Portland Bureau of Transportation must also approve final plans for the location of the private drive for parking that traverses the project, improvements to the traffic signal on Northeast Multnomah Street and relocation of the bus stop there.

But the major concern of city planning staffers was the “sameness of architecture and form,” Monroe said. That was a major theme at the project’s three design advice request hearings.

Changes were made in that direction, she said, including a 30-inch reduction in overall width of the buildings that resulted in a 4,000-square-foot reduction in the building’s footprint, and added variety in height to articulate the massing, roof decks and changes in the color palette.

“Staff feels these changes are not enough to identify the emerging character of the diverse architecture that is starting to identify and characterize the Lloyd District,” Monroe said.

Another problem area is a modification request by Capef Lloyd Center LLC to eliminate all windows on the south side, facing light-rail tracks.

“There’s no vehicle access or sidewalks on that frontage, but (windows are) still required,” Monroe said.

Exterior finishes for the buildings include brick masonry, concrete oko panels, metal composite panels, hardwood and weathering steel, which Monroe said should be stained or replaced with another material.

Dave Otte, a principal with Holst Architecture, said the project would not compete with adjacent Holladay Park and would link the mostly residential Sullivan’s Gulch neighborhood with the Lloyd District, which is mostly comprised of office space and commercial properties.

“We are bringing the park green street up through the site, complementing the park,” he said.

Along with four major podium decks, Otte said, two roof decks overlooking plaza areas are included in updated plans, Otte said.

The 677 residential units will mostly have one bedroom, though some will be studios and others will have two bedrooms, Otte said. A dozen live-work units at ground level will have loft bedrooms.

During discussion Thursday, Commissioner Tad Savinar said the design for the main access to the site, across from the Holladay Park at Northeast 13th Avenue and Multnomah Street, isn’t inviting enough to draw the public in.

“There’s nothing to indicate there’s something inside,” he said.

But what’s inside, in the public plaza areas between the buildings, will be very inviting, with a large fountain, restaurants and landscaping, Holst Architecture associate Dustin Furseth said.

“The plaza is a moment of arrival and is larger than the center place in the park,” he said. “And we’re taking advantage of the grade change with a flowing fountain.

“The maker units are more work than live, with an industrial nature, which is good for makers.”

Another engaging feature, Furseth said, is a diagonal pedestrian path that will dissect the site from the southeast to the northwest and be lined with granite pavers in graduated colors.

“It has a tonal change, with the middle (being) the darkest, the richest granite you can get, and becomes lighter as it approaches the edges of the diagonal,” he said.

Savinar complimented advances in the landscaping design, but said he was concerned about the width of pedestrian areas along the private drive that leads to indoor parking areas. He added that he would like to see more public seating areas than those provided around the restaurants.

Although plans have not been finalized for the digital art project, which will be about 14 feet by 30 feet, Furseth said $1 million of the project’s budget will be devoted to the fountain and the art installation. Urban Art Projects of New York City has been brought in as a consultant to ensure a quality end result.

“We don’t know what it will be yet, but we would really like it to be interactive,” he said.

Savinar cautioned him that “underfunded art is not a good thing,” and said half of the $1 million should go to the art project, prompting Stuhr to walk to the applicant’s table to respond.

“I don’t think you can set a dollar amount,” he said. “I don’t think the commission has that purview.”

Block 20 residential tower approved

Before considering the Lloyd District project, the Design Commission approved the design for Hoyt Street Properties‘ new 21-story residential tower on Block 20, bounded by Northwest 11th and 12 avenues and Pettygrove and Quimby streets.

The project calls for 149 residential units with three levels of parking for 192 vehicles.

Brad Demby, an architect with Bora Architects, said the side nearest Pettygrove Street was the most challenging because of a step-down in grade and the fact that the site is in the 100-year floodplain.

Creating ground-floor retail space on all sides of the building was also a problem that was resolved, he said. All retail units will be sold instead of leased out.

After about an hour of discussion, the project was approved unanimously.

The post Lloyd District apartments on track appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

A century-old Portland Sephardic Jewish congregation has submitted plans to demolish its distinctive midcentury synagogue on Barbur Boulevard and to sell the property for a small apartment project.

Congregation Ahavath Achim proposes to demolish the building at 3225 S.W. Barbur Blvd. to make way for future development, according to an early assistance request filed with the city of Portland’s Bureau of Development Services.

Architect Stewart Straus said he filed the early assistance request for conceptual guidance on the project. As envisioned, two buildings could be built totaling 20 to 30 multifamily units. The site is complicated by a major sewer line that comes down Marquam Hill from Oregon Health & Science University.

“We are doing the early assistance process as a way of trying to get preliminary approvals from the city of Portland to clear a bunch of easements and sewer lines that are on the property so we will have a property that will be more marketable to a potential purchaser,” Straus said.

The congregation has not yet made the final decision to move forward with demolition, said Renee Ferrera, the congregation’s board president.

“It’s important to note our members will have the final vote on what we’re going to be doing,” she said.

If the Barbur property is sold, the congregation would use the proceeds to build a permanent home.

The congregation continues to hold larger holiday services at the Barbur synagogue, but more regular services moved in January to a new home at 6686 S.W. Capitol Highway. The move was prompted in part by a growing Orthodox population in the Hillsdale area. Devout members walk to services on the Sabbath, making proximity to their residences critical.

The site has two buildable areas, one on the north side and another on the south side, Straus said. The sewer line runs through the middle of the property. The western portion of the site is designated as open space. About 60 percent of the property is covered by easements. The Aerial Tram glides overhead.

Straus said he plans to build a bridge between the two apartment buildings at the height of the third or fourth floor, high enough to avoid complications with the sewer line.

Congregation Ahavath Achim has moved before. In 1961, the city’s Urban Renewal Committee asked the congregation to make way for the South Auditorium urban renewal project.

“The (Barbur) site was kind of cobbled together by the city of Portland because the previous location of the synagogue was in the urban renewal area, and they needed to find them a place to move them to,” Straus said.

The congregation tried to move its building from Southwest Third Avenue and Sherman Street, but it collapsed in the moving process, according to a history on the congregation’s website. The congregation built a new structure at the Barbur site in 1965 using the insurance proceeds. The result was a distinctive 3,440-square-foot reddish domed structure with a white base.

If development proceeds on the parcel, it would add to a raft of apartment construction in Portland that is driven by rising rents and low vacancies.

“It’s close in to downtown, but not right in the core,” Straus said. “The upper floors of this will have a killer view of Mount Hood, Mount St. Helens, the downtown, the South Waterfront area.”

The Barbur Boulevard site is also less than a quarter-mile south of the former YMCA building at Duniway Park that is being renovated for Under Armour, the athletic wear company.

An early assistance meeting for the Congregation Ahavath Achim project is scheduled for July 6.

“We should get a pretty good idea of whether the concept we’re putting on the table is achievable,” Straus said. “If it is, we should be able to get the property sold so the current owner can get a new location.”

The post Good-bye synagogue, hello apartments appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

Despite some challenges, crews are approaching completion of the mixed-use Sky3 tower in downtown Portland.

Workers of various trades – around 150 on Monday – added exterior siding and interior finishes and framing to the 15-story prefabricated steel-framed building at Southwest 11th Avenue and Jefferson Street. Absher Construction project executive Blaine Wolfe said the $42 million project, which began at the start of 2015, should wrap late this year.

The quarter-block mixed-use building employs a unique modular frame system. The structure is the tallest ever to feature steel framing by Innovative Green Business System, Wolfe said, though Absher does have experience using IGBS on a larger (but shorter) project in Ballard, Wash.

“The system just being as tall as it is, and the fact that it’s the first of its kind, has been a bit of a challenge,” he said.

But “by far” the biggest challenge faced by the Puyallup, Wash.-based contractor has been a shortage of skilled workers, Wolfe said. Crews lately have been working Saturdays and select trades have been staying late.

“There’s just not enough labor to go around,” he said. “We’ve been challenged with subcontractor participation, and also maintaining a workforce. It’s a finite resource, and there’s infinite opportunity. Some of the key subs are able to keep up with us, but some of the smaller trades are having trouble.”

The good news for Absher is that it has almost completely eliminated hand injuries on the project, safety manager Tyler Robinson said, by requiring all employees to wear gloves. The company reduced annual payouts related to hand injuries from $80,000 to $7,000.

“We haven’t seen a hand injury out here in a long time – over a year,” Robinson said.

Sky3 is Absher’s largest Portland project to date. It was designed by Ankrom Moisan Architects and developed by Molasky Group of Companies, the Las Vegas-based developer of the FBI Portland building. With amenities like a library, a game room, a large bike area, a rooftop “sky lounge” with an indoor-outdoor fireplace and a test kitchen, and car stackers in the two-level garage – Molasky hopes to provide “a little bit of everything,” Wolfe said. The developer is even designing a wine room to go above the garage in a space originally planned as a stock room for retail tenants.

“They have a level of quality that they expect to hit,” Wolfe said. “So I think this is going to be a pretty cool project when all is said and done. And the views are amazing.”

Sky3 has 196 residential units, including three penthouses, and ground-floor retail space. One tenant, Coava Coffee, has signed on.

Subcontractors include Steel Panel Supply Inc., Bergelectric, J.E.T. Plumbing, Hunter-Davisson, Cascade Acoustics, Corona Steel, Insulpro Projects, Marion Construction, Coffman Excavation, Snyder Roofing and Innotech Windows. Innotech supplied unique windows with multiple tilt-out functions.

The post Sky3 project team overcoming labor shortage appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

A San Diego-based investment group has paid $57.85 million for Russellville Commons, a 283-unit multifamily complex in the Gateway District.

M.G. Properties Group purchased the property at 10320 S.E. Pine St. from The Reliant Group, a San Francisco holding company, according to a press release from HFO Investment Real Estate, which represented the seller.

M.G. Properties Group has a portfolio of more than 12,000 units in California, Washington, Arizona and Nevada. The acquisition was the company’s first in the Portland market.

“We’ve been trying to get into the Portland market for the past 18 months and have bid on a number of properties, and this is the first one that has (been successful),” said Christian Garner, M.G. Properties Group’s chief investment officer.

“We’ve been attracted to the Portland growth prospects – wage growth, job creation and overall fundamentals,” he said.

M.G. Properties Group is only the latest institutional multifamily investor making a play in Portland. Garner hinted that more acquisitions may be in the works.

“After this transaction we are hopeful to find additional transactions this year as we’d like to build out a portfolio in that market,” he said.

The units average 875 square feet and include a variety of floor plans.

The building was constructed in 1999. The property includes a pool and spa, a business center, a modern fitness center and a lounge.

“We like the newer vintage, the strong quality, the solid asset of the build,” Garner said. “We’re interested in the light renovation opportunities.”

The local deal was financed with a 10-year fixed-rate mortgage provided by PNC Real Estate.

Portland has one of the hottest residential rental markets in the nation. Adobo, an apartment-search service, reported average rent for one-bedroom apartments in Portland rose 14 percent from February to March, to $1,303.

The post Apartment complex sells for $57.85 million appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.