Barg Singer Hoesly is expanding into a new office in downtown Portland.

The real estate law firm has inked a lease for approximately 3,300 square feet in the 1000 Broadway Building, said Jonathan Singer, a partner at the firm.

“It’s a great location,” he said. “It’s not the newest downtown office, but they’ve done a good job of refreshing it.”

The 24-story office building, which was completed in 1992, is owned by members of the Moyer family and managed by NAI Elliott. It was the first tower developed by Tom Moyer, who later built Fox Tower and Park Avenue West before he died in 2014.

Barg Singer Hoesly outgrew its current space at 121 S.W. Morrison St., Singer said. The firm has long subleased from another law firm — Farleigh Wada Witt.

“It’s been a great relationship over that period of time,” Singer said. “We’re just too big for the space at this point.”

The five-lawyer firm has historically focused on real-estate transaction work, but now also boasts a commercial litigation team.

Tenants largely have their pick of office space in today’s market, with vacancy rates remaining near record highs. During the first quarter of 2026, the Portland market’s direct vacancy rate was 15.2 percent, according to Kidder Mathews.

Barg Singer Hoesly chose a move-in ready space instead of pursuing costly tenant improvements.

“It is a good time to be a tenant, but it’s got to be the right space because the cost of building out is so expensive,” Singer said. “Construction costs are so high that it made this space a really perfect fit, because it was already built out for a law firm of approximately our size.”

NAI Elliott is in the midst of a multiyear renovation of the 1000 Broadway Building. Elevators are being replaced and the lobby is being refreshed.

Law firms and other professional service providers have continued to buttress downtown office tenancy as tech firms and others downsize their office footprints. Law firms have led the way in signing leases for some of Portland’s newest, and likely priciest, office space in buildings such as the Block 216 Ritz-Carlton tower and Eleven West.

“Law firms writ large have found that they are much busier in this economy,” Singer said. “Also, if you’re going to draw the top talent, you really need to have office space that inspires people to come in.”

Law firms value collaboration and mentorship, which are better done in person, Singer said.

Barg Singer Hoesly will move into the 1000 Broadway Building on June 18. The lease term is slightly shorter than six years, Singer said. He declined to reveal the lease rate, citing an agreement with the landlord.

The post Barg Singer Hoesly leases office in downtown Portland appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

A 19-story office building in downtown Portland has sold to an investment partnership for nearly $70 million.

The purchase of 200 Market is the largest ever for Melvin Mark Cos., which has been involved in Portland real estate since 1945.

The local firm partnered with Nevada-based auto dealer Jeff Swickard, who extended his downtown real estate buying spree after he recently purchased the U.S. Bancorp Tower (better known as “Big Pink”) and the Five Oak building. Together, they total almost 1.5 million square feet.

“We share the same values of long-term stewardship and a belief in Portland that its brightest days are ahead,” said Nick Ehlen, managing partner at Melvin Mark Investors.

Completed in 1973, 200 Market offers 18 floors of office space and ground-floor retail space. The purchase values the asset with 388,191 rentable square feet at approximately $180 per square foot. The building comprises approximately 400,000 gross square feet.

The total transaction amount was “just shy” of $70 million, Ehlen said. He declined to give an exact figure, and a warranty deed was not immediately available.

“Investments like 200 S.W. Market St. reflect our long-standing commitment to Portland and our belief that downtown will continue to play an important role in the region’s future,” Melvin Mark Cos. CEO Jim Mark stated in a news release.

The seller was John Russell, who purchased 200 Market for $21.5 million in 1988. Ehlen credited Russell for his stewardship of the building for nearly four decades.

Russell had defaulted on a $63 million loan from Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. as office tenants downsized after the pandemic, the lender alleged, according to court records previously reported by The Oregonian/OregonLive.

The buyers purchased the loan for “a little over half” the $63 million owed, Ehlen said. They also bought out Russell’s controlling interest and hammered out lease agreements with tenants, including tenant-improvement allowances.

“It was really three transactions rolled into one,” Ehlen said.

The partnership wooed accounting firm Geffen Mesher to sign a long-term lease for 30,000 square feet. Two existing tenants also opted to re-up: Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon expanded its space from approximately 60,000 square feet to 100,000 square feet, and IMA Financial Group grew its space from 5,197 square feet to 9,000 square feet.

Regence is calling employees back to the office and expanding its presence downtown, Ehlen said.

“We’re hoping it sparks a movement,” he added.

In total, new and extended leases of nearly 140,000 rentable square feet have been secured, and the property is expected to reach 85 percent occupancy in coming months, Melvin Mark stated in a news release.

The 200 Market building also has a sprawling parking garage with nearly 600 spaces close to Portland State University, the Keller Auditorium and government offices in south downtown.

The complex transaction had been gestating since 2024.

“This deal took a lot of teamwork to pull together,” Ehlen said. “We’re so excited. I’ve been working on this deal for 18 months, but we’re thrilled to get it to the finish line.”

Colliers brokers Trevor Kafoury and Autumn Brice represented both Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon and IMA Financial in their lease negotiations, and Nathan Sasaki and Nathan Oakley of Apex Real Estate Partners represented Geffen Mesher. Melvin Mark Capital Group partnered with Melvin Mark Investors to secure financing for investment.

Melvin Mark Brokerage Co. will oversee leasing and property management at 200 Market. The new owners plan to renovate the lobby and make other improvements.

The post Melvin Mark leads purchase of 200 Market building in Portland appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

U.S. Bancorp Tower owner Jeff Swickard has purchased another downtown Portland office building, and he said he’s not done yet.

Swickard has closed on the eight-story, 266,664-square-foot Five Oak building, at 421 S.W. Oak St., for “a little over $10 million,” he said. Swickard Group bought the building from a group of creditors led by Nuveen. Five Oak was constructed in 1944 and then renovated in 2005.

The purchase comes only seven months after Swickard purchased the U.S. Bancorp Tower, better known as “Big Pink.” The buildings are almost directly adjacent to each other.

“It’s in our mind a perfect complement to the Big Pink,” he said.

Swickard said he hopes the two buildings can share certain amenities, such as parking and hospitality.

It’s another big splash for Swickard, who initially made his fortune from a string of car dealerships based in Summerlin, Nevada. Swickard Group began investing in commercial real estate 14 years ago.

Swickard is a University of Oregon alum.

“Portland, it just meant something to me,” he said. “Even though I moved away, it never left my heart.”

Swickard has also purchased real estate in Wilsonville, the San Francisco Bay Area, Southern California, and Vancouver and Edmonds, Washington. Swickard Group is closing on an industrial building in Tigard this week, he said.

“We’ve been active, but until we bought Big Pink, nobody cared,” he said.

Both Big Pink and the Five Oak building lie in Portland’s opportunity zone, which confers tax benefits after seven and 10 years.

“Buying in an opportunity zone, it’s not the motivating factor, but it’s helpful,” Swickard said.

The downtown buildings are long-term holds, Swickard said. Current tenants at Five Oak include the U.S. Postal Service, Oregon Health Authority and Multnomah County. The building’s occupancy rate wasn’t immediately available.

“It’s really a capital-intensive business to re-tenant these buildings,” Swickard said. “On the surface, it might seem like it’s a windfall because prices are low, but by the time it’s re-tenanted it’s a long, long-term play.”

Swickard said the purchase was made in cash, with no debt or institutional money. The property previously traded for $37.1 million in 2014.

“There’s very little or no attractive debt that you can put on a building,” he said. “You have to be prepared to use your cash.”

Swickard suggested he’s not done investing in downtown Portland.

“I decided to buy a couple projects, and I’m going to continue to buy,” he said.

Unico Properties was selected as the property manager for Five Oak, the company announced Thursday. Unico also handles such business at Big Pink.

The post Swickard Group buys Five Oak building in downtown Portland appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

The Portland Design Commission on Thursday discussed a draft of the .

Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS) staff presented an overview of approximately 18 potential amendments to the comprehensive plan, zoning code maps, zoning code use allowances and development standards that are intended to facilitate housing production and revitalization in the Central City. The draft will be open to public review through Feb. 13.

The project is responsive to other efforts to revitalize the Central City, BPS Chief Planner Patricia Diefenderfer said.

“BPS began to research ways to maximize housing, including the analysis of current density allowances, floor area ratios and maximum building heights, specifically on how to structure bonuses to encourage large multi-bedroom units,” she said.

Amendments to the Central City 2035 Plan could include increasing allowable heights in certain areas, providing additional floor area ratio (FAR) bonuses, and more. Since the plan was adopted in 2018, the downtown area has experienced unprecedented trends in retail and office vacancy, according to the project’s website.

Other possible changes include rezoning parts of the Central City to provide greater development flexibility and encourage new housing, expanding land use allowances in Central Commercial zones to accommodate a broader mix of uses such as light manufacturing, repealing prohibitions of housing in parts of Central Employment zones, expanding allowances for retail and other uses in Open Space zones to support parks, adding a FAR bonus to encourage the development of multi-bedroom units, expanding allowable locations of food carts and pods, and providing more flexibility for temporary surface parking.

Since the pandemic, there has been a desire by the city to let food carts operate outside of surface parking lots, Senior City Planner Troy Doss said.

“The reason food carts have been in surface parking lots for so long is because they are regulated as a vehicle,” he said. “They can only be in vehicle areas or legally created parking lots.”

The food carts in Pioneer Courthouse Square were grandfathered in before provisions were changed, Doss said. The proposed change would be citywide and not just in the Central City.

BPS also proposes changing the requirement of 60 percent coverage of eco-roofs in the Central City to allow a mix of eco-roofs and solar panels, Doss said.

Another possible change would be to reduce the coverage of prohibition of ground-floor housing units. Commissioner Zari Santner expressed concern about potential losses of active uses at ground level. A reduction in the number of streets with prohibition of ground-floor units would need to come something that addresses quality-of-life issues, she said.

Improving livability in a neighborhood requires additions of amenities such as retail spaces and health care facilities, Commissioner Tina Bue added. The main goal of the project is to make sure the zoning code is not standing in the way of such development, Diefenderfer said.

People can submit comments on the discussion draft through Feb. 13. BPS will then create a proposed draft in March.

The Design Commission on Jan. 29 will finalize ideas to incorporate into a letter to the Planning Commission and the City Council with its recommendations. The Design Commission plans to vote on the letter during its meeting on Feb. 5.

A Planning Commission hearing will take place in April. Any revisions will be included in BPS’ recommended draft, which will go before the City Council in late summer or early fall. A final decision on the draft is expected by the end of the year.

The post Portland Central City code changes in development appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

Portland design commissioners gave advice Thursday on an early design for a proposed Portland State University student dormitory.

University officials have opted to take the project through a Type II design review process, which is overseen by Portland Permitting & Development staff. That means the Design Commission will not again consider the project unless the staff’s decision is appealed.

The proposal for 1831 S.W. Park Ave. calls for 216 to 269 rooms in a building that would reach five or six stories.

“We’re still exploring both (configurations),” said Michael Coon, a GBD Architects associate principal.

The project has been somewhat controversial because the new building would replace two dating from the early 20th century: Blackstone Residence Hall, completed in 1931, and Montgomery Court, which was built in 1917 for the Portland Women’s Union. Both are brick structures that preservationists have praised for fine detailing.

Advocates who testified on Thursday urged the university to reconsider the design, or at least incorporate brick and other historic touches.

“We would always prefer the preservation of historic buildings,” said Xavier Stickler, chairman of the Downtown Neighborhood Association‘s land-use committee.

Stickler urged designers to incorporate the Blackstone’s statuary into the new building. He also asked designers to consider using mass timber rather than a five-over-one design.

Hannah Bronfman, a member of the Historic Landmarks Commission, said the building should better reflect its surroundings.

“The building reads very generic — one that could exist almost anywhere,” she said.

PSU officials have said the building is crucial to attract new students. The university, which began life as a post-World War II commuter campus, has never had purpose-built student housing.

“This project brings vibrancy by students living on campus,” said Ashley Wendler, PSU’s executive director of University Housing and Residence Life. “These students really become integral to the downtown community.”

A structural engineer was brought in to evaluate the possibility of renovating the historic structures but found that they would require seismic upgrades and major interior reconfiguration, said Tom Maki, who is serving as owner’s representative for PSU.

“For a number of reasons, it just was not feasible,” Maki told commissioners.

The proposed building would hold approximately 550 beds, mostly in double-occupancy units. Some units would have single or triple occupancy.

Fortis Construction is on board as general contractor. Lango Hansen is the landscape architect.

The building would also have a single classroom and three community rooms per floor. A bike parking hub would be located outside the main building.

PSU officials hope to open the student building in time for the start of the fall term in 2028.

“The timing of that is really important to us,” Wendler said.

The post PSU dorm building plan draws preservation concerns appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

The PacWest Center in downtown Portland has sold to an Alaska buyer at a steep discount, according to a report.

Willamette Week late Wednesday that the property sold for $55.7 million, or $101.64 per square foot. The price is less than half its most recent pre-pandemic transaction, but higher than the price for another iconic tower that recently sold.

A deed of trust filed with Multnomah County on Thursday shows the buyer used a $44.58 million loan from the First National Bank Alaska, based in Anchorage. Another public filing, the special warranty deed, shows the property sold for $10 “and other good and valuable consideration,” hiding the true purchase price.

Fountainhead Development, based in Fairbanks, Alaska, purchased the 30-story office building, the fourth-tallest building in Portland, from an entity linked to Lincoln Property Co.

The 547,992-square-foot building at 1211 S.W. Fifth Ave. was developed beginning in 1984 by Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Estate Co. and completed in 1988. It was extensively renovated in 2019. The sleek silver tower is well-known locally for its outdoor tree, planted on the 25^th floor.

The building last traded hands for $161.5 million in December 2007. Commercial real estate in Portland has traded at much lower prices since the pandemic emptied out downtown office towers. The city has approximately 9 million square feet of vacant office space.

PacWest’s recent sale gave it a significantly higher valuation than the U.S. Bancorp Tower — better known as Big Pink — earned when it sold for $45 million, or about $39.13 per square foot, in July.

Newmark Vice Chairman Nick Kucha, Senior Managing Director James Childress and Directors Kellen Kollmorgen and Jakob Nicholls represented the seller.

“PacWest exemplifies resilience and opportunity in Portland’s evolving office market,” Kucha said in a prepared statement. “With its transit-oriented location, market-leading amenity package and premium view space, the buyer recognized the tower’s ability to cater to both traditional and creative tenant requirements in a location with enduring demand drivers.”

The property is 50 percent leased, primarily by legal, banking, wealth and investment management firms, according to Newmark.

The post PacWest Center in Portland sells at deep discount appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

The city of Portland is preparing to offer developers $7 million in incentives to convert vacant office space into multifamily housing.

Prosper Portland will administer the pilot program, which was first announced in May. It’s one part of the city’s strategy to reduce its massive stock of vacant office space, which totaled more than 9 million square feet during the third quarter, according to CBRE.

Mayor Keith Wilson, in remarks given during a Multifamily NW event on Oct. 16, said the funding would likely go to only a few office-to-housing conversion projects.

“We’re not going to spread that peanut butter thin,” Wilson said.

Funding may be awarded in the next four to six weeks, Prosper Portland spokesman Shawn Uhlman said Monday.

Funding for the pilot program is expected to come from the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund (PCEF) through an intergovernmental agreement with Prosper Portland.

Limited available funding, approximately $7 million, will support two to three pilot projects, Elliott Kozuch, the city’s spokesman for community and economic development, stated in an email.

City officials are looking for projects that are ready to go.

“The initial pilot projects are expected to both be development-ready and provide access to detailed project data … and participate in an embodied carbon study with PCEF and Prosper Portland,” Kozuch stated.

The conversion incentive grew out of recommendations from the Multifamily Housing Development Workgroup that was convened by Wilson and Gov. Tina Kotek in the spring.

The City Council still must agree to an adjustment to the PCEF’s Climate Investment Plan to allow the funding to be used, and to increase the allocation beyond the pilot phase.

Prosper Portland’s board approved guidelines for the program on Oct. 8.

“Portland faces the dual challenge of historically high office vacancy rates and a shortage of affordable and middle-income housing,” Prosper Portland Executive Director Cornell Wesley wrote to the board.

Public officials have lauded office-to-residential conversions as a solution to empty urban office space, but getting those projects to construction has proved difficult. Conversion costs are significant: Building codes require stronger seismic protection in residences. Floor plates designed for an office can poorly suit an apartment building. And features including staircases, windows, heating and cooling systems, and elevators may need to be rethought or relocated.

Sarah Zahn, director of development for Security Properties and a member of the governmental work group, said it makes sense to give large amounts of funding to a few projects.

“It’s good they recognize it’s going to take a substantial investment to do a project like this,” Zahn said.

The program should interest developers, said Ezra Hammer, a shareholder at Portland-based law firm Jordan Ramis.

“Is free money good?” he said. “Yes, free money is good.”

A successful conversion project could spur more of the kind, Hammer said.

“The real value is you get the projects going, but you prove the concept in the market,” he said.

The incentive will be structured as a forgivable 10-year loan at 2 percent interest. One-tenth of the principal balance of the loan would be forgiven each year. Rents must remain affordable to renters at 60 percent to 120 percent of area median income. The affordability requirement will make apartments available to a broad swath of renters but could limit developers’ potential upside.

“This targeted investment not only accelerates the delivery of new housing units but also advances Portland’s climate action and housing production goals in tandem,” Wesley told the Prosper Portland board.

So far, prior to the incentives taking effect, two conversion projects have moved forward in Portland. A project team plans to convert the Oregon Casket Building, at 403 N.W. Fifth Ave. in Old Town, into a 25,000-square-foot mixed-use building with 34 residential units and retail space.

The second conversion project involves the Falcon Building, at 321 N.W. Glisan St. It previously held 85,500 square feet of office space and is on track to become 59 units of middle-income housing.

The post Portland to offer $7 million for office-to-housing projects appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

Hundreds of millions of dollars are due to be invested in performing arts infrastructure at the southern end of downtown Portland, and project stakeholders are continuing to secure funding to advance development.

The Performing Arts and Culture Center (PACC) will feature a Broadway-capable theater with up to 3,000 seats. The approximately $385 million venue will be owned by the city; officials are seeking funding, according to Jason Franklin, Portland State University associate vice president for planning, construction and real estate.

PSU‘s portion of the project will include an approximately 1,200-seat theater and academic space, a 150-room hotel with conference space, and a parking structure. Late last month, the Oregon Legislature provided substantial state support by approving issuance of $137.5 million in bonds ($85 million for the theater building and $52.5 million for the parking).

“The state’s investment in Portland State University represents a profound commitment to the importance of the arts in bringing together community and activating Portland’s downtown core,” Mayor Keith Wilson stated.

The hotel building will be developed and controlled by a hotel investor. Approximately $71 million for that project piece will be supplied by investor equity/conventional debt.

PSU also has received commitments totaling $7.6 million from Prosper Portland and $10.5 million in philanthropic pledges. University officials will aim to raise $20 million more via philanthropy.

“We’re in the funding portion of the project,” Franklin said.

The PACC will sit on a 4.25-acre PSU parcel: the current University Place Hotel property, at 310 S.W. Lincoln St. The site’s existing building and another building at 330 S.W. Lincoln St. will be demolished to accommodate the new development.

Bora Architecture & Interiors has completed conceptual design. A request for proposals (RFP) process will be launched, possibly in 2026, to secure an architect and a general contractor. Currently, design is expected to begin in 2027. Then construction would start in 2028 and finish in late 2030.

The total project cost estimate is from $615 million to $650 million. The state funding is a testament to the commitment of Gov. Tina Kotek and the Oregon Legislature to invest in performing arts, PSU, and downtown Portland, Franklin said.

“There’s a lot of opportunity for us to think about the next 100 years of performing arts here,” he said. “This is a great opportunity for the city and the region.”

PSU will use state-backed debt (to be repaid via parking revenues) to construct the parking. Officials have looked at scenarios with 500 to 700 spaces on-site and would prefer to build above ground to the extent possible since it would be less expensive and easier given the performing arts use, Gard Communications‘ Chelsea Punian, spokeswoman for PSU, stated in an email.

Community members have indicated to PSU officials that they hope the 3,000-seat theater will have a welcome, Northwest feel, Franklin said. Officials are looking at how mass timber can be incorporated, particularly in the atrium portion, he added.

Plans call for incorporating artist wellness rooms and storage space in the 1,200-seat theater. Ancillary retail space may be included as well, Punian stated.

“One thing that’s really difficult at the Keller (Auditorium) right now is just not having a lot of front (of) house space to sell merchandise,” Franklin said.

Also, multiple bars and restaurants are planned on-site.

The PACC is the first phase of Portland’s strategy, authorized by the City Council in October 2024, to develop two Broadway-capable theaters in sequence. The second phase will be a renovation of the Keller Auditorium.

The post New downtown Portland theaters on the horizon appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

A law firm has signed a lease for a 15,610-square-foot office space in a downtown Portland tower.

Lindsay Hart LLP agreed to terms for space on the 27th floor of the Standard Insurance Center, at 900 S.W. Fifth Ave. The firm will relocate from another downtown tower, the Wells Fargo Center, in November, according to a news release from CBRE, which represented the landlord, Standard Insurance Co.

“This transaction highlights an encouraging trend of leasing activity in downtown Portland,” stated Kevin Kaufman, first vice president at CBRE. “This agreement reflects the growing momentum in Portland’s central business district and the appeal of high-quality office spaces in the area.”

Kaufman and Joe Beehler secured the Lindsay Hart deal for CBRE. Lindsay Hart was represented by JLL‘s Eric Haskins.

Built in 1968, the full-block Standard Insurance Center is among the largest buildings in Portland, with approximately 460,000 square feet in 27 stories.

Law firms and other professional service providers have been stalwart users of downtown office space, which remains mired in a steep downturn.

Davis Wright Tremaine and Fisher Phillips anchor the office space at Block 216, the new tower owned by BPM Real Estate. Miller Nash was among the first tenants at Eleven West, another relatively new building from Downtown Development Group.

Architecture firms have embraced downtown. SERA Architects moved into 42,000 square feet in the Galleria building in 2022. And Populous, a major international firm, will move its Portland group into an as-yet unidentified downtown building in the fall.

In a shift, downtown offices are now attracting more tenants than are the suburbs, according to CBRE. In the first quarter of 2025, downtown Portland office buildings secured more leasing volume for spaces 5,000 square feet and larger than suburban office buildings did.

The post Office tenant switches downtown Portland towers appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

Only two years after Populous opened its Portland office, the stadium design firm is planning to move into a larger downtown space this fall.

Populous is close to signing a lease, said Jeff Yrazabal, the firm’s principal and senior architect in Portland. He declined to identify the exact location before the lease is signed.

The move will end Populous’ two-year stay in Beam Development‘s Eastside Exchange building and mark a new chapter for the firm in Portland.

Based in Kansas City, Missouri, the firm has 12 regional offices in North America, and is best known for designing massive, cutting-edge sports stadiums such as Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, Yankee Stadium in New York and a 2010 renovation of Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

“Populous has grown rapidly throughout the years,” Yrazabal said. “Globally, the firm has just grown at an incredible pace.”

In Portland, Populous has quickly made its mark, designing the Hillsboro Hops‘ under-construction ballpark, a shared training facility for the Portland Thorns soccer club and the city’s forthcoming WNBA franchise, and concepts for a Major League Baseball stadium for booster group Portland Diamond Project (PDP).

The firm’s growth in Portland is inextricably tied to the city’s fortunes as a sports town. Portland winning a WNBA team and the right to host the 2030 NCAA Women’s Final Four show the city’s sports industry has momentum, Yrazabal said.

Yet the sports industry seems fragile amid recent news that the Trail Blazers are for sale, sparking speculation that a new owner could move the NBA team elsewhere.

“Hosting large-scale events like the Women’s Final Four, those kind of big victories for this town I think are indicators that absolutely Portland is thriving now,” Yrazabal said. He acknowledged the city’s challenges, but said the area’s sports ecosystem is healthy and growing.

Yrazabal was hired from SRG Partnership in 2023 to recruit for and establish Populous in Portland. The firm now has 19 local employees, including 12 architects; they either came from local designers or moved to the Pacific Northwest outpost.

Yrazabal had substantial previous experience in the sports realm while at SRG. He led the design team for the reconstruction of Hayward Field, the University of Oregon‘s iconic track stadium, and also worked on Oregon State University‘s expansion of its football venue, Reser Stadium.

It was at OSU that Yrazabal first connected with Populous.

“You have an opportunity to meet some people, and I just got a sense of the talent, the process that was really refreshing to me,” Yrazabal said. Populous’ design culture and expertise also impressed, he said.

Dave Otte, owner and principal at Holst Architecture, has become close friends with Yrazabal. Otte said he appreciates Yrazabal’s attention to detail.

Perhaps Populous’ highest-profile project in Portland is PDP’s ongoing drive to attract an MLB team.

PDP has worked since 2017 to attract a baseball team, but MLB has yet to play ball. The group recently secured a site in the South Waterfront, and Populous has produced renderings for a ballpark where hitters could launch home runs into the Willamette River with Mount Hood in the background.

The question remains whether MLB will ever come to Portland. Yrazabal himself isn’t sure.

“To be completely honest with you, I don’t know,” he said.

Yrazabal said Portland’s MLB effort has a formidable champion in Craig Cheek, the CEO of PDP.

“He’s committed — he has been for years and years,” Yrazabal said. “He brings the energy, and he captures the Portland story and connects the baseball ethos and the history of baseball here to the idea of something new.”

MLB has not announced a timeline for expansion, and no teams appear ready to move to a new city.

The Athletics are set to break ground on their stadium in Las Vegas in June, according to The Associated Press, and the team will play in Sacramento until the stadium on the Strip is ready for the 2028 season. Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Rays will move into their repaired stadium for the 2026 season.

Portland’s MLB expansion hopes also face competition from other cities, including Salt Lake City; Nashville, Tennessee; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Montreal.

PDP took a major step forward last fall when the group announced that it had agreed to purchase Zidell Yards in the South Waterfront for a future ballpark. It would fit tightly on the property on the west bank of the Willamette River, with bridges immediately to the north and south, a large hill to the west and the river to the east.

Yrazabal said the stadium would be smaller than most in MLB and similar in capacity to Providence Park, which seats 25,218 for pro soccer.

“All ballparks that have adjacencies to rivers are incredible,” Yrazabal said. “What makes Portland unique and the Pacific Northwest unique is our connection to nature. So, to have a ballpark that sits right in between the river and the city, with the views of Mount Hood in the background — it’s iconic.”

On a smaller scale, Populous in partnership with SRG is the architect for the Hillsboro Hops ballpark for the Single-A minor league team. Yrazabal has a longstanding relationship with Hops President and General Manager K.L. Wombacher, and designed the team’s first Hillsboro ballpark.

“That’s been a fun journey to see the success of the Hops,” Yrazabal said.

The design team was charged with building a year-round venue for the team’s under-construction ballpark.

“We are going to go for it, and not many minor league teams are going for it at the scale we want to, but it was bold and exciting, and now you see it out of the ground,” Yrazabal said.

The Hops’ ballpark is expected to open before the 2026 baseball season.

Populous is also capitalizing on the growth in women’s sports with a $150 million, 63,000-square-foot training center for the soccer and basketball teams in Hillsboro owned by the Bhathal family.

“There’s a lot of momentum around women’s sports right now, but it’s not new in Portland,” Yrazabal said.

Thorns players visited the Populous office to discuss their wish lists for a training facility.

While Populous is best known for sports cathedrals, the firm is bringing its understanding of public gathering spaces to other fields, such as airports and colleges and universities. Outside of the Portland area, the firm is engaged in master planning for Deschutes County’s fairgrounds in Redmond.

Meanwhile, Populous’ Portland contingent is getting ready to move downtown. Investing in the downtown core was a goal for Populous, Yrazabal said.

“This is a moment right now in Portland where downtown needs businesses, needs people on sidewalks, it needs people in restaurants,” he said. “So, we are committing to that for our city and we’re excited about it.”

Editor’s Note: A passage about design details at Hayward Field has been edited for clarity.

The post Populous set to expand in Portland by moving office appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.