Portland’s newest office building, the 16-story First & Main, will be purchased by San Diego-based real estate investment trust .

American Assets Trust has entered into an agreement with the San Francisco-based developer to purchase the downtown building, according to . The company will pay $129 million for the 364,735-square-foot building that was completed in 2010.

The transaction is an example of how out-of-town investors are starting to look at Portland’s downtown office products this year just as outside institutional investors began picking Portland’s multifamily products off in 2010.

First & Main is currently 96-percent leased with the only vacant space being street level retail. Approximately three quarters of the building’s office space is occupied by various federal government agencies that moved out of the Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt Federal Building while it is under a major $140 million sustainable upgrade. The remainder of the building’s office space is leased by Portland Energy Conservation, an energy efficiency solutions nonprofit.

This is the first purchase in Oregon for American Assets Trust. The company owns about three million square feet of rentable space, 1.5 million of which is office space in what it calls high-barrier-to-entry markets like Southern California, Northern California and Hawaii.

American Assets Trust will pay $353 per square foot for the office building, which is the first multi-tenant commercial office tower in the Pacific Northwest to receive a platinum certification in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design from the U.S. Green Building Council. The purchase is largest per square foot purchase in Portland, beating out the record set by Ashforth Pacific in 2008 when the company purchased the PacWest Center for $309 per square foot.

According to the release, American Assets will pay for the building with the capital raised from stock sales in its initial public offering. The company sold 27.5 million shares of common stock priced at $20.50 per share for its initial offering.

The transaction is currently being held up at the federal and state taxation level in order to pass customary closing conditions. It is expected to be finalized on Friday.

Andrew Neilly, a spokesman for Shorenstein Properties, said the company does not comment on transactions until they are finalized.

The post First & Main, downtown Portland high rise, sells for $129M appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

A prototypical example of how much journalism has changed has presented itself today.

91视频 staff has been asked not to attend an event in the new First & Main building, and not to write any articles on, or post any pictures of, the building until its official grand opening June 8. While adhering to such an embargo, a local real estate blog published the .

The blog is called and is written by two local agents with , Mark Friel and Kristin Hammond. While the duo did an exceptional job being the first to publish pictures of the interior, it begs the question: is it a good move to keep these types of projects under wraps in today’s media climate?

The building owners obviously wanted to make sure the building was in operating condition before it was portrayed in the media. But considering it is the only major building that will likely be delivered this year, there was no doubt that the media would be following it closely. Now, the building’s media attention is going to be fragmented, and some news sources may decide to leave it alone.

The post Blog breaks First & Main opening appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

A prototypical example of how much journalism has changed has presented itself today.

91视频 staff has been asked not to attend an event in the new First & Main building, and not to write any articles on, or post any pictures of, the building until its official grand opening June 8. While adhering to such an embargo, a local real estate blog published the .

The blog is called and is written by two local agents with , Mark Friel and Kristin Hammond. While the duo did an exceptional job being the first to publish pictures of the interior, it begs the question: is it a good move to keep these types of projects under wraps in today’s media climate?

The building owners obviously wanted to make sure the building was in operating condition before it was portrayed in the media. But considering it is the only major building that will likely be delivered this year, there was no doubt that the media would be following it closely. Now, the building’s media attention is going to be fragmented, and some news sources may decide to leave it alone.

The post Blog breaks First & Main opening appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

Developers for First & Main, a new office building in Portland, plan to open the tower in May.

The building is still undergoing code inspections to get its certificate of occupancy, said Krista Bailey, development manager with Shorenstein Realty Services, the owner.

First & Main is about 70 percent leased by tenants moving from the Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt Federal Building, which will begin a renovation later this year.

First and Main is a 16-story building with about 346,500 square feet of office space. It is certified LEED Platinum.

The post First & Main scheduled to open in May appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

While the Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt building gets a green makeover, the government agencies that reside in the federal building will be moving to the soon-to-be completed First & Main.

The Internal Revenue Service, Drug Enforcement Administration and Veterans Benefits Administration are expected to move into the new, 16-story office building at 100 S.W. Main Street by late this summer or early this fall. The IRS leased a total of 133,538 square feet, the DEA leased 30,866 square feet and the VBA leased 85,785 square feet, according to the General Services Administration.

The feds are expected to move into their new space late this summer or in early fall. First & Main has about 350,000 square feet of class A office space.

Construction on the 18-story Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt building is expected to begin this year by Howard S. Wright. The building will feature a 250-foot tall “living wall” covered with plant life.

The post Federal employees moving to First & Main appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.