A year ago, when 200 citizens packed a Northwest Portland brewpub to hear an update on the Centennial Mills redevelopment project, expectations were for work to start soon.

But the project hasn’t inched forward since.

LAB Holding, the Costa Mesa, Calif.-based firm selected by the Portland Development Commission in 2008, wants to transform the former mill into a culinary hot spot, a public gathering space and a gateway to the Willamette River. But LAB is encountering opposition to a similar West Coast project, and that could affect the fate of the project in Portland.

“We should have the (disposition and development agreement) wrapped up in the next 30 days,” developer Shaheen Sadeghi said last month.

While Sadeghi emphasized in January 2010 that the project would go through a rigorous regulatory process because of the building’s historic nature and its proximity to water, he also said in both June and November 2010 that the DDA was 30 days out.

The project is similar to another LAB Holding project, the Playa del Norte development in San Clemente, Calif. LAB was selected by San Clemente’s city council in 2008 after the firm pitched turning a city-owned parking lot at the foot of the city’s North Beach into 65,000 square feet of mixed-use space with a focus on food.

As part of the agreement, much like the one being worked out in Portland, LAB will purchase the lot from the city and carry out the predetermined development produced by a visioning process. Basically, LAB receives financial and technical support from the city for carrying out a private development that meets the development vision.

But the project has been fraught with opposition from the onset.

Tom Barnes, a writer in San Clemente, helped form a group – North Beach Green Alternative – to fight the project.

“If they want to put the LAB project on private property we are fine with it,” Barnes said. “But they are selling public property that we all use at a discounted rate so a private developer can profit.”

In a 2008 ballot measure, voters expressed support for the project by a 6 percent margin. Undeterred, the group generated another ballot measure, at a public cost of $200,000, that in March will ask citizens whether they want to move forward with the LAB project or throw it out entirely.

“They keep telling us that the project is just complicated, but it’s not; it just has a lot of problems,” Barnes said. “The council has a pro-business and pro-development majority and is going ahead without consulting the public.”

The group dislikes the deal between the city and LAB Holding. The developer will receive a $4.6 million subsidy, and will pay between $1 million and $1.8 million for the property. According to Barnes, an independent appraisal valued the property at more than $6 million.

While the Centennial Mills project has moved slowly, it hasn’t drawn significant opposition.

“We have definitely received suggestions and opinions along the way, but we haven’t had anyone opposing the project,” said Sarah Harpole, a project manager with the PDC. “The initial vision was supported, and so far, the public has maintained that support.”

Possible project conflicts would be its effects on the Willamette River and the proposed Greenway trail; however, Harpole noted that review of such issues is not finalized yet.

Harpole expects the DDA, which sets the property acquisition plan, to be ready within the next 60 days, and signed by the PDC within five weeks thereafter. Both the in-water work permits and the greenway review documents are expected to be submitted in the next 30 days, she said.

Sadeghi acknowledged that the San Clemente project has moved slowly, and that unforeseen issues have arose; however, he is confident the project will resume following the March vote.

“I’m a patient person and I believe the people will approve the project when it goes up for vote,” he said. “Just like with Centennial Mills, Playa Del Norte will be an excellent project in a historic area along the water that brings the community together.”

The post Centennial Mills developer faces opposition to a similar project appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

One of the things I like most about my job is how much time I get to spend kicking around the Internet. While doing this I have stumbled across some really cool websites related to building. Thus I have decided to list a few of my favorites by category.

°ä´Ç´Ç±ô±ð²õ³ÙÌýcommercial development firm website

This has to go to the Costa Mesa-based firm, . You might be familiar with the company as they are doing the Centennial Mills redevelopment project here in town. The firm’s work defines cool, and their website helps accentuate it. The site is easy to navigate and is full of information on current and past projects. The firm begins every project by defining the culture of the area. In Portland, we are foodies, thus the company is turning the bottom floor of Centennial Mills into an artisan food market. Only this website could make you want to enter a profession that is struggling as much as commercial development is.

°ä´Ç´Ç±ô±ð²õ³ÙÌýconstruction company website

The construction industry takes the cake for lamest websites. But the St. Louis-based bucks the trend. Every picture has been run over by the grain tool in Photoshop, helping provide a gritty feeling. Plus the site has a very informative blog and live Web cams at each of the company’s project sites. For some reason I want to buy steel-toed work boots when I visit the site.

°ä´Ç´Ç±ô±ð²õ³ÙÌýarchitecture firm website

This one is hard as architecture websites are usually pretty cool. I have two favorites, both of which are international firms. The first is from the Netherlands. The firm does work all over Europe and Asia. After a cool intro, you are directed to a globe focused on Europe. There you can click and see projects the firm has done in various countries. There is very little verbiage on the website, but in architecture a picture says more than a thousand words.

The second architecture firm with a cool website is . This award-winning architecture firm from Germany has an award-winning website. The pictures the firm shoots of its completed work are as artistic as the work in general. I would literally buy prints of some of these pictures to hang on my walls. Go check out the work the firm did on the Guggenheim Museum in Taiwan and the explanation for each decision it made.

°ä´Ç´Ç±ô±ð²õ³ÙÌýproperty design, build, operate and maintain (DBOM) firm website

This has to go to of Seattle. The front page of the website is all you need to see. It gives a visual representation of every facet of construction, from underground parking structures to rooftops. The firm is all inclusive and so is the website. Dig around for a while and you will leave with a better understanding of how everything is connected in construction.

°ä´Ç´Ç±ô±ð²õ³ÙÌýresidential property database

This is a hard one as has really changed the game. But one website that takes mapping properties a step further is . This site lets you view an aerial map of available homes anywhere in the U.S. But the site lets you take it a step further by viewing heat maps for income levels, foreclosures, home prices, population density and rental rates. Type in Phoenix and look at the foreclosures heat map to get a quick overview of the current state of contemporary residential real estate.

As a side note, I will update this list periodically as I come across more categories and cooler websites. If you think there is a better website for one of these categories, or a category that I should include, send them my way.

The post Coolest websites in the industry appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

One of the things I like most about my job is how much time I get to spend kicking around the Internet. While doing this I have stumbled across some really cool websites related to building. Thus I have decided to list a few of my favorites by category.

°ä´Ç´Ç±ô±ð²õ³ÙÌýcommercial development firm website

This has to go to the Costa Mesa-based firm, . You might be familiar with the company as they are doing the Centennial Mills redevelopment project here in town. The firm’s work defines cool, and their website helps accentuate it. The site is easy to navigate and is full of information on current and past projects. The firm begins every project by defining the culture of the area. In Portland, we are foodies, thus the company is turning the bottom floor of Centennial Mills into an artisan food market. Only this website could make you want to enter a profession that is struggling as much as commercial development is.

°ä´Ç´Ç±ô±ð²õ³ÙÌýconstruction company website

The construction industry takes the cake for lamest websites. But the St. Louis-based bucks the trend. Every picture has been run over by the grain tool in Photoshop, helping provide a gritty feeling. Plus the site has a very informative blog and live Web cams at each of the company’s project sites. For some reason I want to buy steel-toed work boots when I visit the site.

°ä´Ç´Ç±ô±ð²õ³ÙÌýarchitecture firm website

This one is hard as architecture websites are usually pretty cool. I have two favorites, both of which are international firms. The first is from the Netherlands. The firm does work all over Europe and Asia. After a cool intro, you are directed to a globe focused on Europe. There you can click and see projects the firm has done in various countries. There is very little verbiage on the website, but in architecture a picture says more than a thousand words.

The second architecture firm with a cool website is . This award-winning architecture firm from Germany has an award-winning website. The pictures the firm shoots of its completed work are as artistic as the work in general. I would literally buy prints of some of these pictures to hang on my walls. Go check out the work the firm did on the Guggenheim Museum in Taiwan and the explanation for each decision it made.

°ä´Ç´Ç±ô±ð²õ³ÙÌýproperty design, build, operate and maintain (DBOM) firm website

This has to go to of Seattle. The front page of the website is all you need to see. It gives a visual representation of every facet of construction, from underground parking structures to rooftops. The firm is all inclusive and so is the website. Dig around for a while and you will leave with a better understanding of how everything is connected in construction.

°ä´Ç´Ç±ô±ð²õ³ÙÌýresidential property database

This is a hard one as has really changed the game. But one website that takes mapping properties a step further is . This site lets you view an aerial map of available homes anywhere in the U.S. But the site lets you take it a step further by viewing heat maps for income levels, foreclosures, home prices, population density and rental rates. Type in Phoenix and look at the foreclosures heat map to get a quick overview of the current state of contemporary residential real estate.

As a side note, I will update this list periodically as I come across more categories and cooler websites. If you think there is a better website for one of these categories, or a category that I should include, send them my way.

The post Coolest websites in the industry appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

The Centennial Mills project planned for Portland’s waterfront could face delays because of “rotten” wharf pilings, another possible setback in a commercial real estate market nearly devoid of financing.

Shaheen Sadeghi, principal with project developer LAB Holding LLC, said consultants have found the pier is more damaged than previously thought. The findings were completed in recent months, he said.

Sadeghi said the 10 buildings at the site, located on the west bank of the Willamette River between the Fremont and Broadway bridges, are in good shape. But he also said pilings are “rotten” and the cost of repairs would be “a big number,” though he did not give an estimate.

Company officials said any potential repairs would require permits from the state and federal governments, largely because of the need to protect the river’s natural habitat.

“It could take a while,” said Ryan Aeh, project manager with LAB Holding, based in Costa Mesa, Calif. He said the situation “adds to the uncertainty of when we could break ground.”

LAB Holding wants to turn the site – comprised of warehouses, grain elevators and a seven-story flour mill, all built between 1910 and 1940 – into a culinary attraction, with restaurants, a farmer’s market and even light food manufacturing.

To date, the project is at least six months behind schedule. However, board members from the Portland Development Commission, which owns the site, said the delay is not unusual given the sourish commercial real estate market.

“The problem right now is that no one seems to be getting financing for commercial projects,” Commissioner Steven Straus said.

The board’s chairman, Scott Andrews, said the commission has recently “delayed more projects than approved” because of developers’ lack of credit. He said officials are still working on Centennial Mills’ project plans and environmental work, “but there isn’t a lot of urgency.”

“The financial world is gonna have to change pretty drastically before a project like that gets off the ground,” Andrews said.

Aeh has acknowledged the project “lost of a little bit of momentum” earlier this year, in part because of the economy.

As reported in the 91ÊÓƵ earlier this year, the Centennial Mills project was expected to be finished in 2011. LAB Holding had hoped to execute its Development and Disposition Agreement with the Portland Development Commission by this past summer.

Now, Aeh said the company hopes to finalize that agreement by the end of March 2010, to break ground in “early 2011” and to finish construction by 2012.

Project plans were reviewed and discussed at an open forum earlier this month. A similar forum is scheduled for Jan. 19, at Bridgeport Brewery in Northwest Portland.

Sadeghi and Aeh both declined to give an estimated project cost, though Sadeghi noted it was previously estimated at $55 million.

Earlier this month the site, on Northwest Naito Parkway, had a bundle of peeling, discolored buildings. What appeared to be a water tower, on top of one of the buildings, was covered in graffiti.

Centennial Mills was in operation until 2000, when the Portland Development Commission purchased the property. Aeh said the commission intended to clear the site for a public park, but community backlash led to the current efforts to preserve most of the property.

The buildings, slated for rehabilitation and other work, will remain largely intact. However, plans call for a warehouse in the center of the 4.75-acre site to be almost completely demolished, clearing space for a wide entryway, while portions of two other warehouses along the river’s edge will be cut out to make room for public space along the wharf.

A July 2006 report from KPFF Consulting Engineers, a project consultant, said most of the buildings are in “fair condition,” though many had damage or deterioration, mostly because of roof leakage.

Warehouse B, for instance, had “extensive decay” in the timber piles at the water line, and at several locations the piles had “completely separated from the concrete columns and pile caps.”

The post Centennial Mills project faces dry finance climate appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

The Centennial Mills waterfront project in Portland could face delays over a damaged wharf, as the developer expects to spend a lot of time and money fixing “rotten” pilings.

Shaheen Sadeghi, principal with project developer LAB Holding LLC, said in an interview Thursday that project consultants have found the pier is more damaged than previously thought. The findings were completed in recent months, he said.

The 10 buildings at the site, located on the west bank of the Willamette River between the Fremont and Broadway bridges, are in “good shape,” Sadeghi said. But the pier needs “substantial work.”

He said the pilings are “rotten,” and the cost of repairs is “going to be a big number,” though he did not give a specific estimate. In addition, since the wharf dips into the Willamette, fixing them could require state and federal permits.

Sadeghi couldn’t immediately confirm who has jurisdiction over the river, but said any potential repairs would be covered by extensive government regulation, largely because of the need to protect the river’s natural habitat.

“It could take a while,” said Ryan Aeh, project manager with Costa Mesa, Calif.-based LAB Holding. He said the situation “adds to the uncertainty of when we could break ground.”

According to a Daily Journal of Commerce article in March, the sprawling commercial project was slated to be finished in 2011. It also said LAB hoped to execute its Development and Disposition Agreement with the site’s property owner, the Portland Development Commission, by this past summer.

Aeh said Thursday that the company hopes to finalize the agreement by the end of March 2010, to break ground in “early 2011,” and finish construction by 2012.

Nevertheless, LAB hopes to turn the former industrial site-comprised of warehouses, grain elevators and a seven-story flour mill, all built between 1910 and 1940-into a culinary attraction, with restaurants, a farmer’s market, wine shops and even light food manufacturing.

An open forum was held Dec. 2 to review and discuss project plans, and another, similar forum is scheduled for Jan. 19, at the Bridgeport Brewery.

Sadeghi and Aeh both declined to give an estimated project cost, though Sadeghi noted it’s been estimated at $55 million.

The post ‘Rotten’ pilings slow Centennial Mills appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.