The Morrison bridgehead development team is continuing to tackle site and financial challenges, but hoping to begin construction within a couple of years.

The high-profile project calls for creation of the James Beard Public Market and an 18-story mixed-use tower overlooking the market, Waterfront Park and the Willamette River. Developers updated Multnomah County commissioners on the effort during a meeting on Thursday.

Currently, the four-block site has parking lots split and occupied by the Morrison Bridge and its on- and off-ramps. The developers of the project, Melvin Mark Development Co. and James Beard Public Market, previously agreed to purchase the land from Multnomah County for $10.4 million.

“It’s more than likely going to be a mixed-use building with office and some kind of residential above,” Melvin Mark Development Co. President Dan Petrusich said. “I can’t say what kind until we are further along. It’s being driven by market conditions.”

Strong demand in Portland’s office, apartment and lodging sectors has fueled a design change for the tower. Petrusich is looking for an anchor tenant to fill a large portion, much like Stoel Rives LLP for nine of 13 office floors of Park Avenue West in downtown Portland.

“Portland doesn’t have a lot of huge tenants like those that are going into Park Avenue West,” he said.

Apartments and lodging sectors also have been strong, Petrusich said. The developers have had several discussions with hoteliers about potentially locating in the tower.

The design change, being performed by SERA Architects, will be the fourth for the project. Earlier designs included two office-related ones and a hotel one, he said. The fourth will meld the office tower and residential tower.

The four-block development also will include the public market, where pedestrian access issues between downtown and the waterfront are being worked out, Petrusich said.

“The site’s very complicated,” he said. “We are working among the bridge ramps. It presents a number of unique issues that you wouldn’t normally run into.”

The biggest challenge is to improve pedestrian access from downtown through the project site, Petrusich said. Most likely, a pedestrian bridge will be built from the tower to the market across Southwest First Avenue, he said.

“All four blocks have cut off pedestrian access to the river,” he said. “Our goal is to improve that.”

Projections are for the market to support 250 jobs at the site and 100 jobs related to local agriculture, said Ron Paul, executive director for the James Beard Public Market. It will likely have more than 100 vendor stalls and 45,000 square feet of space, he said.

The market will feature all locally-owned, non-franchise businesses dealing in fresh foods, Paul said. It will complement the Portland Saturday Market, which has more arts and crafts, he said.

“We don’t want it to devolve into a Pike Place (Market) type market atmosphere, which is souvenirs, tchotchkes and less food all the time,” he said.

The James Beard Public Market will promote the county’s public health agenda and serve as a regional “tourist mecca” and a downtown “foodie mecca,” Commissioner Judy Shiprack said.

Fundraising is critical and still being worked out, Paul said. The goal is $25 million to $30 million, including $5.2 million for the purchase of the three-block market site.

“We’re looking at building the market debt-free,” he said. “So we’re not layering debt onto the rents that merchants will pay.”

Some funding will come from private donations. Other money will come from tax increment financing, state revenue bonds and federal sources, Paul said.

Construction of the project will take 18 to 24 months, he said.

“We’re four and a half years from the opening bell ringing, but if you look at the horizon of 150 years, which we fully expect this market to last – it’s just a small blip of time,” he said.

The post Market forces driving bridgehead project appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

A public market in Portland has been a long time coming for Ron Paul, consulting director for the foundation.

“I started working on this in the dark ages, when my beard was actually dark,” he said with a smile beaming amid silver hair.

The restaurateur and chef in 2000 began exploring the idea and convening a group of like-minded citizens. Now, 12 years later, that vision is close to becoming a reality.

On Thursday, the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners agreed unanimously to adopt a disposition and development agreement with to develop the 3.12-acre site at the west Morrison bridgehead. The DDA, a year in the making, authorizes the sale of the Multnomah County surplus land to Melvin Mark for $10.43 million. The company plans to build a 17-story office tower and a 55,000-square-foot public market at the site.

“It’s a great milestone,” Paul said. “It’s an acknowledgment of a collective effort. It would not have happened without many, many people over the years, but it also is a ringing of the bell that the real work is still in front of us.”

Melvin Mark doesn’t have a complete set of plans for the project yet, but initial construction estimates are around $25 million. Dan Petrusich, president of Melvin Mark Development, said that the team will begin an aggressive capital finance campaign to raise that money. Per the DDA, Melvin Mark has 37 months to do so.

The company and the market foundation last week were in the process of hiring the , a New York-based marketing firm, to head that effort.

Amelia Hard, capital campaign staff manager for the market foundation, said the nationally recognized James Beard name would likely help the group find financial support across the country. Beard was a renowned chef, food critic and TV personality. Hard said the market would be a resource for local agricultural businesses, entrepreneurs and low-income people seeking healthy food options.

“One of the bedrock principles on which this market is founded is that we want this market to be a market for everyone in Portland, and we will make that happen,” she said.

Melvin Mark also envisions a tourist attraction on par with both Seattle’s Pike Place Market, which draws approximately 10 million visitors annually, and Philadelphia’s Terminal Market, which is the city’s second most visited site after the Liberty Bell.

Petrusich said the Morrison bridgehead project will help connect various downtown public markets. The company estimates that the James Beard Public Market will bring in approximately $22 million in annual sales and add 348 permanent jobs.

“We’re not just planning on doing a market and a tower,” Petrusich said during the presentation to the commissioners. “We’re hoping to create a market district.”

Petrusich said Melvin Mark began pursuing the idea five years ago and that its original intent was to purchase the 511 Federal Building at 511 N.W. Broadway Ave. But when the city reached an agreement for the Pacific Northwest College of Art to occupy that building, the team began scouting the city for other options.

Finding a site sufficiently large, centrally located and controllable turned out to be difficult. The Morrison bridgehead, which was created as a staging area for construction of the Morrison Bridge in the 1950s, generated interest when the county in 2009 issued requests for proposals to develop the site.

The county received three proposals; Melvin’s won.

During the board’s meeting, Commissioner Loretta Smith asked Petrusich what factors would influence the tenant mix in the tower, and whether the company had considered the idea of a hotel. Petrusich said the tower’s composition would be market-driven and that hotel, office, retail and housing all were possibilities.

Paul foresees the project expanding Portland’s culinary reputation and further defining its downtown.

“If Pioneer Courthouse Square is the city’s living room, then this is the kitchen and pantry,” he said. “And you know the favorite room in your house; people always hang out in the kitchen.”

The post Deal reached for public market at Morrison bridgehead appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners has backed up an expert panel’s recommendation to transform the county-owned Morrison bridgehead properties into an indoor public market and high-rise office building.

The commission today voted to create a disposition and development agreement (DDA) with Portland-based Melvin Mark Cos., and the nonprofit James Beard Public Market, the team pitching the concept. The DDA will layout the conditions that must be met in order for the team to acquire the 3.1 acres of land being used currently by the county as surface parking.

In the proposal, the project team said it would pay $10.03 million for the four parcels, nearly $2 million more than the $8.2 million Gerding Edlen, the other firm that submitted a proposal, was willing to pay.

Melvin Mark plans to spend $120.6 million to convert one of the parcels into a 17-story, Class-A office building with 327,713 square feet of office space and the three other parcels into a 110,000-square-foot indoor public market.

A DDA is expected to be complete by the end of the year. Once signed, officials at Melvin Mark said the project would likely take about five years to complete.

The post County votes to start negotiations on Morrison bridgehead public market appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

For more than a decade, local consultant Ron Paul has hunted for a site where his year-round indoor public market concept could become reality. Now Paul and local development firm Melvin Mark Cos. may be close to moving forward in downtown Portland.

A Melvin Mark proposal to convert four Multnomah County-owned parcels at the foot of the Morrison Bridge into a 17-story office building and an indoor public market was recommended by a five-member expert panel convened by the county. The proposal, which was selected over a mixed-use eco-district concept pitched by Gerding Edlen, will go before the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners on May 26 for final approval.

Under its proposal, Melvin Mark would pay $10.03 million for 3.1 acres of land being used by the county for surface parking. The company would then spend $120.6 million to convert one of the parcels – Block 16 – into a 17-story, class-A office building with 327,713 square feet of leasable space, and the three remaining blocks into a 110,000-square-foot indoor public market.

Four of the evaluation committee’s five members scored the Melvin Mark proposal higher than the Gerding Edlen proposal, which also listed the Goodman family, which owns City Center Parking, as a partner. In scoring for the 11 categories, which weren’t weighted and ranged in value from 0-10, Melvin Mark averaged 8.1, and Gerding Edlen averaged 7.1.

The evaluation committee included: Gale Castillo, president of the Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce; John Holmes, principal with Holst Architecture; Ray Leary, principal with ERL Development; George Passadore, retired chairman of Wells Fargo in Oregon and Southwest Washington; and John Russell, principal with Russell Development Co.

Paul for years has pitched the James Beard Public Market and seen it fall through because of various circumstances. Sites discussed previously include the Federal Building at 511 N.W. Broadway and a space in Union Station.

“I’m going to let the proposal speak for itself until the county commission votes on it,” Paul said. “But I will say that we’re very encouraged and excited that the county’s appraisal team agreed with us that the public market concept meshed well with the goals of the county for the site.”

The Melvin Mark proposal received 83 percent of available points, and Gerding Edlen received 74.2 percent. According to score sheets, the biggest differences were in purchase price and design.

Melvin Mark would pay $10.03 million for the property; Gerding Edlen would pay $8.2 million. The property was appraised at $8.83 million in 2005.

Of the 30 available points awarded for design, Melvin Mark received 26.7 and Gerding Edlen received 18.4. Melvin Mark has and would continue to rely on local firm SERA Architects for the project. Other consultants that have contributed to Melvin Mark’s effort include local firms Mayer/Reed for landscape architecture, KPFF Consulting Engineers for structural engineering and ECONorthwest for economic consulting.

But as county spokesman David Austin pointed out, the evaluation committee does not have the final say; ultimately, the county commission will determine whether the Melvin Mark proposal will move forward. Austin said the commission could ask for a retooled proposal from Melvin Mark, choose to discuss the Gerding Edlen proposal or issue an entirely new request for proposals.

“Like I said, we are very encouraged, but this is only one step in the long process of actually getting something built and people in the market,” Paul said.

Melvin Mark has been in discussions with Paul since 2008, according to Dan Petrusich, president of the firm’s development wing.

“We’re just thrilled to be part of this process and have it moving forward,” he said. “Ron’s tenacity and vision for this project are remarkable, and we hope it can come to light.”

Mark Edlen, co-founder and CEO of Gerding Edlen, said the public market is a good concept, which he plans to support if the county ultimately moves in that direction.

“I would expect the committee recommendation will carry a lot of weight with the county,” Edlen said. “If they decide to go forward with it, I will be one of the first in line to contribute to the public market, which I think is a great idea.”

If the county commission were to select the Melvin Mark proposal, a Disposition and Development Agreement process would start. The DDA would outline site acquisition and how construction would proceed.

If a DDA were signed, Melvin Mark officials anticipate development and construction requiring approximately five years. The company would simultaneously look for office tenants and start a public campaign to secure funding for the market, which would be operated as a nonprofit.

The post Indoor public market proposal picked for Morrison bridgehead appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

A committee assembled by Multnomah County is recommending a development proposal by Melvin Mark Cos. to build an office tower and an indoor public market on four county-owned parcels at the foot of the Morrison Bridge in downtown Portland.

The post Photos: Renderings of Morrison bridgehead proposal appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

Which would be a better fit for parking lots that surround the Morrison bridgehead in downtown Portland: an or a public market?

A five-member panel of Multnomah County officials will soon decide, after reviewing two development proposals – one each from local firms Gerding Edlen and Melvin Mark – for the four bridgehead parcels that total 3.1 acres of buildable land.

Multnomah County has owned the lots for nearly 50 years, but has never used them for anything except parking and staging. In November, the county issued a request for proposals to gauge private interest and learn about development possibilities for the lots – Nos. 1, 2, 16 and 39 – that hug the Morrison bridgehead.

“The county put out the RFP to take a strategic look at its assets and determine if there is a way to use the properties for good while taking a burden off the county’s operations and the people that pay for them,” said Warren Fish, a senior policy adviser in Multnomah County Chairman Jeff Cogen’s office. “And from the county commission’s perspective, these are visible lots and seeing them developed would make an impression on their legacy.”

The RFP drew interest from two of Portland’s most notable development firms. The county had hoped for more proposals, but Fish said officials are excited about the two proposals.

Melvin Mark Cos. teamed up with local consultant Ron Paul and the Historic Portland Public Market Foundation to pitch a development centered on the long proposed James Beard Public Market. Melvin Mark would buy the four parcels from the county for $10 million and construct an indoor, open-air public market with room for 110 vendors on three of the parcels and a 17-story office building on the center parcel, which has a 235-foot height limit.

Dan Petrusich, president of Melvin Mark Development Co., said he couldn’t provide many details because the proposal is being reviewed. However, he called it a “great site” and said the company would be excited to participate in the development process.

Paul, the leading force behind the development, teamed up with Melvin Mark last year to pursue opportunities for the market. Even before the county decided to look at potential developments for the bridgehead parcels, Paul identified the area as a good fit for the market.

Paul said he likes the tract of land because it’s more of a crossroads than a cul-de-sac. Not only would the market be in the same vicinity as the Portland markets of the 19th and 20th centuries, but it also would be within walking distance of Portland Saturday Market, downtown shopping districts and the central eastside district, he said.

Gerding Edlen, meanwhile, is pitching a mix of office, retail and housing on the three surrounding parcels. The center parcel would be an eco-district and provide sustainable and efficient amenities to the surrounding buildings. This would include equipment to provide renewable energy and a water reclamation system.

The project is similar to others that Gerding Edlen has been building across the country throughout the recession.

Gerding Edlen would pay $8.2 million for the parcels, $1.8 million less than Melvin Mark. But as Fish pointed out, the county has not determined whether it would simply sell the lots or become a development partner and provide other resources.

The five-member evaluation committee will hold two meetings in March – one to discuss the proposals and another to score them. The committee will then present its recommendation to the county commission, which will make the final decision at a meeting as early as April.

The post 2 proposals pitched for Morrison bridgehead appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.