(Editor’s note: This interview was conducted Aug. 10. It has been edited and condensed.)

Kimberly Branam was named executive director of the Portland Development Commission on Aug. 3 after serving for five years as deputy director under Patrick Quinton.

Quinton announced in February he would step down, setting off a search for his successor. Branam, 37, quickly became the commission’s preferred candidate after a national search.

A Portland native who studied abroad in South Africa and served in West Africa in the Peace Corps, Branam got her political experience locally, serving as an economic development expert for Sam Adams during his time as commissioner and, later, mayor.

91视频: What do you expect to tackle in these next few weeks as you’re getting started?

BRANAM: Because I know Portland well, and because I’ve been at PDC, we’re going to hit the ground running. We have significant challenges in front of us and great opportunities. We will be continuing to focus on implementing the strategic plan, which has a focus on widely shared prosperity, continuing to focus on some of the enormous opportunities we have, preparing for the Post Office, setting the groundwork in South Waterfront, breaking ground in Lents.

The challenge that I’m sure you’re aware of is the PDC is facing a significant decline in resources. And so the board and I will be spending time talking to City Council, and talking to community members and stakeholders about the best approach to address this decline in resources.

The strategy will be a multipronged approach. We’re going to need to replace resources, not one-for-one with a single revenue source, but with a number of solutions. And what’s at stake here is whether the city can continue to have an entity that helps drive public-private partnerships to support economic growth, development and inclusive prosperity in Portland.

91视频: That’s obviously something Patrick was working on for years. Do you have any new ideas to assure the continued funding of the PDC?

BRANAM: Well, Patrick and our board chair, Tom Kelly, along with Mark Edlen, another PDC commissioner, convened an advisory body and drafted what we’re referring to as the 50 percent business plan. It sets a really good groundwork for us in terms of thinking about how we would tackle it. It starts with making sure that we’re optimizing public benefits and ensuring a fair return on our investments. That’s something that we can start today. There are longer-term solutions like considering what real-estate investments we might make to catalyze development but also secure long-term operating resources.

And I think we need to have the conversation with our public partners about what public resources may be available to help ensure that we can continue to do the good work.

91视频: And the 50 percent, what does that refer to?

BRANAM: It indicates that we’re not done; it’s not a complete draft. It was something that we did with a great advisory body and with external consultants, but it’s indicating that we have a long way to go before we have a draft that we can say is the roadmap.

We need to engage the City Council. We’ve had the support of Mayor Hales; we’ll want to make sure that Mayor-elect Wheeler is supportive of this approach. And equally important, we need to make sure that what we come out with feels relevant to Portland, to our key stakeholders.

91视频: How do you reach out to Portland’s communities of color?

BRANAM: It’s critically important. There’s no doubt that we need to increase the diversity of our leadership team and management and staff, so our staff is more reflective of the diversity of the city. We have developed over the last number of years deep relationships with some organizations and individuals from communities of color, but certainly there is more work to do.

We have a difficult past with the African-American community in particular, and we need to continue to engage in a really genuine way in order to hear (about) ways we can be supportive to that community. That starts with listening, that starts with showing up and being a good partner, and that’s what I intend to do.

91视频: A significant part of your job will be working with Ted Wheeler on shared goals and the PDC’s future. What’s your impression of the mayor-elect and how do you think you’ll be able to work with him going forward?

BRANAM: Well, I worked with mayor-elect Wheeler when I was in then-Commissioner Adam’s office and (Wheeler) was the county chair. I think of him as Chair Wheeler, but I’ve always respected the treasurer and think that he is an able public servant. 聽He was a part of the interview process, the final interview, and he communicated at the staff meeting yesterday how supportive he is of the three parts of what PDC does as far as catalyzing economic growth, making sure we have healthy and complete neighborhoods and focusing on shared prosperity and particularly making sure that communities of color and people in lower-income neighborhoods have access to the benefits of a growing economy and a vibrant city.

91视频: I wanted to ask about Centennial Mills. Have you been able to field any offers or interest any developers in that property?

BRANAM: We selected a broker to help us solicit interest. To date, we have done selective demolition without any incident. We’re on schedule and, I think, under budget. So that’s pretty exciting. We have some uncertainties that have come up in the process. FEMA came out with a biological opinion that made clear it will be more difficult to build within the 100-year floodplain, or at least we will need to mitigate for any development in that. We’re trying to understand what the regulations will be. We’re still moving forward with phase two of the selective demolition, but that’s something that adds another layer.

91视频: As far as the broker trying to solicit interest, have any offers come in yet?

BRANAM: I think that we have received some.

91视频: So did you write the PDC’s business plan?

BRANAM: Patrick wrote the business plan. I was responsible for the strategic plan. If you think about the relationship between the two, the strategic plan says what we’re going to do and how we intend to do it, and the long-term business plan basically considers how we will pay for what we intend to do.

91视频: So what did you learn going through that process?

BRANAM: At that time, it became very clear that you had this bifurcation of the economy between the significant rise in the tech sector, high-paying jobs, and significant growth in the service sector and lower-paying jobs, and it became clear (that) where there had not been a recovery was in the middle-income, middle-wage jobs. So we created a strategy that sought to ensure that we addressed that in a pretty head-on way.

91视频: And what did that involve, addressing that bifurcation?

BRANAM: When we developed the economic development strategy in 2009, it was really a pro-growth strategy. This go-around, we were really mindful that we needed to focus on industries that had accessible jobs, the middle-wage jobs. So we added a fifth cluster in health care. We are doubling down in our work with metals and manufacturing, and in our work with the tech industry and athletic and outdoor, how do you diversify industries where you have fantastic opportunities, but they’re maybe less diverse than they might be.

91视频: Do you have anything you want to add?

BRANAM: I’m incredibly excited. I’m honored to have been selected. I take this responsibility seriously.

The post Kimberly Branam takes the lead at PDC appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

The city of Portland has pulled the plug on Harsch Investment Properties‘ redevelopment plans for the Centennial Mills site in Northwest Portland.

In March 2013, the Portland Development Commission and Harsch signed a nonbinding memorandum of understanding that the two parties would work toward successful negotiation of a binding disposition and development agreement for redevelopment of Centennial Mills. That MOU expired earlier this year, but was being renewed on a month-to-month basis.

On Wednesday, PDC Executive Director Patrick Quinton sent Harsch President Jordan Schnitzer a letter informing him that the agency had decided that the MOU would not be renewed again.

鈥淎s you well know,鈥� Quinton wrote in the letter, 鈥渢he landscape and development options and budget have dramatically changed during this time. Now that we have a better picture of the demolition costs, the plans for the Mounted Police Unit site and the size of the remaining public resources available for the project, the original development concepts both you and we had in 2013 are no longer practical.鈥�

Schnitzer was not immediately available to comment.

The Harsch team’s preferred plan for redevelopment would have cost $115.8 million. The company in October 2014 proposed covering $77 million of that amount, and relying on public subsidies totaling $38.8 million. That project had called for revitalizing the 4.75-acre site to hold 120,000 square feet of multifamily units, 80,000 square feet of office space and 24,000 square feet of retail space. Of that total, 50,000 square feet would have been in the only two buildings that could be saved 鈥� the Feed Mill and the Flour Mill.

The PDC acquired Centennial Mills in 2000. Bruce Wood, real estate and construction services manager for the agency, said that Wednesday 鈥渨as just another day in the progression of decisions that will determine ultimately what’s going to happen here. The decision yesterday was to basically say that the project has changed. If you read the MOU, it describes a very, very, very different type of project. What we know at this point is that that project is not going to move forward.

鈥淲e’ve been working on Centennial Mills for quite some time. It’s not like decisions are made at the spur of the moment. There has been 15 years of process as this very complicated project works toward whatever its ultimate outcome is going to be.鈥�

The decision to let the MOU expire was announced at the PDC’s board meeting on Wednesday. Also at the meeting, an update was given on the estimated costs to preserving/demolishing the Feed Mill and the Flour Mill buildings.

The Feed Mill, a five-story, 25,000-square-foot building with a basement, was built in 1920. The cost to demolish it was approximately $57,113, while the cost to renovate it was approximately $8,334,350. The Flour Mill, a six-story, 44,000-square-foot building with a basement, was built in 1910. The cost to demolish it was estimated at $1,134,726, while the cost to restore it was estimated at $14,586,560.

In July, Mayor Charlie Hales requested that the PDC investigate the costs and feasibility of preserving more structures.

鈥淚t’s really generated a lot more questions than answers,鈥� said Irene Bowers, senior project/program coordinator for the PDC.

City staffers announced at the PDC board meeting that Phase I demolition of warehouses A, B, C, D and F as well as elevators A, B and C began the first week of October and will conclude in June 2016. Demolition crews have witnessed several instances of structural collapse and accelerating deterioration. Non-demolition personnel are no longer permitted on the property.

Whatever happens with Centennial Mills, it is not certain that Harsch, or another developer will not be a part of it.

鈥淲e have not abandoned the possibility of a private development on the site,鈥� Quinton wrote to Schnitzer. 鈥淚f we ultimately reach a decision to pursue a substantial private development component on the site, we will come back to you to see if Harsch is interested in leading a private development effort.鈥�

Wood, who has worked for Harsch, said he expects the PDC and the development company to be on good terms moving forward.

鈥淲e’ve worked well with Harsch,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e’ll work well with Harsch in the future.鈥�

The post PDC halts Centennial Mills redevelopment appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

Jesse Cornett, chairman of the Lents Neighborhood Association, said turnout at a recent meeting about development in Lents shows that progress is finally being made.

Developers on Tuesday outlined four projects that were made possible, in part, via $3.3 million in predevelopment loans and almost $13 million in development loans from the Portland Development Commission. Portland Mayor Charlie Hales and PDC Executive Director Patrick Quinton attended the group’s monthly meeting, which Cornett said typically draws about 25 people; this one attracted about 150.

鈥淭his is huge for Lents, absolutely,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t’s an area that has been primed (for development), but has faced many challenges, including the PDC (officials) struggling to meet their commitments. But the thing that we’re seeing is that they have doubled down and tripled down to make sure they are fulfilling long-standing promises.鈥�

Cornett said that the Lents Urban Renewal Area was started in 1998 鈥� the same year the Pearl District was formed. A five-year action plan for Lents was adopted last year, he said, and although he at first had his doubts, it’s now becoming reality.

鈥淚 thought, yeah sure, another plan, but these are pages out of the plan book,鈥� he said of the development plans outlined at the meeting.

The four PDC-led projects being planned for the Lents neighborhood are:

鈥� A new three-story, 29,000-square-foot office building being developed by Asian Health & Services Center for its new headquarters at Southeast 91st Avenue and Foster Road. The project will include community space, a medical clinic, two market-rate commercial spaces and one level of parking. It’s designed by Holst Architecture.

鈥� A new four-story, 68-unit apartment building being developed by Rose Community Development at Southeast 91st Avenue and Reedway Street. One-, two-, and three-bedroom units will be offered at either market or affordable rates. It’s designed by Carleton Hart Architecture.

鈥� Two five-story, mixed-use buildings being developed by Palindrome Communities on 1.07 acres near the northeast corner of Southeast 92nd Avenue and Foster Road. Approximately 120 units will be offered at either market or affordable rates. The development also will include 25,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and parking. It’s designed by Ankrom Moisan Architects.

鈥� A mixed-use building on 0.63 acres being developed by Williams & Dame Development near the northeast corner of Southeast 92nd Avenue and Foster Road. Plans call for 54 units at either market or affordable rates, ground-floor retail space, bike parking and storage, and a public laundromat. A public courtyard will be created on Foster Road with a plaza and community event kiosk on 91st Avenue. It’s designed by Hacker.

Mary Bradshaw, director of construction management for the Asian Health & Services Center, said the new building will allow the agency to offer more classes and meet community medical needs. A third-floor, 6,000-square-foot community room with a large kitchen will be available to community members.

鈥淲e think it will be a great asset to the neighborhood,鈥� she said.

Plans are still being finalized for the new four-story apartment building being developed by Rose Community Development. The project recently received tentative approval, PDC spokesman Shawn Uhlman said. Nick Sauvie, Rose Community Development’s executive director, said the building will be named the Woody Guthrie Apartments in honor of the famed Depression-era folk singer, who lived in Lents for about a month in 1941.

鈥淗e wrote songs for the Bonneville Power Association, including 鈥楻oll On, Columbia,’ 鈥� Sauvie said.

Some of the apartments will be 鈥渄eeply affordable鈥� and available to pregnant women and young families with small children, Sauvie said.

鈥淭his is a really exciting time for us and the neighborhood,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e have been working in this part of Portland for 30 years, and a lot of people put in a lot of blood, sweat and tears to get to this point.鈥�

Uhlman agreed that this is a big step for both the PDC and Lents.

鈥淲e finished the five-year plan about a year ago and it was a big milestone,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e got a number of established development teams that wanted to work on these projects as a direct result of PDC efforts and also the neighborhood being involved and wanting to see those things.鈥�

All the developments are focused near Lents Town Center, Uhlman said. Other new developments in the neighborhood include a new brewpub and renovations to Walker Stadium baseball field.

鈥淭here’s a tremendous amount of energy, and as these projects on 92nd (Avenue) develop we’re starting to see a lot of activity,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here’s really much more in progress. This is not the final step.鈥�

The post Four new Lents projects unveiled appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

The Portland Development Commission on Wednesday hosted the first of two open houses to gain feedback on the first draft of an updated strategic plan.

The commission released a 鈥�50 percent draft鈥� of its 2015-20 plan, which has a stated goal of creating 鈥減rosperity among all Portlanders鈥� and five objectives to help it get there.

The PDC, over the next five years, will direct its efforts and investments toward fulfilling the objectives, which focus on increasing opportunities for traditionally underserved populations, such as low-income residents and minorities.

鈥淲e want people to recognize that, in regards to the economic recovery, it hasn’t been evenly felt across the city,鈥� PDC Executive Director Patrick Quinton said. 鈥淲e want to work to make that distribution more even, and we’re going to do that in ways that people don’t always associate with the work that PDC does.鈥�

The plan’s first three objectives are to increase citizens’ access to healthy, complete neighborhoods; create opportunities for high-quality employment; and increase opportunities for minorities and low-income residents to foster wealth creation.

鈥淧DC’s goal is to start working in areas of the city that haven’t experienced as much financial success and don’t have as much momentum as other parts,鈥� bureau spokesman Shawn Uhlman said. 鈥淚t would be easy to keep funding places like North Vancouver and Williams (avenues), but private investors are already out there. Let’s take what we have available and invest in the areas that need it most.鈥�

Quinton said one of the plan’s most important aspects is its fourth objective, which calls for PDC to form 鈥�21st century civic networks, institutions and partnerships鈥� with other agencies committed to helping underserved populations in Portland.

鈥淥ne thing that’s different about this plan is that we’ve established these objectives that are beyond the capacity of PDC alone to fulfill,鈥� said Justin Douglas, a PDC policy manager who worked on the plan. 鈥淏y building partnerships we can help address issues that are too big for PDC to address by itself.鈥�

Job creation is one of the outcome metrics that the PDC plans to use to measure its success during and after the five-year period. In fact, the PDC is shooting to create 13,000 middle-wage jobs 鈥� defined as providing a $42,000 annual salary and requiring no more than an associate’s degree 鈥� in Multnomah County by 2020.

鈥淲e want to focus on growing jobs that provide a living wage, and we want to do that by working with people already connected to the local economy,鈥� Quinton said. 鈥淎nd we want to create these jobs for people who may not be on a professional track or have a college degree.鈥�

Other metrics the steering committee outlined in the draft plan include reducing the number of people living in high-poverty neighborhoods by 50 percent without promoting displacement, increasing PDC’s workplace diversity by 30 percent and increasing the income of sole proprietors by 3 percent.

While the steering committee set quantifiable metrics for some of the outcome goals, there are still some questions it’s hoping that open house attendees can help answer. For example, by what percentage should the PDC aim to increase the number of small businesses in Multnomah County founded or owned by women or minorities by 2020?

鈥淓verything on that list, at this point, made the cut because it’s something we know we can measure,鈥� Quinton said. 鈥淭here will be benchmarks established and reviewed on an annual basis to determine how we are doing in moving toward our goals.鈥�

The unknowns are what the steering committee is looking to the public to help with through the open houses and an online forum.

鈥淭his will guide our priorities, our budget and our work for the next five years, so we want to make sure we get it right,鈥� Douglas said. 鈥淲e want feedback because the strategic plan is really the guiding policy document that will set the agency’s direction for the next five years.鈥�

The second open house is scheduled for March 4, from 6 to 8 p.m., at Immigrant & Refugee Community Organization‘s main office, at 10301 N.E. Glisan St.

People who would like to participate in dialogue online are invited to visit until March 13 to make comments.

Following the period for public comment, Douglas said the steering committee will consider and implement suggestions. It will then present the PDC with a 鈥�90 to 95 percent鈥� draft plan, Douglas said. The PDC commissioners are tentatively scheduled to consider a final draft on April 8.

The post Strategizing for Portlanders’ prosperity appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

The city of Portland is gearing up to enter into a development agreement to construct up to 3.5 million square feet of office, retail and residential space 鈥� along with accompanying infrastructure to support it 鈥� in the South Waterfront District.

Construction on the first phase of development of the 33-acre parcel known as Zidell Yards 鈥� slightly south of the Marquam Bridge between Moody Avenue and the Willamette River 鈥� could start as soon as June 2016.

The Portland Development Commission‘s board on Dec. 11 received a draft of the agreement with ZRZ Realty, a subsidiary of Zidell Marine. Shawn Uhlman, spokesman for the PDC, said adoption of the agreement should come in January, after some slight content tweaks are made.

Matt French, managing director of ZRZ Realty, said via Kathleen Mazzocco of Clear PR that the holdup on an agreement is on the PDC’s end, and that he’s waiting until one is reached to make a statement to the media.

The draft agreement outlines three phases of project development, including construction of a new portion of Southwest Bond Avenue, which will run parallel to Moody Avenue and eventually extend from River Avenue south to Gibbs Street.

Phase one includes development at four locations, including one that will hold Oregon Health & Science University‘s Schnitzer Campus buildings two and three directly north of the Collaborative Life Sciences Building. The other three locations 鈥� identified as Block 1, Block 4 and Block 6 鈥� will gain projects developed by ZRZ.

Block 1 includes The Emery 鈥� a $20 million, seven-story, mixed-use building completed in October 2013. A 90,000-plus-square-foot, mixed-use building directly south of The Emery is planned to complete Block 1.

Block 6 is slightly south of and adjacent to the South Waterfront/Southwest Moody Avenue MAX orange line station. The draft agreement indicates that ZRZ will construct a building or buildings with at least 250,000 cumulative gross square feet of commercial and/or residential space. If the city and ZRZ agree to terms, ZRZ will be obligated to begin construction on Block 6 by July 1, 2017.

ZRZ’s receipt of a building permit for Block 6 will trigger the start of the Bond Avenue Moody Connector Project, according to the draft agreement. Uhlman said the city has committed $8.4 million to that effort.

Block 4 will wrap up the first phase of Zidell Yards development. The property is directly across Moody Avenue from The Emery, adjacent to the Ross Island Bridge. Upon completion, the project is expected to inject at least 100,000 additional square feet of commercial, retail and residential space. If ZRZ and PDC sign the draft agreement as written, work on Block 4 will begin no later than June 30, 2025.

Phase two of the Zidell Yards project, according to the draft agreement, is slated to begin Jan. 1, 2018 and end June 30, 2025. During that time, ZRZ will construct buildings totaling 1 million gross square feet anticipated to include commercial (2,500 jobs) and residential (1,000 units) space. ZRZ will also design and construct the 鈥淧hase 2 Greenway鈥� segment of the Willamette River Greenway. Plans call for this segment to stretch from the Marquam Bridge south to the Ross Island Bridge and west to Moody Avenue.

The draft agreement indicates that the third phase of Zidell Yards will begin on June 30, 2025 and end Dec. 31, 2035. In the agreement, plans for this phase are less detailed than the other two, but indicate a financial partnership between ZRZ and the PDC.

PDC Executive Director Patrick Quinton indicated to the board via a Dec. 11 memo that staff anticipates requesting formal approval of the draft agreement at the Jan. 11, 2015 staff meeting.

The post Plans being finalized for Zidell Yards appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

The Portland Development Commission‘s board last week adopted a resolution authorizing Executive Director Patrick Quinton to enter a disposition and development agreement with Portland State University to redevelop several properties within the University District area and University Place.

鈥淭he DDA with PSU allows some property, currently owned by PDC, to be transferred or sold to PSU for redevelopment,鈥� PDC spokesman Shawn Uhlman said. 鈥淧DC has committed funding to several projects with PSU.鈥�

There are six projects on which PSU and PDC are collaborating. As part of the adopted resolution, PDC agreed that no portion of the public money PDC awards will be used 鈥渆xclusively for education purposes, but rather will be incorporated into a project in conjunction with PSU funds in a way which preserves the use of those assets contributed by PDC for non-education purposes.鈥�

The first project will be construction of a Graduate School of Education on a half-block at Southwest Park Avenue and Mill Street 鈥� currently, the site is home of the Extended Studies Building. The school is planning to request for the project state money from the Higher Education Coordinating Commission. If funding is approved, construction would begin in 2017 and wrap up in mid-2018. Portland’s Office of Management and Finance has executed a letter of intent with PSU to occupy at least 30,000 square feet of space in the new building. The PDC has agreed to provide nonfinancial assistance by structuring the disposition and transfer of site ownership to PSU.

The second project, at PSU’s School of Business Administration, will include large-scale renovations to an existing 97,000-square-foot building and construction of an additional 38,000 square feet. The PDC committed to contribute $2 million in tax increment financing (TIF) to assist in the renovation. This project could be delivered by fall 2017.

The completion dates for the final four projects are further out, with the Jasmine project (late 2020) scheduled as the first. That multi-use development will feature commercial and educational space. The PDC will provide nonfinancial support in the form of assistance in disposition and transference of the site to PSU to add taxable value for generation of TIF revenue.

Plans aren’t set yet for about a quarter-block 鈥� currently owned by TriMet 鈥� at the corner of Southwest Lincoln Street and Fourth Avenue. The project, which is scheduled for completion in mid-2026, would provide 鈥渁n opportunity to create a synergy between PSU-owned properties adjacent to TriMet-owned properties.鈥� The PDC plans call for PSU and TriMet to jointly lead a process to identify possible interim uses for the property before construction begins in 2023. As part of the agreement, the PDC will try to secure development and ownership rights of the parcel from TriMet in order to make TIF funding available to PSU in the amount of the fair market value of the property. If the PDC is unable to reach an agreement with TriMet, PSU will be obligated to construct taxable, TIF-generating commercial space on the site in order to pay for the purchase.

The PDC has committed at least $1.8 million to help pay for the University Place Project on a 3.86-acre parcel at 310 S.W. Lincoln St. PSU hopes to attract a development partner that is interested in creating a dense, mixed-use development on the site.

In the agreement, PSU agrees to meet with the PDC as soon as a concept plan for the site is developed to discuss whether the school would like to include non-student affordable housing that would receive funds from the Portland Housing Bureau. Construction is scheduled to start in early 2019 and deliver in mid-2021.

The final development of the agreement is the Fourth Avenue Project; construction isn’t scheduled to begin for nearly a decade, according to PDC documents. The building at 1900 S.W. Fourth Ave. houses part of PSU’s Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science. The project involves renovating and possibly expanding the building to accommodate new research and commercial activities. The development is scheduled for completion in mid-2026.

The post Redevelopment in the works near PSU appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

Many people thinking of lands of opportunity may not consider Colombia.

The South American country for more than half a century has been plagued by drug wars and rebellious uprisings. But following a military crackdown in the early 2000s, that violence has decreased; now, stakeholders in Colombia’s blossoming economy are looking to enact significant social change via investments in urban development.

Building industry professionals in Portland are paying close attention.

“We see it as a very high opportunity market,” said Michael Gurton, business development officer for the Portland Development Commission. “It’s a resource-rich country, and it’s been using that wealth to build infrastructure and grow the economy. It’s a rapidly growing economy, it’s an urbanizing economy, and they are focusing on sustainability in their urban development.”

This week, a small delegation of local building professionals, led by PDC Executive Director Patrick Quinton, is visiting Colombian cities Bogot谩 and Medell铆n to meet with foreign planners and developers. The trip coincides with an invitation Quinton received from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development to present information about Portland during its Fostering the Green FDI Opportunity in Latin America & the Caribbean event in Bogot谩 this week.

But beyond that, the purpose of the trip is twofold. The team will not only look for opportunities to export Portland’s design and building expertise through “,” but also potentially pique the interest of Colombian foreign investors.

Lucas Posada, a GBD Architects designer and a Medell铆n native, said Colombia is making huge investments in what he calls “mega-developments.” Medell铆n, following installation of an aerial tram system and an elaborate series of escalators connecting slums to its downtown core, was named by the Urban Land Institute as its City of the Year in 2013.

Many other Colombian cities, however, lack such transportation connections, which exacerbates the divide between rich and poor. Posada said green building technologies are important, but sometimes the most sustainable solutions are the simplest ones.

“As you go to places abroad and you talk about sustainability, and energy performance, and all these kinds of things, you’re talking to a very sophisticated audience,” he said. “But sometimes it’s the silly little things like walkable streets, mixes of uses, and proper densities that are a little harder to find in a lot of the new developments around the world.”

Posada, Glumac‘s Kirk Davis and Craig Briscoe, and Place Studio‘s Mauricio Villarreal (a Bogot谩 native) plan to discuss the work they are performing jointly for the Hassalo on Eighth superblock project in the Lloyd District. Posada said the $200 million development is the first eco-district built from the ground up in Portland in recent memory, and shares a challenge faced in South America 鈥� namely, re-creation of a pedestrian environment in an area previously forged around the automobile.

Posada and his colleagues see fertile grounds for Portland’s urban growth boundary, 20-minute neighborhoods and more-or-less ubiquitous bicycle culture to be planted abroad. Quinton said similar pushes in countries like Japan have resulted in master planning efforts there by local companies.

“We spent a lot of time in the past few years really focusing on exports: How can we grow exports from local companies?” he said. “Now we’re embarking on the companion piece to that, which is to try and grow foreign investment into this region.”

Quinton sees that investment taking the form of foreign businesses locating in the Portland region 鈥� like Daimler establishing its North American headquarters on Swan Island 鈥� or via direct investment in private property development. Recent deregulation in the is expected to help make those opportunities more prevalent.

Quinton said the trip to Colombia will hopefully come with important lessons to apply in Portland. Medell铆n, he noted, has made important strides in its development of affordable housing and social equity.

“It’s really a popular spot to talk about the future of cities, and obviously a lot of the talk is around Third World cities that are rapidly urbanizing,” Quinton said. “So it’s kind of where the action is in thinking about these issues.”

The post Portland developing interest in Colombia appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

Not only does the Portland Development Commission want to give the building community development resources and building incentives, but the organization also wants to give its former employees to the community.

PDC Executive Director Patrick Quinton today sent out an email to business leaders with the relevant experience and contact information of 17 employees that the PDC laid off on May 16. The document was also accompanied by a heartfelt note asking those reading to help these individuals find a job.

Here is an excerpt from the letter:

Like the many organizations which have been forced by the recession to make difficult decisions to reduce their workforce, we took this step with sadness because PDC lost many talented individuals and the human consequences of such actions are always painful.聽聽 All of these individuals contributed significantly to PDC’s mission during their time here and each of them comes highly recommended.

I am appealing to you, as someone with relationships in the community, for any assistance you may be able to provide to these individuals.聽 Being familiar with PDC and its work, you are familiar with the level of talent in this organization.聽 If you or individuals within your organization have the opportunity to help these employees gain introductions within your own or some other organization with which you have an established relationship, I would be most grateful.聽 PDC wants to do as much as possible to make their career transitions smooth and productive.

It caught me off guard when I first received the email, but I must admit, it’s a pretty unique move by Quinton, especially considering the job creation and economic development image the PDC is pushing. I just wonder if it’s going to lead to any jobs.

Read the whole letter here (PDF).

The post PDC wants you to have its former employees appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

Not only does the Portland Development Commission want to give the building community development resources and building incentives, but the organization also wants to give its former employees to the community.

PDC Executive Director Patrick Quinton today sent out an email to business leaders with the relevant experience and contact information of 17 employees that the PDC laid off on May 16. The document was also accompanied by a heartfelt note asking those reading to help these individuals find a job.

Here is an excerpt from the letter:

Like the many organizations which have been forced by the recession to make difficult decisions to reduce their workforce, we took this step with sadness because PDC lost many talented individuals and the human consequences of such actions are always painful.聽聽 All of these individuals contributed significantly to PDC’s mission during their time here and each of them comes highly recommended.

I am appealing to you, as someone with relationships in the community, for any assistance you may be able to provide to these individuals.聽 Being familiar with PDC and its work, you are familiar with the level of talent in this organization.聽 If you or individuals within your organization have the opportunity to help these employees gain introductions within your own or some other organization with which you have an established relationship, I would be most grateful.聽 PDC wants to do as much as possible to make their career transitions smooth and productive.

It caught me off guard when I first received the email, but I must admit, it’s a pretty unique move by Quinton, especially considering the job creation and economic development image the PDC is pushing. I just wonder if it’s going to lead to any jobs.

Read the whole letter here (PDF).

The post PDC wants you to have its former employees appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

Portland Development Commission officials wanted to search around the world for its next executive director.

But they didn’t need to look far to find him.

Patrick Quinton – a three-year PDC employee who most recently managed the agency’s business and industry division – was sworn in as executive director late last month. He took the reins from Bruce Warner, who announced his retirement late last year after holding the position for five years.

“We discussed a lot of external candidates, but really the first set in this process was coming to the conclusion that we had four or five outstanding candidates already within the organization,” PDC Chairman Scott Andrews said. “We wanted a hire that understood the organization and the culture, and would have the least impact on the day-to-day operations. We think we found him.”

At the PDC, Quinton has contributed significantly in the creation of the city’s Economic Development Strategy and has helped recruit companies like Vestas and ReVolt.

Quinton previously spent eight years with Textron Financial Corp. and eight years with ShoreBank Corp. in a variety of leadership positions. He holds a bachelor’s degree in government from Dartmouth College and a Master of Arts in public policy from the University of Chicago.

The 91视频 recently spoke with Quinton about his new role.

91视频: Where were you when you first heard the news? How did you react?

Patrick Quinton: I was told by chair Scott Andrews in his office. I wanted to maintain my professionalism at the moment, but I was excited. It had been a long process, so there was a sense of relief about it. But I was definitely excited and anxious to move forward.

91视频: What’s the perspective you bring to this job? What makes you the right fit for the PDC right now?

Quinton: I think it’s a combination of my private-sector background, which has helped me here in my previous role overseeing our business initiative work with our targeted industries, as well as my finance background. I think both will be helpful as we examine out resource constraints and start to chart a new course forward that may not be as reliant on (tax increment financing) and may need to rely on other sources of revenues and financing to do our work.

91视频: You have a history in financing projects and dealing with mezzanine loans. Will that experience translate well?

Quinton: Yeah, I think that’s a good point. On our project financing we need to try and reinvent ourselves a little bit and align our work a little bit more with where the markets are these days. I think that requires some changes in the ways we structure deals and how we seek leverage for our investments.

91视频: What’s the one thing you need to learn in order to do this job effectively?

Quinton: In my job with ShoreBank in Chicago I spent a lot of time working in the neighborhoods there, but I haven’t had as much work in the neighborhoods here. I think there is some relationship building that needs to take place in our neighborhoods, especially North/Northeast and East Portland. I think it’s a matter of that people don’t know me yet, but I am looking forward to getting to know them. It’s one of my priority actions over the next few months to reach out to different communities around the city and get to know people.

91视频: I know (former executive director) Bruce Warner was brought on to champion that effort. Has he taught you anything about how to make sure the community relations continue?

Quinton: It’s certainly a priority. I think we have people on staff here, including John Jackley, who have made it their work to make sure that our accomplishments transition through to a new executive director. But I think it’s just a matter of making it a priority in our work, and I think it’s about relationships. Bruce and John have built great relationships. I just hope to build upon what they’ve done and maintain those great relationships.

91视频: The PDC is moving in a bit of a new direction. Explain this and how you fit into it.

Quinton: I think I’ve already been playing that role, particularly around the development and adoption of the city’s economic development strategy. That’s become one of the guiding agendas behind our work. I think one of the reasons behind why I was chosen to do this job is because of my history in that and our success in implementing it. I view it as my responsibility to continue to implement that five-year strategy. My job is to heighten that focus even more than the PDC has in the past few years. It’s about job creation, and not just in our targeted industries and not just downtown, but also in the neighborhoods – job creation that benefits all Portland residents.

91视频: What’s one specific area that you believe the PDC needs to improve?

Quinton: I think I’ve mentioned it already. I really think that we have a number of projects that we’ve been working on and because of the realities of the financial markets and the real estate markets, these projects aren’t able to move forward. We need to develop some new models of moving our real estate projects forward. It may be that some of our projects that are in our pipeline aren’t viable anymore and it may be that they need to be restructured in order to find new opportunities. This is an opportunity for us to show some leadership in this field. How do you do redevelopment like the kind we have been doing over the years in a market where private capital is hard to find and demand for new space is soft? We have some work to do, but we can be innovative on that front.

The other thing I would add is the resource constraints that we are facing requires us to be creative. Unlike a lot of public agencies, we can see well out into the future and predict what our financial resources will be. And we know that as urban renewal areas expire, we are going to have to find new sources of revenue. That might be new URAs and it might not. We need to leave this agency on firm financial footing to continue doing this work, and that’s going to require us getting creative about where resources come from.

91视频: If only one project could move forward this year, which one would you like it to be?

Quinton: We’ve been tossing around the idea of creating an entrepreneurial district on the east side. It’s a unique project in that it isn’t fundamentally about real estate development. It’s about creating a district that is an easy home for new entrepreneurs to set up shop. So not only do we remove the barriers for them to set up shop and start their businesses, but people actually begin to view it that way and it becomes a branded district. That way people outside of the region can think of it as a place to start a business. I think the east side is uniquely positioned to do that with the nature of the types of commercial space over there and the type of activity that is already happening. Plus, it just has character and people want to be in a place that is different and unique.

91视频: You’re stepping in at a rough time, with the contract negotiations with the union and the potential layoffs. How have those conversations been going in your first few weeks?

Quinton: There’s obviously anxiety around this and there is no way to avoid that. People are anxious to hear the news, but I think everyone wants the same thing. They want decisions made and they want certainty. I’ve had numerous conversations already with the union leadership and I think everybody is looking for a resolution. I don’t think anyone wants to make this adversarial. They just want to know what’s going to happen. I think I’ve been able to show progress so far since I’ve been here and I hope people know we want to give them that certainty in the near future.

91视频: What’s the future of urban renewal at the PDC?

Quinton: That is a good question. We have to be more diligent and much more thoughtful about explaining the economic benefits of new URAs. I don’t think the public, or the other taxing districts, are going to go along with new URAs that have unspecified benefits. We need to explain in very specific ways why urban renewal makes sense, what the benefits will be to residents and what the impact will be to other taxing jurisdictions. Then we need to make a case and show how it will benefit everybody. If we can’t meet that standard, I don’t think we should be pursuing new URAs.

I think there are a lot of untold stories around urban renewal – not just in Portland, but everywhere – that are real success stories. The Airport Way URA is an incredible success story. We basically started with almost no tax base there and we’ve now created a substantial tax base that flows not just to the city but the county and public schools. We need to demonstrate that we can replicate that model.

The other piece of it is that urban renewal agencies like ours have a mission that’s not just about redevelopment or urban renewal. It’s about economic development and job creation, and those activities need different resources to fund them. Not all of those activities are available for tax increment financing, and we have a limited supply. I think urban renewal agencies need to get smarter about how they’re funded and create a more diverse funding basis. As an agency, if we want to be around 50 years from now I think we need to solve that problem. It can’t just be about how we create new URAs, but how we create a more diversified and long-lasting revenue stream.

The post Q&A: Patrick Quinton, executive director of the PDC appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.