Goldman Sachs Asset Management has taken a 78 percent loss on a Pearl District mixed-use building.

Goldman sold the 42,000-square-foot property at 300 N.W. 14^th Ave. in Portland earlier this month for $3.6 million after purchasing the asset for $16.8 million in 2017.

The transaction is the latest sign that Portland’s real estate market continues to aggressively re-price commercial properties at much lower values.

The property, known as the 300 Building, sold to REALM in partnership with HP Investors. REALM describes itself as “an exclusive investment collective consisting of more than 100 ultra-high net-worth individuals, family offices and foundations dedicated to direct real estate investing.”

Built in 1946, the 300 Building was extensively renovated in 2012. REALM pointed to the former warehouse’s “efficient floor plates” and 34 underground parking spaces.

“REALM’s latest acquisition of 300 NW 14^th Ave. in Portland is the epitome of what we look for in an investment — the ability to purchase a high quality, well-amenitized building in an excellent location at a compelling basis,” said Travis King, founder and CEO of REALM, in a prepared statement. “REALM is excited to grow its presence in the Portland market, which offers an attractive quality of life and vibrant culture, which should continue to drive momentum and business expansion going forward.”

REALM will look to restructure existing leases, implement targeted building upgrades and adjust rents to market where feasible, according to the investment group.

The property “provides an immediate, high in-place cash yield with limited capital requirements, offering meaningful downside protection,” the company stated.

The transaction, which was recorded in Multnomah County on Dec. 12, values the 300 Building at approximately $86 per square foot.

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A vampiric restaurant and nightclub could be the first new business at Centennial Mills, a defunct former flour mill in Northwest Portland.

An early assistance application for Lestat Nightclub to operate at 1362 N.W. Naito Parkway was submitted to Portland Permitting & Development on Nov. 21.

The commercial concept is the latest twist for Centennial Mills, a 4.4-acre riverfront parcel that has long resisted redevelopment schemes.

The nightclub would reside in an existing building that was vacated by the Portland Police Bureau‘s Mounted Patrol in 2017, according to city documents.

That raises questions about the fate of a sweeping redevelopment plan for Centennial Mills that was approved by the Portland Design Commission in October. SERA Architects‘ design for the project, which was officially valued at $80 million, called for three new buildings encompassing 272 residential units and four retail spaces.

The two-story ex-Mounted Patrol building was not part of the plan presented to the Design Commission and would have to be demolished to make way for the new buildings.

Representatives of Lindquist Development, the site’s owner and developer, did not respond to messages seeking comment.

Ryan Wilson, a Vancouver architect who is designing the Lestat Nightclub, said the restaurant-nightclub idea is preliminary.

“At this point, it’s a very conceptual idea,” he said.

No lease has been signed for the nightclub, Wilson added.

Members of the Pearl District Neighborhood Association were unaware of the Lestat Nightclub proposal, said Stan Penkin, a former PDNA chairman and Pearl District resident.

“It’s news to us,” he said.

Penkin said it was concerning to see a different, much-scaled-down plan after the Design Commission approved a major redevelopment.

“It makes me wonder if the developer of the apartments is backing off, which would be extremely disappointing, as you might imagine,” he said.

The parcel is located across Northwest Naito Parkway from Fields Park in the North Pearl District.

The ex-Mounted Patrol building has approximately 38,000 square feet, divided between two floors. The change of use for the restaurant and nightclub would likely trigger a required seismic upgrade, Wilson wrote to Permitting & Development officials in a Nov. 11 letter.

The project would also require new shear walls, and roof and floor diaphragm upgrades, Wilson wrote.

Lestat is the name of Tom Cruise’s character in the film “Interview with the Vampire,” and the Anne Rice novels that inspired the film and TV series.

For more than 20 years, city officials sought to redevelop Centennial Mills. A series of private developers investigated building on the property before backing out of negotiations with the Portland Development Commission and its successor agency, Prosper Portland.

In September 2024, Prosper Portland sold the property to MLR Ventures, controlled by the Ralston family, for $1.25 million. The Ralstons then conveyed the property to an entity linked to Lindquist Development.

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A 90,000-square-foot hotel is set to rise in the Pearl District‘s south end near the historic North Park Blocks.

Choice Cambria, designed by SERA Architects, was approved by the Portland Design Commission with a 3-2 vote on Thursday. Commissioners Jessica Molinar and Chandra Robinson voted against the project. Commissioner Don Vallaster was not present; he had recused himself previously due to a conflict of interest.

The six-story building will rise on a half block on Northwest Park Avenue, between Northwest Davis and Couch streets. The project is the first for Denver-based HighSide Development in the Portland market.

The design has come a long way from earlier iterations, commissioners said Thursday. A new face for the 178-room hotel was revealed – a façade of brick instead of multiple materials, above a black ground floor.

The hotel entrance will now be at the center of the building, rather than an edge, and on the northwest corner there will be a lounge lobby multiuse space where plans previously called for a meeting room. Also, a minimal massing shift on the secondary setback enabled rooms alongside the courtyard to turn into suites.

“We’ve delivered a simple, refined building that fits with the contextual character of the neighborhood,” SERA Architects principal Jeff Roberts said. “It’s simple in its geometry, but has refined details, especially at the human scale down at the street level.”

However, Molinar, Robinson and a Pearl District Neighborhood Association representative criticized the proposal. It won’t stand out in the neighborhood, they said.

“This is an adequate background building,” said David Dysert, co-chairman of the PDNA’s Planning and Transportation Committee.

Molinar added that the design neither contributes to the North Park Blocks’ diversity nor reinforces its identity.

In previous design advice hearings, commissioners had urged the project team to simplify the design. Commissioner Brian McCarter said the applicant listened and returned with a design that is calmer, with higher-grade materials.

The design “looks good,” but could be better, Robinson said.

“It just needs a little bit more … to be on the (North) Park Blocks,” she said.

The main entry, courtyard and program elements were praised by commissioners universally. But exterior elements became sticking points.

The brick appeared to be applied like a paint color, Molinar said, and McCarter was troubled by the black brick cornice dragging over into the red brick. Eventually two conditions of approval were added: 1, the color of the cornice line in the brick massing must be red instead of black, and 2, a bull-nose transition must be included between the red and black brick at the ground level.

A straw poll at the end of the discussion period revealed that Molinar and Robinson would not vote to approve the project. The Bureau of Development Services gave the applicant an option to return in one week with updated graphic renderings and potentially gain unanimous approval. Roberts indicated that he and the client would like to move the project forward. A vote was called, and Choice Cambria was approved with the two conditions attached.

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A Pearl District apartment building has been sold to a Canadian real estate investment firm for $75 million.

The 10th @ Hoyt building, at 925 N.W. Hoyt St., has 178 units that average 758 square feet. Completed in 2004 in one of Portland’s priciest neighborhoods, 10th @ Hoyt also includes 13,000 square feet of retail space and 157 parking spaces.

The six-story, full-block building was purchased by RISE Properties Trust, a real estate investment trust based in Victoria, British Columbia, that has focused on the Pacific Northwest. The company has snapped up multifamily properties in Oregon, including seven since the pandemic began.

The seller was Prometheus Real Estate Group, based in San Mateo, California.

“We’ve been searching for an urban asset to diversify our Portland portfolio and couldn’t be more pleased with the acquisition of 10th @ Hoyt,” Jason Murray, RISE’s director of investments, stated in a news release. “The opportunity is unparalleled given the excellent Pearl District location, the quality of the asset and the opportunity for a transformative renovation.”

RISE plans to renovate common areas and unit interiors and reinvest in marketing the 194,044-square-foot property, according to Murray.

“We continue to believe in the long-term fundamentals of the Portland metro, with its strong job base, relative affordability and lifestyle amenities, including access to the outdoors and an attractive urban center,” he stated.

The sale equates to $421,348 per residential unit, or approximately $386.50 per square foot. 10th @ Hoyt has studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments.

Prometheus was represented by CBRE‘s Joe Nydahl, Phil Oester and Josh McDonald.

“The new owner will enjoy tremendous upside potential,” Nydahl stated.

10th @ Hoyt was designed by Ankrom Moisan Architects and originally developed by Trammell Crow Residential and C.E. John. It was built by TCR Pacific Northwest Construction. Prometheus bought the property in 2008.

The property will be managed by Seattle-based Thrive Communities.

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A Pearl District group on Monday elevated its fight against plans for a 23-story tower, filing a notice of intent to appeal to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals.

That action follows approvals of the project by the Portland Design Commission and City Council, which in January turned back an appeal by the group – Pearl Neighbors for Integrity in Design (PNID).

The Hyatt Place and Allison Residences proposal has stirred opposition in the Pearl District, where it would be the first building to reach a new height limit of 250 feet. The Central City 2035 rezoning plan raised height limits in the Pearl District, Goose Hollow and other close-in neighborhoods, causing some residents to voice fears that those areas would change for the worse.

“The whole essence isn’t the height so much as the density, the traffic, the impact on the greenway,” said Patricia Cliff, president of PNID.

The building would have 160 hotel rooms and 113 residential units in 197,118 square feet. Otak Inc. is designing the project for Seattle multifamily developer Vibrant Cities and hotelier The Sunray Companies of Madison, Mississippi.

The project doesn’t adequately consider bicycle traffic or deliveries to the building planned at 350 N.W 12th Ave., Cliff said.

“The precedent setting of it is incredible,” she said. “There are 12 of these quarter-blocks in the South Pearl, south of Lovejoy (Street). Any one of them could be built this way. It’s a preservation idea.”

Attorney Carrie Richter of Bateman Seidel is representing PNID, a nonprofit organization. The group is separate from the city-recognized Pearl District Neighborhood Association, although some members are active in both groups. Richter could not be reached for comment.

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The Pearl Apartments, a building true to its name, is on the rise in Portland’s Pearl District.

Crews broke ground on the project in late July 2020, first demolishing a 6,000-square-foot concrete building on the quarter-block site at 1315 N.W. Johnson St., at the intersection with Northwest 13th Avenue. The new seven-story, 39,000-square-foot structure will hold 58 small residential units ranging from 300-square-foot studios to 688-square-foot two-story apartments. The ground floor will have retail space.

Bob Thompson is leading TVA Architects‘ design team. General contractor Seabold Construction is building the structure for Paul Properties and Johnson 13 LLC.

Long ago, trains ran along 13th avenue and dictated that all the sidewalks be elevated so that freight could be loaded and unloaded more easily. That led to similar sidewalks being chosen for the Pearl Apartments, in homage to the district’s past.

The exterior design is also reminiscent of industrial use, Thompson said, with Gunn-metal brick skin and punched openings. To also provide a bit of architectural rhythm and color, tight metal cladding and rib metal siding were included.

“(It) created a nice rhythm and geometry to the exterior elevations,” Thompson said.

Mahogany wood framing for windows will be used to tie the whole structure together down to the ground floor.

The goal of the project is to maximize the living experience in a tightly compacted space, Thompson said. To make units look bigger, floor-to-ceiling windows will be installed.

“Typically, apartments will have a little punch unit (window) at the end,” Thompson said. “But by providing that much glass, the space just flows to the outside, and you get this kind of relief (that) just maximizes the space.”

Inside units, each bedroom will have a sliding, barn-style door able to stay partially open to let in more light to the living space.

Developing a contemporary building that speaks to the district’s historical character was an opportunity and not a challenge, Thompson said.

Installation of wood framing is under way, though work on the seventh story was delayed due to the recent snowstorm, Seabold Construction field superintendent Jason Rekucki said. Ice and rainwater on the top floor would’ve made moving walls around too difficult, he explained. Three weeks are expected to allow crews to finish the top story and the permanent roof.

Also last week, crews were waiting for a dry day to pour the concrete for the ground floor. Rekucki said he had hoped to have it poured on Tuesday, but melting snow and ice would’ve complicated such an effort.

Despite delays tied to the COVID-19 pandemic, wildfires and weather, construction is expected to end up finishing Rekucki said it still should be a 16-month long project.

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The Portland Design Commission has reapproved a proposal to build a 23-story tower, the Hyatt Place and Allison Residences, in the Pearl District. The City Council – in a rare move – had remanded the project to the Design Commission on Sept. 26.

Design commissioners voted 4-0 on Thursday to return their recommendation to the City Council, which is now scheduled to hold a hearing on the project, and an initial vote, on Dec. 10.

The project from Seattle multifamily developer Vibrant Cities and hotelier The Sunray Companies of Madison, Mississippi, is for a quarter-block property at 350 N.W. 12th Ave., where a parking lot sits currently. As designed by Otak Inc., the building would have 160 hotel rooms and 113 residential units in 197,118 square feet.

The building’s proposed height of 250 feet is the tallest allowed by Central City 2035 plan guidelines. As larger buildings allowed by the 2035 plan have rolled out, residents of neighborhoods such as the Pearl District and Goose Hollow have often reacted with opposition.

Throughout the design process, the Hyatt Place and Allison Residences project has been opposed by Pearl Neighbors for Integrity in Design, a group of nearby residents and business owners. The nonprofit is not affiliated with the city-sanctioned Pearl District Neighborhood Association.

PNID representatives have characterized the project as too large for the property, and its use too intensive, with residents and hotel guests constantly entering and exiting.

Thursday’s hearing revealed several design changes made in response to direction from City Council. The middle of the building was pulled back 3 feet from the property line. The hotel entrance at the corner of Northwest 12th Avenue and Flanders Street was pulled back a total of 7 feet from the property line, providing more room for the public realm, said Gary Larson, an Otak consultant architect. Canopies were extended around the building. A cornice was lowered by one floor.

“Our objective has been to reduce the mass of the building through the setback strategy and reduce the apparent height of the building through the cornice line adjustments,” Larson said.

Carrie Richter, a land-use lawyer representing PNID, said the group remains disappointed with the minimal revisions.

“My client is truly disheartened by the lack of fundamental change that went into this remand,” she said.

But the Hyatt Place and Allison Residences would not be out of place in the Pearl District, where buildings are commonly built to property lines, Commissioner Zari Santner said.

“Pearl has a very, very eclectic identity,” she said. “This building would be a great addition to that.”

Commissioner Sam Rodriguez also complimented the design.

“I think the changes are positive and it will turn out to be a good building,” he said.

When the proposal returns to the City Council in December, the council will still be in the lame-duck period following the Nov. 3 election. Commissioner Amanda Fritz, who expressed concerns with the project, is likely to weigh in on the Hyatt Place and Allison Residences before she’s replaced in January by Carmen Rubio. Commissioner Chloe Eudaly also will still be on the council, and not newly elected Mingus Mapps.

If the design is approved by the City Council, opponents could potentially appeal to the state Land Use Board of Appeals or District Court.

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The Portland Design Commission on Thursday got its first look at Welby, proposed as a 15-story, mixed-use building in the Pearl District. Mass timber would be used.

The project at 1325 N.W. Kearney St. comes from developer Killian Pacific, with a design by Bora Architects. It’s the latest iteration of a redevelopment proposal for a half-block site. In January 2018, the Design Commission approved a project known as Lovejoy Square for the same location, but it did not move forward to construction.

The new design calls for 12 floors of residential space above two floors of offices and ground-floor retail space. The Bureau of Development Services valued the project at $85 million.

Welby will meet its inclusionary housing obligations on site, said Michi Slick, director of development at Killian Pacific. Plans call for a mix of residences, including two- and three-bedroom units.

As proposed, the tower would stand 180 feet high, within the 250-foot height limit with bonuses, according to BDS. It would be Portland’s tallest mass-timber building.

Design commissioners and a representative of the Pearl District Neighborhood Association criticized the proposal during Thursday’s design advice hearing, saying it doesn’t fully fit the neighborhood.

“We don’t feel it’s very contextual,” said David Dysert, co-chairman of the PDNA’s Planning and Transportation Committee. “We just don’t feel it’s really fitting the site with the articulation of the facade.”

Dysert urged Bora to look to precedents in the Pearl District, namely Pearl West and Heartline. Those buildings, he said, were contextual “without pretending to be old buildings.”

The proposed facade facing Kearney Street would be “out of context,” Commissioner Zari Santner said.

Dysert and commissioners also raised concerns about Bora’s proposed use of cement panels.

The project has an 80-foot right of way, a vestige of its former use as a rail yard. The applicant proposes a 6.5-foot vacation of Northwest 14th Avenue in the 900 block. A raised bike lane would be built.

The PDNA stated in a letter to the Design Commission that it supports the street vacation as long as the project team pays for the improvements.

Welby’s residential entrance should be better articulated, commissioners said. They also urged Bora to consider extending canopies on all sides to provide weather protection.

“We expect there to be a lot of pedestrians on 14th and Kearney, and I don’t know why we wouldn’t want to see more continuous awnings on bays,” Commissioner Brian McCarter said. “This really warrants considering more continuous rain protection.”

McCarter also urged designers to include more trees along Kearney Street.

The project team could decide to return for another design advice hearing, or seek design review.

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A Pearl District group on Thursday continued to fight plans for a 23-story hotel and residential building that would dwarf others nearby. Pearl Neighbors for Integrity in Design pleaded its case to the Portland City Council in a three-hour hearing.

Plans for the 197,118-square-foot Hyatt Place and Allison Residences have elicited substantial opposition. The building, residents say, would interfere with motor vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian traffic, provide no on-site parking and ruin the character of the South Pearl, where low-slung warehouses mix with modern condo buildings.

The proposal, approved by the Portland Design Commission earlier this year, calls for a structure that would be the tallest in the Pearl since implementation of the Central City 2035 plan. The zoning reform raised allowable building heights around the city in a bid to accommodate more housing and growth. But the bigger buildings have sparked backlash from residents who say their neighborhoods’ character is being threatened.

PNID‘s appeal was presented by Bateman Seidel land-use attorney Carrie Richter. She said the project “turns its back” on the Flanders Greenway – a future bicyclist- and pedestrian-friendly route planned by the Portland Bureau of Transportation – and introduces a “pinch point” on Northwest 12th Avenue where neighborhood traffic would encounter a loading zone for the proposed building.

The project is planned for 350 N.W. 12th Ave., on the southeast corner of 12th Avenue and Flanders Street. The property currently holds a surface parking lot.

PNID also presented a slickly produced video illustrating the evolution of the Pearl from an “industrial wasteland” into a desirable modern neighborhood. The project is “an example of extracting all of the potential development rights while sacrificing all of the adjacent area,” PNID President Patricia Cliff said in recorded testimony.

The Central City 2035 plan raised allowable building height on the site, with bonuses, from 175 feet to 250 feet.

The project is planned by a joint venture of Seattle multifamily developer Vibrant Cities and hotelier The Sunray Companies of Madison, Mississippi. A lawyer for the developers, Renee France, said the project conforms to design guidelines, making other objections irrelevant.

“Most of the arguments made by the appellants attempt to either ignore that criterion or impermissibly expand or mischaracterize the applicable guidelines,” she said.

France added: “This building, and this project, is exactly what Central City 2035 intended.”

Cliff, in her video narration, invoked historical racial displacement in the neighborhood and tied PNID’s appeal to the Black Lives Matter movement. That brought a sharp response from David Dysert, who serves as co-chairman of the Pearl District Neighborhood Association‘s Planning and Transportation Committee (Dysert said he was speaking as an individual).

“We can have honest disagreements about development and design, context and code, but it is disingenuous and cynical to use the argument of racial displacement for personal concerns over height, density or use,” Dysert said. “Requiring all future buildings remain below one’s own 15th-story penthouse view has nothing to do with racial equity or honoring a people’s history.”

The appeal was filed by PNID, a 501(c)(3) group that is not affiliated with the city-sanctioned Pearl District Neighborhood Association.

City commissioners did not deliberate Thursday, and chose to hold their opinions on the appeal for another day.

Commissioner Amanda Fritz grilled Gary Larson, a consulting architect with Otak, about how the building would complement the context of existing buildings – a design guideline. Larson responded that nearby buildings have materials similar to ones planned for the tower, including concrete bases.

The Design Commission unanimously approved Otak’s design in January after a series of design advice meetings.

The City Council is tentatively scheduled to vote on the appeal on Sept. 16. The record will remain open for new submissions until 5 p.m. on Thursday.

The council could uphold, deny or remand the appeal to the Design Commission. Either side could then appeal the council’s decision to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals.

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A 97-year-old single-story warehouse slightly north of Portland’s Pearl District has received several renovations over the years. The latest one might be the most extensive.

The Premier Gear & Machine Works building, on nearly a full block bounded by Northwest 17th and 18th avenues and Savier and Thurman streets, is being gutted and transformed into creative office space. Sturgeon Development Partners is the developer. The project team includes LRS Architects, Lorentz Bruun Construction and Catena Consulting Engineers.

“Overall it’s an addition, square foot wise because we’re adding a second level,” Lorentz Bruun Construction project engineer Mark Drahota said. “Right now it’s about 40,000 square feet, and with the second level we’re going to add roughly 15-20,000 more square feet, so it will be roughly 60,000 square feet when it’s all said and done.”

The adaptive reuse project includes a substantial seismic upgrade. Steel, buckling-restrained brace frames and shear walls were installed to connect the roof to the rest of the building.

The outside of the building is not going to experience wholesale change. That’s reserved for the interior, where crews are adding a mezzanine level, new entrances, new windows for the south side of the building and a large covered outdoor terrace.

The new design incorporates the building’s original features and pays tribute to the legacy throughout the additional space, which is being constructed with heavy timber – mainly glulam beams and columns and Douglas fir car decking flooring on the mezzanine level.

An elevated sky-bridge will connect the north and south halves of the mezzanine level, while an outdoor patio for tenant use will be notched into the building on the south side.

Construction crews are continuing to encounter remnants of previous building expansions, Drahota said.

“As we’ve dug into the building we’ve found different issues, old-school stuff,” he said. “That’s definitely been the biggest challenge.”

Different construction types were used for each project, leading to some unique discoveries last summer during the demolition and abatement phase.

“There was asbestos abatement and little bit of lead abatement, but not very much,” Drahota said. “It was mostly just warehouse space, but there was some existing office space that had some stuff we had to do. But it definitely had to be taken care of. It was a lot of work to remove all the existing beams and clear the space.”

The building’s south side featured newer concrete tilt panels, but the older north side was mostly board-formed with a heavy timber interior. The latter featured some hefty 14-inch-by-30-inch solid Douglas fir beams carved from old growth that is long since gone.

“It’s a menagerie of styles,” Lorentz Bruun project superintendent Bruce Fabian said.

Approximately 150 window openings had to be cut into the existing concrete exterior walls as part of demolition, according to Fabian.

“At one we had four saws running at one time just to make schedule,” he said.

Then there are vintage overhead gantry cranes, including at least three that formerly graced the warehouse. One will remain on its rails as a reminder of earlier times.

“A lot of the crane rails were supported by timbers, as well, and we actually left some of those existing crane rails up,” Drahota said.

But now, carpenters with Framing Force of Molalla are installing the last of the car decking flooring and glulam beams, while mechanical, electrical and plumbing subcontractors prep for rough-in work. Crews with Nuwave Concrete of Forest Grove are also on site finishing the massive new floor slab.

Other members of the project team include: Humber Design Group, which performed civil engineering; MFIA Inc., which carried out MEP design and engineering; and Shapiro Didway Landscape Architecture.

Project completion is scheduled for June 2020, although the COVID-19 pandemic could lead to that date changing.

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