Since the Pearl District became the Pearl that we know today, the skyline has been marked by construction cranes. Now we are seeing them pop up at the River Blocks south of town and in downtown. When will it stop? No time soon.
The Elizabeth will be the next building in the Pearl to open. There are just a few units left (starting above $300,000) and they are offering hard hat tours of the building for potential buyers.
Hoyt Street Properties is selling the Pinnacle in a hurry. We worked with buyers to secure two condos and are working with another who is in the decision process. Move-in is scheduled from May through August, depending on when contracts were signed. Hoyt Street plans eight new buildings in eight years. Unconfirmable reports say that “Block 9” will be a building of penthouses with private gym and other amenities.
The Eliot, in the SW portion of downtown is scheduled for completion in the Spring of 2006. The building is largely presold.
The Meriwether is the first building going in at the South Waterfront River Blocks. More than 75% sold out with completion scheduled for spring of ’06. Units started at $304,000 and go up to $1,400,000. Complete build-out of the area will be approximately 2400 units. All of the streets and infrastructure will be redesigned. The streetcar will start running down there in March from downtown. We saw test trains running past the Riverplace on Friday night.
The John Ross will be the second project down there but its design will be partially dictated by the outcome of city council meetings this week. The design is over the city’s height restriction. A very spirited anti-deveolpment debate is under way on Jackbog.org at http://bojack.org/mt-arc/001786.html. There is a second thread at: http://bojack.org/mt-arc/001770.html.
There are about 2200 units in the Pearl now with approximately 2000 more still to come. The South Waterfront will be 2400 units. Add the Eliot and Benson Tower in downtown and we still have less than 7000 lofts and condos. The metro area has well over 1,700,000 people and 500,000 within the city limits. So even though the amount of future development seems staggering, the supply of potential buyer is even greater.
What does all this cost? Figure $300-$540 a square foot. Most units include a single parking space. Penthouse and high-end units usually include two spaces but they may be tandem (first car in, last car out). A second space costs between $10,000-$30,000 if available.
I’m not anti-development so much as anti-publicly-subsidized-condo-tower-development. You youngsters aren’t from Portland, are you?
Anyway, thanks for the link. I hope your readers will enjoy my other stuff, at least.
“Aren’t from Portland.” Hmmm. Brings up the question of when some is from Portland. Does it take two years, five, ten, born here? Great great grandparents never crossed the Columbia? Maybe its the formation of webbing between the toes.
When do the imports become locals? Jenny was born raised and educated in Oregon. I’ve been here for the better part of ten years but get two knocks against me for 1) being from California, 2) even worse: being from Marin.
Today’s Oregonian confirms what we already knew. Folks are moving to California in droves. More than half of our relocation clients in 2004 were from California.
Does anyone know of a study that compares the cost to the City of offering the tax incentive to the income brought in from taxes on the buildings once they are built? My math: $400,000 tax value times 1.6% tax rate times 2400 units = $15,360,000 a year.