Empty and Underutilized Office Space in Downtown Portland (sales, bankrupt)

[Urban Peasant]

During lunch break, I happened upon this long and detailed article about 16 of Downtown Portland's distressed properties. It dawned upon me that because Oregon doesn't have a sales tax, communities must make up by levying high property taxes but without tenants, cities like Portland suffer. What do locals and other think about this?


https://www.wweek.com/news/2023/08/1...re-in-trouble/

[StealthRabbit]

As a previous commercial property owner, and friend of several still stuck in what was once a good business investment...
I think city commercial properties in declining cities are in the Death / Doom Loop (as well reported on media)

https://radio.foxnews.com/2023/08/10...-a-death-loop/

Portland will be right up there with SF and Seattle.

The lagging tax money will not come from Commercial properties, They have (3) ways to determine and fight to adjust tax valuations. Residential properties.... not so easy to fight assessments.

Yes, the money must come from somewhere, but bankrupt developers have empty pockets.

Zero Sales Tax is a huge bonus for businesses in border cities. (but retail is pretty dead everywhere)

Just imagine the revenues flowing to Oregon when they actually provided high paying value added jobs and a manufacturing industry shipping mega dollar products through bustling ports, rail, commerce. Those strengths sustained severe economic hardship of the Spotted Owl crisis. But... those industries, jobs, wealth, value are GONE. Most of the commercial places I used to frequent are now housing Weed Dispensaries. Hope that is a sustainable income stream, but I don't see it building a healthy and productive and growing business community with tons of high paying jobs. Maybe I'm wrong.

Add up the actual valuation losses on that article and you have some pretty big bucks.

It was nice to spend the day in Portland when there WAS an actual Montgomery Wards (Park) and a Sears multistory dept store. Plenty to see and do, and LOTS of jobs.

That was the era of Yesteryear - gone forever.

[Urban Peasant]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

It was nice to spend the day in Portland when there WAS an actual Montgomery Wards (Park) and a Sears multistory dept store. Plenty to see and do, and LOTS of jobs.

That was the era of Yesteryear - gone forever.

Absolutely. I visited Portland back in 2016. The only part that creeped me out was Old Town including Old Chinatown where there were a lot of homeless vagrants wandering or lying about. Everywhere else in Downtown Portland was fine though, as you said lots of shops including a few high end retailers, lots of normal people walking about, a good number of other tourists and so forth. Back in graduate planning school not too long ago, Portland was the poster child for smart growth, I mean the City was mentioned in practically every one of my classes I can remember be it Land Use Planning, Transportation Planning, Sustainability, or Urban Design class and always with compliments and glowing reviews. The spatial and economic problems that beset Portland these days seem to suggest that a clock had been turned back to a much earlier time. Sad.

[ccjarider]

Originally Posted by Urban Peasant

Absolutely. I visited Portland back in 2016. The only part that creeped me out was Old Town including Old Chinatown where there were a lot of homeless vagrants wandering or lying about. Everywhere else in Downtown Portland was fine though, as you said lots of shops including a few high end retailers, lots of normal people walking about, a good number of other tourists and so forth. Back in graduate planning school not too long ago, Portland was the poster child for smart growth, I mean the City was mentioned in practically every one of my classes I can remember be it Land Use Planning, Transportation Planning, Sustainability, or Urban Design class and always with compliments and glowing reviews. The spatial and economic problems that beset Portland these days seem to suggest that a clock had been turned back to a much earlier time. Sad.

Interesting comment that Portland was held out as a good example of Urban planning. We have seen that long term, these policies are just not sustainable. I believe history will show that uber Woke policy and the elite's greed for power and other's money (all sold as good planning) will go down as one of the worst examples of a post WW2 America.


Yet the elites for the most part continue to double down on their crap proposals.

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by ccjarider

Interesting comment that Portland was held out as a good example of Urban planning. We have seen that long term, these policies are just not sustainable. I believe history will show that uber Woke policy and the elite's greed for power and other's money (all sold as good planning) will go down as one of the worst examples of a post WW2 America.


Yet the elites for the most part continue to double down on their crap proposals.

Portland is still a good example of urban planning. Economic and social issues have nothing to do with urban planning.

[NW Crow]

Urban planning should advance social and economic well-being and broadly. To the extent that social and economic well-being falls short, the urban planning and other systems fall short and should be re-examined and possibly changed. The built environment is the servant of the community and not the goal itself (similar with economic and legal systems).

The built environment has property rights and deserves due process. But the community governs many terms, as provided in constitutions and charters.

[StealthRabbit]

Economic and social issues have nothing to do with urban planning

Expect that to change priorities !

It already has (about 10 yrs ago)

(I interface with city planners and inspectors daily)

Tomorrow's planning is very much accomodating / driven by Economic and social issues.

Future of Portland Urban Planning...

watch this closely for clues.
Economic and social issues

Hint: Who / what brings the dough to the table for Urban Planning and Implementatrion?

Who / What sustains it?

[zerp]

Wait until the property valuation challenges start piling up, if they haven’t already.

This is what is happening in San Francisco.

https://www.globest.com/2023/08/17/p...h-tax-appeals/

SFO property tax revenue is on the cusp of nosediving. Adios, SFO!

[Nell Plotts]

There are two factors that are impacting downtown office space: homeless camping and changes in business utilization that is impacting all urban office space. The former is something the community MUST address, the latter we can do little about.