So, the commie organization (think AOC running the thing) Prosper Portland thinks its 2019 and that their role as the Portland Development Agency is to extort as much money out of real estate developers. In a growing commercial real estate market, you can have some success. But not in 2021 after BLM/antifa and the Oregon covid response decimated the downtown/Pearl area. Practices that had the full support of Prosper Portland. So, it thanks for the fish and an exit stage right. My favorite part. "I’m not startled they walked away at this point,” said Jerry Johnson, a Portland-based real estate consultant. “Probably everything they thought they were going to make money on — multifamily, office and ground floor retail — the prospects aren’t as strong as they were before. The ground environment in that area has eroded a bit, too, and I doubt that didn’t catch their attention.”
[/b]https://www.oregonlive.com/business...s-broadway-corridor-developer-backed-out.html
Emails shed light on why Portland’s Broadway Corridor developer backed out[/b]
The Colorado-based firm that pulled out of its role leading the redevelopment of Portland’s former central post office chafed under the city’s close management of the project, emails show.
In an email outlining the reasons it wouldn’t pursue the project, Continuum Partners complained that the city’s economic development agency, Prosper Portland, was unwilling to give up control over the plan and timelines for putting down roads and pipes to support the development. And it wanted the city to offer fixed prices for the pieces of land it would develop, even if their market value climbed during the years-long buildout.
In an email outlining the reasons it wouldn’t pursue the project, Continuum Partners complained that the city’s economic development agency, Prosper Portland, was unwilling to give up control over the plan and timelines for putting down roads and pipes to support the development. And it wanted the city to offer fixed prices for the pieces of land it would develop, even if their market value climbed during the years-long buildout.
What that means for the future of the high-profile Broadway Corridor redevelopment remains unclear.
The city says it doesn’t anticipate the setback impacting the timeline of the project because it still has several years of demolition and infrastructure work ahead before developers can start building the apartment and office towers imagined in a master plan. But local real estate experts worry that the city could struggle to attract new developers willing to meet the terms of a sweeping “community benefits agreement” and other restrictions from the city. Rising building costs and the pandemic have added a new layer of uncertainty.
“It has to make financial sense for someone,” said Nathan Sasaki, executive director of Apex Real Estate Partners, a downtown real estate brokerage.
The decision by Continuum Partners to bow out came after Prosper Portland staff repeatedly asked the company over a month and a half to respond with comments on an updated development agreement.
But instead of continuing negotiations, Continuum Partners CEO Mark Falcone emailed Prosper Portland executive director Kimberly Branam on Aug. 20 to request a private meeting. The two spoke four days later.
On Aug. 25, Falcone sent a bullet-point list to Branam, laying out the reasons that Continuum could no longer stay on as developer.
He said the company was wary of not being able to negotiate fixed land prices for parcels it would purchase over time and said the agreement with the city didn’t provide the flexibility the company needed to mitigate risk. Falcone also said the company felt it had too little control over the infrastructure development it would need to invest in a complex, multi-phase development.
“The truth is you have never really been willing to surrender Prosper’s control of the master development role,” Falcone wrote.
But even last fall, construction prices were soaring, and the coronavirus pandemic had already depressed demand for office space and added a new layer of uncertainty to large-scale, mixed-use developments in urban city centers. When Continuum’s decision to bow out was announced publicly earlier this month, Falcone pointed to the challenging real estate market as a factor in the company’s decision.
“I’m not startled they walked away at this point,” said Jerry Johnson, a Portland-based real estate consultant. “Probably everything they thought they were going to make money on — multifamily, office and ground floor retail — the prospects aren’t as strong as they were before. The ground environment in that area has eroded a bit, too, and I doubt that didn’t catch their attention.”
[/b]https://www.oregonlive.com/business...s-broadway-corridor-developer-backed-out.html
Emails shed light on why Portland’s Broadway Corridor developer backed out[/b]
The Colorado-based firm that pulled out of its role leading the redevelopment of Portland’s former central post office chafed under the city’s close management of the project, emails show.
In an email outlining the reasons it wouldn’t pursue the project, Continuum Partners complained that the city’s economic development agency, Prosper Portland, was unwilling to give up control over the plan and timelines for putting down roads and pipes to support the development. And it wanted the city to offer fixed prices for the pieces of land it would develop, even if their market value climbed during the years-long buildout.
In an email outlining the reasons it wouldn’t pursue the project, Continuum Partners complained that the city’s economic development agency, Prosper Portland, was unwilling to give up control over the plan and timelines for putting down roads and pipes to support the development. And it wanted the city to offer fixed prices for the pieces of land it would develop, even if their market value climbed during the years-long buildout.
What that means for the future of the high-profile Broadway Corridor redevelopment remains unclear.
The city says it doesn’t anticipate the setback impacting the timeline of the project because it still has several years of demolition and infrastructure work ahead before developers can start building the apartment and office towers imagined in a master plan. But local real estate experts worry that the city could struggle to attract new developers willing to meet the terms of a sweeping “community benefits agreement” and other restrictions from the city. Rising building costs and the pandemic have added a new layer of uncertainty.
“It has to make financial sense for someone,” said Nathan Sasaki, executive director of Apex Real Estate Partners, a downtown real estate brokerage.
The decision by Continuum Partners to bow out came after Prosper Portland staff repeatedly asked the company over a month and a half to respond with comments on an updated development agreement.
But instead of continuing negotiations, Continuum Partners CEO Mark Falcone emailed Prosper Portland executive director Kimberly Branam on Aug. 20 to request a private meeting. The two spoke four days later.
On Aug. 25, Falcone sent a bullet-point list to Branam, laying out the reasons that Continuum could no longer stay on as developer.
He said the company was wary of not being able to negotiate fixed land prices for parcels it would purchase over time and said the agreement with the city didn’t provide the flexibility the company needed to mitigate risk. Falcone also said the company felt it had too little control over the infrastructure development it would need to invest in a complex, multi-phase development.
“The truth is you have never really been willing to surrender Prosper’s control of the master development role,” Falcone wrote.
But even last fall, construction prices were soaring, and the coronavirus pandemic had already depressed demand for office space and added a new layer of uncertainty to large-scale, mixed-use developments in urban city centers. When Continuum’s decision to bow out was announced publicly earlier this month, Falcone pointed to the challenging real estate market as a factor in the company’s decision.
“I’m not startled they walked away at this point,” said Jerry Johnson, a Portland-based real estate consultant. “Probably everything they thought they were going to make money on — multifamily, office and ground floor retail — the prospects aren’t as strong as they were before. The ground environment in that area has eroded a bit, too, and I doubt that didn’t catch their attention.”