Downtown Portland News

[DMH]

Originally Posted by Bigtimecharlie

I suspect the biggest difference between Portland and Seattle right now is money. Microsoft, Amazon, Starbucks, Boeing, etc., etc. create lots of well paying jobs - and many investment millionaires- who can afford to buy what are undoubtedly insanely priced condos in downtown Seattle.

Still, it beggars the imagination that there’s sufficient demand to fill the scores of 40 story condo towers being built right now. It makes me wonder how much of that construction is speculation.

I also agree that Portland suffers from not having any headquarters of any larger company. US Bank, Fred Meyers, Georgia Pacific, you name it. All of these businesses have moved their headquarters. Portland suffers from being, essentially, a branch office city. For this city’s size, we really punch under our weight.

Portland’s old “super power” was being a more “human scale” large city. A downtown that was more walkable and less like a “concrete jungle,” etc. Post-Covid, downtown has lost that vibe, which is a shame.

More alarming to me is that what the city needs right now is visionary leadership to get us into recovery mode. The city leadership seems more like administrators/care takers who don’t have what it takes to get things back on track. I fear we’re looking at a years-long, if not decades long recovery.

Taxation has to be a major reason for Portland's loss of / lack of corporate headquarters. While we have no sales tax, we do have a significant income tax, which in my book, when applied at higher rates as incomes go up, is more progressive than a hefty sales tax which is a greater burden on working folks. In Washington state, there is no personal income tax, and only in 2023 did a new capital gains tax survive a court challenge. The tax advantages of Washington state sure help explain why HQs like Amazon and Microsoft locate in the Evergreen State.

[CorbinWarrick]

Seattle constantly builds 40 story towers like we build 5+1 buildings lol

[2oh1]

Originally Posted by CorbinWarrick

Seattle constantly builds 40 story towers like we build 5+1 buildings lol

Every. Single. Comment. You. Post. Is. A. Complaint. About. Portland.

Zero content. Zero insight. Zero thought. Just complaint after complaint.

How much of your life are you going to waste living in a city you hate?

[CorbinWarrick]

Originally Posted by 2oh1

Every. Single. Comment. You. Post. Is. A. Complaint. About. Portland.

Zero content. Zero insight. Zero thought. Just complaint after complaint.

How much of your life are you going to waste living in a city you hate?

Dude that doesn’t shock you?

[2oh1]

Originally Posted by CorbinWarrick

Dude that doesn’t shock you?

Do you not understand any of the differences between Seattle and Portland? No, really. I'm asking.

The Seattle metro has over 4 million people. Portland's metro has around 2.5 million.

Seattle's airport is among the nation's busiest. It's currently ranked #11, but some years it's in the top 10. Portland's isn't even in the top 30 (it's the nation's nicest though!).

Seattle is a major west coast port city. It's basically on the ocean in a natural harbor. Portland is on the Willamette River, which connects to the Columbia which leads to the ocean on a part of the coast that is otherwise desolate (Well, Astoria has around ten thousand people).

Seattle has 10 Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the area. The Portland area has 2 (Nike and Precision Castparts), neither of which is in Portland. And that's just Fortune 500 companies.

Can you understand any of this?

And can you understand how those differences lead to our two cities being very different?

And can you understand - actually, I shouldn't even ask this, since you only seem to care about pretty postcard backdrop photos rather than real life in a city, but I'll ask anyway: Can you understand how differences between the two cities benefit Portland in many ways, as a place to live? That's not a rhetorical question. Can you understand how differences between Portland and Seattle benefit Portland in many ways, making the Rose City a nice place to live?

It's obvious you're living in a terrible part of the general area, though not in the city, and probably still with your parents. In Estacada maybe, or the ironically named Fairview. If you actually lived in Portland, you'd know that Portland is a pretty special place, even despite the challenges it's currently going through.

Based on the quality of insight you provide in the forum, I'm guessing you're in late middle school, or maybe high school. My advice to you is this: Work hard so you can get good grades, so you can go to college. If urban planning interests you, take some classes, even if not as a major. And when you graduate, move to a city where you actually want to live. You clearly don't like Portland, and Portland will never be what you want it to be, so why stay?

If you're a kid, I get it. I understand why you're stuck. When I was a kid, my parents lived in rural Pennsylvania and I counted the days until I graduated high school so I could get out of there. But if you're a grown man, just wasting your life, living in a place that makes you so unhappy... my god man, what's the point?

Unless you believe in reincarnation, you only have one life to live. How much of it are you going to waste?

[DMH]

Originally Posted by CorbinWarrick

Seattle constantly builds 40 story towers like we build 5+1 buildings lol

Great cities of the world are not great because of 40-story condo towers.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by 2oh1

That comes back to the issue of how to deal with those who are on the streets but don't want help (those who want to live on the streets because that's where the drugs are. They don't want to go to shelters because shelters don't allow people to do drugs).

I'm downtown. As I type this, it's 42 degrees and dropping. There are available beds in shelters, yet there's a crowd only a few steps from my building using the awning of a closed business to deal drugs.

Letting people live on the streets isn't safe, and though it may seem like empathy, it's not. It's cruelty because it means letting people linger in a hopeless situation where they attract criminals who take advantage of them and everyone else. It's not safe, and it's not kind or even empathetic.

It's time for people to finally acknowledge that "the homeless" are not one single group. There's a difference between (1) people who are on the streets because they've fallen on hard times (they need help), (2) people with disabilities the social safety net didn't provide for (they need help), and (3) those who are on the streets because they choose to be - often because they're addicts and that's where the drugs are.

You are still talking about a smaller percentage of people, and even then drug addiction is awful and will make people choose drugs over shelter. Those people also need empathy and help through treatment and assistance to help them get off of drugs and out of homelessness.

[2oh1]

Originally Posted by urbanlife

You are still talking about a smaller percentage of people

But they make up a large percent of the problem, because they won't go to shelters, because they want to stay on the streets, because shelters won't let them do drugs there. By choosing to stay on the streets, they fuel the crime that comes with downtown and other neighborhoods being open air drug markets, and they make downtown less safe for everyone. Especially after dark.

And they eat up police resources that are needed elsewhere.

And they eat up fire department resources. Yes, fire department resources. There have been many tent fires.

And they add to an epidemic of addiction which eats up medical resources.

Telling people to be more empathetic and leave them on the streets is not the answer.

Originally Posted by urbanlife

Those people also need empathy and help through treatment and assistance to help them get off of drugs and out of homelessness.

Are you advocating for forced treatment? ...because they don't want it and they won't accept it. Just leaving people who are in a hopeless situation there to rot in a hopeless situation is not empathy. Even though it may feel kind, it is not. It is cruel. So... are you advocating for forced treatment?

I'm not pretending to have the answer to Portland's homeless problem, but I know it won't be "an" answer.

Portland does not have "a" homeless problem. We have at least three different homeless problems, each of which is further complicated by the fact that a sizable amount of Portland's homeless aren't Portlanders, a fact which is true in many if not most cities, especially cities that red state governors are sending their homeless population to (If Portland isn't already on that list, I have to assume we soon will be).

The three problems are:

(1) People who are on the streets because they've fallen on hard times and need help.

(2) People with disabilities the social safety net didn't provide for and need help.

(3) People who are on the streets and don't want help and won't accept help - because they want to be where the drugs are, not in shelters and not in treatment.

Each of these three problems will require a different approach in order to solve it, but the third will be the biggest challenge.

There are no easy answers here, but telling people to be more empathetic and leave them on the streets just makes matters worse.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by CorbinWarrick

Dennis seems to think the waterfront as a park is just fine tho lol

I'm not sure this is a knock at me, but it is true, Waterfront park is fine as a park and event space. Portland needs to develop everything west of Naito into dense housing to make downtown more livable like the Pearl District. Downtown Portland is more than just a waterfront.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by 2oh1

But they make up a large percent of the problem, because they won't go to shelters, because they want to stay on the streets, because shelters won't let them do drugs there. By choosing to stay on the streets, they fuel the crime that comes with downtown and other neighborhoods being open air drug markets, and they make downtown less safe for everyone. Especially after dark.

And they eat up police resources that are needed elsewhere.

And they eat up fire department resources. Yes, fire department resources. There have been many tent fires.

And they add to an epidemic of addiction which eats up medical resources.

Telling people to be more empathetic and leave them on the streets is not the answer.



Are you advocating for forced treatment? ...because they don't want it and they won't accept it. Just leaving people who are in a hopeless situation there to rot in a hopeless situation is not empathy. Even though it may feel kind, it is not. It is cruel. So... are you advocating for forced treatment?

I'm not pretending to have the answer to Portland's homeless problem, but I know it won't be "an" answer.

Portland does not have "a" homeless problem. We have at least three different homeless problems, each of which is further complicated by the fact that a sizable amount of Portland's homeless aren't Portlanders, a fact which is true in many if not most cities, especially cities that red state governors are sending their homeless population to (If Portland isn't already on that list, I have to assume we soon will be).

The three problems are:

(1) People who are on the streets because they've fallen on hard times and need help.

(2) People with disabilities the social safety net didn't provide for and need help.

(3) People who are on the streets and don't want help and won't accept help - because they want to be where the drugs are, not in shelters and not in treatment.

Each of these three problems will require a different approach in order to solve it, but the third will be the biggest challenge.

There are no easy answers here, but telling people to be more empathetic and leave them on the streets just makes matters worse.

A health crisis does that. Trying to dehumanize people for their addictions isn't gonna make this problem go away. Addicts are always going to choose drugs over help because that is how addiction works, that doesn't mean they don't need help.

[2oh1]

Originally Posted by urbanlife

A health crisis does that. Trying to dehumanize people for their addictions isn't gonna make this problem go away. Addicts are always going to choose drugs over help because that is how addiction works, that doesn't mean they don't need help.

Are you advocating for forced treatment?

[DMH]

Originally Posted by urbanlife

I'm not sure this is a knock at me, but it is true, Waterfront park is fine as a park and event space. Portland needs to develop everything west of Naito into dense housing to make downtown more livable like the Pearl District. Downtown Portland is more than just a waterfront.

You probably recall that a majority of the parking lots west of SW Naito Parkway are owned by the Goodman family. You'll probably also recall their grand plans before the pandemic to build out those many blocks to their max FAR potentials. Let's hope that the Goodmans are now rethinking any such plans that would include office space. The Goodmans already have experience with mixed-use buildings like 12W and recently 11W in which most of the buildings are devoted to housing. They were able to get 11W off the ground using the tax benefits of the Trump-era Opportunity Zones legislation. Maybe that tool is still available, so that they can be incentivized to build housing on those blocks.

[downtownpdx]

Originally Posted by Bigtimecharlie

The city leadership seems more like administrators/care takers who don’t have what it takes to get things back on track. I fear we’re looking at a years-long, if not decades long recovery.

Good timing for a change in city government. We've long outgrown this commission style, where each council member is in charge of bureaus and have no time or interest in creating good policy for the city as a whole. Now we'll finally have a city manager and a mayor who isn't just another council vote. I'm sure there will be an awkward start with lots of adjustments but I think this change next year will be an important piece of the city's recovery.

[CorbinWarrick]

Originally Posted by DMH

You probably recall that a majority of the parking lots west of SW Naito Parkway are owned by the Goodman family. You'll probably also recall their grand plans before the pandemic to build out those many blocks to their max FAR potentials. Let's hope that the Goodmans are now rethinking any such plans that would include office space. The Goodmans already have experience with mixed-use buildings like 12W and recently 11W in which most of the buildings are devoted to housing. They were able to get 11W off the ground using the tax benefits of the Trump-era Opportunity Zones legislation. Maybe that tool is still available, so that they can be incentivized to build housing on those blocks.

They didn’t even utilize those lots when Portland was booming and popular and needed the housing. I doubt they’ll ever start

[maccoinnich]

Originally Posted by CorbinWarrick

They didn’t even utilize those lots when Portland was booming and popular and needed the housing. I doubt they’ll ever start

In the last decade, the following buildings were built on Goodman family owned parking lots:

Pearl West
WorldMark hotel
Eleven West
230 SW Ash
Collective on 4th
Portland Astoria
Broadway Tower
Block 216 / Ritz Carlton

[winstonLT5]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

in the last decade, the following buildings were built on goodman family owned parking lots:

Pearl west
worldmark hotel
eleven west
230 sw ash
collective on 4th
portland astoria
broadway tower
block 216 / ritz carlton

+1

[winstonLT5]

Originally Posted by CorbinWarrick

They didn’t even utilize those lots when Portland was booming and popular and needed the housing. I doubt they’ll ever start

This is an example of what 2oh1 was talking about earlier — knee-jerk negativity, and in this case without having the facts.

[CorbinWarrick]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

In the last decade, the following buildings were built on Goodman family owned parking lots:

Pearl West
WorldMark hotel
Eleven West
230 SW Ash
Collective on 4th
Portland Astoria
Broadway Tower
Block 216 / Ritz Carlton

That’s not enough. It should be double that maybe even more. With the way Portland was booming and gaining population the numbers should have been way more for residential towers in these lots

[uncommon.name]

Originally Posted by CorbinWarrick

That’s not enough. It should be double that maybe even more. With the way Portland was booming and gaining population the numbers should have been way more for residential towers in these lots

Double? Based on what measure? Do you even know how many properties that family owns? Do you know how much those towers cost to build? Do you even have a slight understanding of how much planning goes into any commercial development, and even more into a development on THAT scale? Dude, come on!

There is a reason so many people on these boards call you out. You make these comments without any knowledge what-so-ever. I'm currently renovating and expanding a 64 room hotel, up to 89 rooms. We have been very aggressive in planning and project timeline. We are a year and a half into it and still have probably 2.5+ years left before it's complete. This is TINY compared to the scale of those lots that were mentioned.

[pdxsg34]

Responding to the troll feeds the troll...