Quote:
Originally Posted by Sioux612
The last 'tall' tower (over 325') before PAW was the Fox Tower - a 16 year gap.
Portland wont see tall towers until an HQ relocates here. If that ever happens.
|
This is true of virtually every American city, now. Banking is now national, so there are far fewer big local banks with much if any need for a trophy building. The national banks with regional headquarters tend keep day-to-day operations in backoffice locations where the rents are much cheaper. Law firms are no longer exploding in size, and in terms of office space, shrinking their footprints. As Portland shows, even national headquarters have the freedom to locate in places closer to the where the CEO might live. Cities are hot, of course, but the construction is usually for high-rise residential. Seattle is an exception thanks to Amazon and a very strong economy, but even there you see residential buildings and hotels outnumbering commercial office space high rises. Ditto San Francisco, New York, Miami, Denver, and Chicago.
Portland is doing very well given these national trends. One thing we don't always appreciate is how urban policy can translate to economic vibrancy. Portland's urban success means a downtown with low vacancy rates. There needs to be good transportation connectivity, of course, and it helps that the area has strong appeal overall. All roads lead to downtown, in effect. Hiring is easier in appealing locations. If you're a young "creative", would you rather be working in Tigard or the Pearl? The question answers itself in the same way if you asked that person where they would want to live.
I don't really care if Portland ever gets a new tallest. Indeed, I'd be much happier if those surface parking lots get filled in with good urban fabric buildings. One thing I hope to see in my lifetime - this is mostly fantasy - are all those parking garage behemoths eventually being razed for real urban usage. A great city weans itself from car travel. Bad cities, in contrast, cater to cars. One index to urban dysfunction is the number of people driving to work instead of taking transit. If it's over 50%, that city has issues.
Threaded Mode