Park Avenue West Tower

History

Park Avenue West Tower was initially scheduled to be completed in 2010 and was being developed by TMT Development. The tower was to have a total of 33 floors and offer retail space, office space and 85 housing units. The housing component was later dropped from the plans. It was also to have a six floor underground garage with 325 parking spaces. The building gained the top four floors when developers agreed to add 1650 sqft of bike facilities (including public bicycle commuter showers, bike parking, and locker space) under the connected Director Park subsurface parking, gaining the tower a 40-to-1 bonus.

Construction on the building was suddenly suspended in April 2009 Despite the suspension of construction, the developer was hopeful to get the building back on track by reducing the number of stories in the structure resulting from removal of the top ten floors which would have been condominium space. The building was about 50% leased, with Stoel Rives as the primary tenant (11 floors, 157,000 square feet), as well as a NikeTown store. The Park Avenue site was considered an eyesore as there was only a foundation and construction debris visible for years, earning the nickname "Moyer's Ruins".

TMT Development announced in December 2011 that work would resume in late 2013. Construction resumed in October 2013 after additional re-designs, with completion expected in early 2016. Plans called for 30 floors, with 15 of those housing 202 apartments. It topped out in February 2015 with a final height of 502 ft. The tower opened in February 2016 and was 92% occupied. Shortly after opening, MetLife provided $130 million in permanent financing for the building.

Zoning code and union labor deal

The 30 story tower is taller than permitted by statutes of the zoning code. In 2014, city officials and the developer negotiated a deal to let them build 30 stories in exchange for utilizing union cleaners and security guards. These union jobs however did not happen. In March 2019, the labor union SEIU Local 49 hung a banner from the 11th floor windows as part of their protest and they have done so by renting a two-bedroom short term rental for two days. In August 2018, The Oregonian identified more than 20 out of 202 units at the Park Avenue West were utilized as short term rentals without permit. In June 2019, the SEIU Local 49 filed a lawsuit for union jobs to be created. File:Park Avenue West Tower - construction stopped 20100228 - Portland Oregon.jpg|Construction site (ground level view), February 2010 File:Park Avenue West Tower pit 3 - Portland, Oregon.JPG|Construction site, May 2010 File:Park Avenue West Tower May 2014 top - Portland, Oregon.JPG|Construction, May 2014 File:Park Avenue West Tower, 013015.jpg|Construction, January 2015 File:Park Avenue West Tower June 2015 - Portland, Oregon.jpg|Construction, June 2015 File:Park Avenue West Tower August 2015 - Portland, Oregon.jpg|The near-complete tower, August 2015

References

References

1. (February 19, 2015). "Construction on the newest addition to Portland's skyline reaches full height". Portland Business Journal.
2. (January 20, 2023). "Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, Portland, OR".
3. "TMT Development: Park Avenue West".
4. Leeson, Fred. (2007-12-20). "Park Blocks 'beacon' gets design approval". The Oregonian.
5. Njus, Elliot. (2011-11-05). "Park Avenue West Tower to be mothballed for two years; developer sets 2013 restart date".
6. (10 April 2009). "Moyer halts work on downtown tower". The Oregonian.
7. Carinci, Justin. (July 27, 2009). "Park Avenue West Awaits a Restart". The Daily Journal of Commerce.
8. Frank, Ryan. (2009-04-11). "Downtown high-rise halted by tight credit". The Oregonian.
9. Manning, Jeff. (2008-10-15). "In legal terms, a huge move". The Oregonian.
10. Njus, Elliot. (October 9, 2013). "Park Avenue West Tower: Law firm Stoel Rives signs on as tenant, clearing way for construction". The Oregonian.
11. Njus, Elliot. (November 4, 2011). "Park Avenue West Tower to be mothballed for two years; developer sets 2013 restart date". The Oregonian.
12. Culverwell, Wendy. (October 18, 2013). "A skyscraper will finally rise". Portland Business Journal.
13. Culverwell, Wendy. (October 18, 2013). "Construction restarts today at TMT's Park Avenue West". Portland Business Journal.
14. (February 16, 2016). "As first residents move in, TMT lands $130M loan for Park Ave West". Portland Business Journal.
15. Jones, David. (February 15, 2016). "HFF Secures $130M Loan From MetLife for Mixed-Use Tower in Oregon". Commercial Observer.
16. Monahan, Rachel. (March 27, 2019). "A Developer Promised Union Jobs in Exchange to Build Tall. The Construction Happened. The Jobs Didn’t.".
17. Monahan, Rachel. (March 28, 2019). "Park Avenue West, a Residential and Office Tower, Now Has Permits to Use Roughly 45 Apartments as Short-Term Rentals".
18. Njus, Elliot. (March 23, 2018). "More Portland high-rise apartments rented as hotel rooms; many without required permits". The Oregonian.
19. Monahan, Rachel. (June 14, 2019). "SEIU Local 49 Sues Over Park Avenue West’s Failure to Hire Union Janitorial Workers".