PORTLAND, ORE. — Newmark has brokered the sale of Leland James, a multi-tenant office building in Portland’s Slabtown District. Spear Street Capital acquired the fully occupied asset. Terms of the transaction were not released. Located at 2175 NW Raleigh St., the four-story Leland James building features 118,104 square feet of office space. Formerly a corporate office building, the property was redeveloped in 2018. The redevelopment included seismic upgrades, a new brick façade and the addition of a heavy timber penthouse level with an eco-roof, as well as new mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. Nick Kucha, James Childress and Jakob Nicholls of Newmark represented the undisclosed seller in the deal. Dave Squire and Josh Williams of Newmark served as leasing advisors on behalf of the seller and helped bring the property to 100 percent occupancy.
PORTLAND, ORE. — Portland-based Menashe Properties has acquired the American Bank Building, an office and retail building in Portland that on the National Register of Historic Places. The property traded for $13.6 million. Located at 621 SW Morrison St., American Bank Building features 183,735 square feet of office and retail space. Current tenants include CVS/pharmacy, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley and Greenleaf Juice Co. The property is adjacent to Pioneer Courthouse Square. Charles Safley of CBRE’s Pacific Northwest Capital Markets represented the undisclosed seller in the deal.
BEAVERTON, ORE. — Walker & Dunlop has arranged a $15.2 million loan for the refinancing of Waterhouse Ridge Memory Care in Beaverton, just west of Portland. Located at 1115 NW 158th Ave., Waterhouse Ridge features 68 memory care beds. Onelife Senior Living developed, owns and operates the facility, which is currently 88 percent occupied. Kevin Giusti and Daniel Barone of Walker & Dunlop led the origination team that placed the loan through one of its lending partners. Loan proceeds were utilized to refinance existing debt and provide cash to the borrower. The loan will be seasoned for two years before a planned refinancing under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 232 Program.
OREGON CITY, ORE. — Dwight Mortgage Trust, the affiliate REIT of Dwight Capital, has funded a $44 million bridge loan for Timberview Apartments & Townhomes in Oregon City. Situated on 9.6 acres, the newly constructed community features 180 apartments spread across 11 residential buildings. Additionally, the property features a clubhouse with a lounge and fireplace, a fitness center, bike lounge, dog wash and pool with a sundeck. Proceeds from the bridge loan will be used to retire the existing construction debt. McBride Capital brokered the transaction for the borrower, Pahlisch Commercial.
— By Kenny Houser and Mike Hale, Principals, Capacity Commercial — The industrial real estate sector has experienced a noticeable deceleration with a decline in leasing and sales activities. This trend is particularly evident in Portland where commercial property sales transactions have been steadily decreasing. There was a quarter-over-quarter decline of almost 29 percent in the second quarter of 2023, resulting in a sales volume of $3.4 billion, the lowest recorded since late 2014. The Federal Reserve’s decision to pause its rate hike campaign in response to inflation concerns has impacted the market. With borrowing costs fluctuating, the disparity between buyer and seller expectations has created challenges in determining agreeable property valuations. Simultaneously, leasing activity has also slowed, indicating a return to normalcy in Portland’s industrial market. Total deal volume in the first quarter of this year reached about 1.7 million square feet, a 35 percent decrease compared to the average of 2.6 million square feet per quarter over the previous two years. Despite the slowdown in leasing, the limited amount of industrial space under construction in Portland is expected to maintain a balance between supply and demand. The current construction activity accounts for 1.1 percent of the total inventory, …
GRESHAM, ORE. — An affiliate of Abacus Capital Group has acquired Lumina Apartments, a multifamily community located at 2700 W. Powell Blvd. in Gresham. Built in 1994 and most recently renovated in 2022, Lumina features 440 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments spread across 20 residential buildings. All units feature large floor plans, in-unit laundry and private balconies or patios with storage. Community amenities include a resident lounge, fitness center, package lockers, business center, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a sun deck with barbecue grills, playgrounds and a dog park. Additionally, the property offers 880 surface, carport and garage parking options. Joe Nydahl, Josh McDonald and Phil Oester of CBRE represented the undisclosed seller in the deal.
HAPPY VALLEY, ORE. — CBRE has arranged the sale of a 146,888-square-foot property located in Happy Valley, a suburb of Portland. Sears formerly occupied the building, which is physically attached to the adjacent Clackamas Town Center mall, which totals 1.4 million square feet. Dick’s Sporting Goods partially backfilled the property in 2019 and opened in 2020 following the departure of Sears in 2018. The remainder of the building, including two 15,000-square-foot, ground-level spaces and a 64,000-square-foot upper-level space, remains vacant. Dino Christophilis and Daniel TIbeau of CBRE represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. A Texas-based private investment group acquired the property for an undisclosed price.
— By Samuel Hatcher, Field Research Manager, CBRE — Portland’s historically vibrant office market finds itself at a crossroads, striving to regain its footing in the wake of economic headwinds. The city’s unique blend of natural beauty, progressive culture and thriving tech scene has been a magnet for young professionals seeking an exceptional quality of life. However, recent shifting market dynamics have cast a shadow of uncertainty, compelling stakeholders to navigate a path to recovery with adaptability and resilience. Portland’s overall office market vacancy is currently 22 percent across the metro area. Downtown vacancy — which includes the Central Eastside, Northwest Close-in and Lloyd District — is at about 28 percent. Of that vacant space, 3.3 million square feet is Class A. Moreover, sublease availability across the overall office market is up 67 percent year over year and investment remains paused. Capital is waiting on the sidelines due to elevated interest rates and generally tighter financial conditions. Despite these stats, the market is showing some bright spots. The rate at which newly available sublease space is being put on the market has slowed compared to when this narrative was dominating headlines. There’s even a chance of a slight quarter-over-quarter decrease …
PORTLAND, ORE. — Norris & Stevens has arranged the sale of an industrial and office building located at 2316 NE Glisan St. in Portland. Meidi LLC purchased the property from TJR LLC for $1.4 million. Constructed 1953, the 5,140-square-foot industrial and office property features a main level that includes a warehouse/production space and one grade-level overhead door. The second floor features five private offices, a conference room, open work space and a mezzanine storage area. Greg Nesting and Gabe Schnitzer of Portland-based Norris & Stevens represented the seller, while Andrew Galler of Realty Works Group represented the buyer in the transaction.
— By Keegan Clay, Executive Director, Cushman & Wakefield — The Portland metro industrial market is well poised for investment and rent growth into 2024, despite an increase in sublease space coming to market. Portland has experienced many great trends, particularly in the past few years, including year-over-year double-digit rent growth, compressed cap rates, positive net absorption (occupancy growth), strong tenant demand, all-time low vacancy at 2.5 percent and land prices tripling in a short timespan. Such movement has led to increased competition and investment in the Portland region. We have seen an increase in sublease space hitting the market over the past five months to the tune of more than 2 million square feet. The majority of this relinquished space has stemmed from just a few users. Many of these subleases are a result of acquisitions with companies looking to increase efficiencies by eliminating redundancies. Some industrial users have consolidated out of market, including a major home goods business (648,000 square feet), while others have grown their real estate position in Portland. This includes a leading B2B electrical and industrial distribution company (293,000 square feet). Year to date, we have yet to see any of the larger …