Portland Urban

The Pearl Building - Going, Going, GONE!

The rumor on the street is that the 50,000 square foot Pearl Building has a new owner & tenant...The bank owned building at the corner of NW 13th & Glisan was auctioned off last Friday for $10,755,000.  The inside skinny is that fast growing Keen Footwear (already located in The Pearl) will occupy the mostly vacant office space and the ground floor storefront vacated by JD Madison in 2010.

Since Nike originally occupied the building back in the 90's and who's tenancy helped spark the first restoration (and The Pearl itself) of the building it only seems fitting that another great Portland footwear brand should do the same.  

Tough Times for National Real Estate Firm

It’s been a tough week for national real estate brokerage Grubb & Ellis, as the firm filed for bankruptcy protection Tuesday. Responsible for the acquisition is New York financial services firm, BGC Partners Inc., who agreed to buy essentially all the assets of Grubb & Ellis for an undisclosed price

The company is facing $30 million in debt set to mature March 1, and the firm does not have the cash reserves needed to push through the first quarter of the year.

There has been no confirmation as to whether the Grubb & Ellis name would survive the acquisition. The company's signature yellow-and-black signs are a common sight on commercial buildings available for sale or lease.

The news made national headlines, read more about it here.

Sustainable Sushi on NW 23rd Ave

Bamboo Sushi, one of Portland's premier Japanese restaurants, is a few short months away from opening at 838 NW 23rd Avenue, the former home of Rose's.  Bamboo Sushi is widely known for it's sustainable practices as well as offering exceptional fresh food in a warm and welcoming environment.

Urban Works was proud to have represented the ownership in your lease negotiations and welcomes you to NW 23rd!

Typhoon Restaurants Closed!

The long suffering Typhoon restaurant saga has finally come to an end.  All of the remaining five (5) restaurants have ceased operations as of February  5th. Originally opened in 1995 by Boo and Steve Kline to great reviews and fanfare at NW Everett and 23rd, the rapidly growing chain soon found itself embroiled in labor law investigations and civil lawsuits from former employees.  The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries formally charged Boo Kline more than $2 million in damages for Thai cooks allegedly discriminated against after an eight month investigation in 2011.  Since 1997, Typhoon (Kline) had used E-2 visas issued by the U.S. State Department to bring more than 100 cooks from Thailand to work at its restaurant.  

Typhoon's spinach leaf, ginger, shallot, lime, toasted peanut, dried shrimp, chilies and coconut (Miang Kum) and Pine Cone Fish dishes will never be forgotten...am laa

New Housing, Retail and Office Coming to Lower Burnside/Couch

The Burnside/Couch couplet has set the stage for market rate housing and office to continue to fuel the growth of this district. Mixed use housing over retail is under construction at NE Couch and 6th and two creative office rehabs are ready to start construction. This central city, urban location is a vital 24-hour a day scene.