The real estate people in Portland really are ga-ga. Check out this doozy, in the middle of a deep economic trough and nothing but a jobless recovery in sight, if that:
Nevertheless, LAB hopes to turn the former industrial site-comprised of warehouses, grain elevators and a seven-story flour mill, all built between 1910 and 1940-into a culinary attraction, with restaurants, a farmer’s market, wine shops and even light food manufacturing.
Oh yeah, there's a winner. They'd probably be better off leveling the lot and rolling in some $4 burrito carts.
It ain't just the pilings that are rotten -- it's the business plan, too.
Of course, if people want to throw their money at pipedreams, it's nobody else's business. But this is Portland; I smell public funds and tons of bureaucrat time here. I shudder to ask.
And the best part is that they'll never have to show up with the money to make this happen. Like far too many similar projects around the country, the only ones that happen are the ones finished at the beginning of the boom. This one will find a few suckers willing to throw in a few million, and then you'll never hear from the developers again unless they're seen in Carnival in Rio.
The names of the developers sound familiar. These guys may have been the same ones who tried to stiff my wife and her sibs over property in SE PDX. They almost succeeded until they ran a very nasty real estate attorney who represented the estate. Then things got squared away very quickly - even stuck them with all the legal bills and closed down that particular operation in short order. But it sounds like they are back toying with bigger numbers. Heaven help us all. I prefer lynch pins myself.
I wonder if Centennial Mills would have been developed decades ago if the property wasn't owned by PDC and if public subsidies weren't common. Now, everyone waits for a subsidy, and PDC owns so many properties that the only way to develop any significant project is to go through them. In that way, PDC acts as a gatekeeper, letting in developers who play, and protecting them from the competition by developers outside that PDC/developer partnership. Not only does this arrangement stifle development, and cause any development that does happen to require large infusions of tax revenue, it also seems unconstitutional to have a government use its authority to insulate its own partnerships from private competition.
I wonder if SoWhat would have been developed starting back in the late 80s if the PDC didn't get involved with all their subsidies? Schnitzer, Zidell, Pegasus and others wanted to develop before Mayor Katz, Goldschmidt and Sam stepped in and promised our taxpayer monies with PDC's controls.
Charamba, Douro 2008
Horse Heaven Hills, Cabernet 2010
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills Pinot Grigio 2011
Avignonesi, Montepulciano 2004
Lorelle, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011
Villa Antinori, Toscana 2007
Mercedes Eguren, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Lorelle, Columbia Valley Cabernet 2011
Purple Moon, Merlot 2011
Purple Moon, Chardonnnay 2011
Abacela, Vintner's Blend No. 12
Opula Red Blend 2010
Liberte, Pinot Noir 2010
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Indian Wells Red Blend 2010
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2011
King Estate, Pinot Noir 2011
Famille Perrin, Cotes du Rhone Villages 2010
Columbia Crest, Les Chevaux Red 2010
14 Hands, Hot to Trot White Blend
Familia Bianchi, Malbec 2009
Terrapin Cellars, Pinot Gris 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2009
Campo Viejo, Rioja, Termpranillo 2010
Ravenswood, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2010
Waterbrook, Reserve Merlot 2009
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills, Pinot Grigio 2011
Tarantas, Rose
Chateau Lajarre, Bordeaux 2009
La Vielle Ferme, Rose 2011
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio 2011
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir 2009
Lello, Douro Tinto 2009
Quinson Fils, Cotes de Provence Rose 2011
Anindor, Pinot Gris 2010
Buenas Ondas, Syrah Rose 2010
Les Fiefs d'Anglars, Malbec 2009
14 Hands, Pinot Gris 2011
Conundrum 2012
Condes de Albarei, Albariño 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2007
Penelope Sanchez, Garnacha Syrah 2010
Canoe Ridge, Merlot 2007
Atalaya do Mar, Godello 2010
Vega Montan, Mencia
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2009
Portuga, Rose 2011
Revelation, Chardonnay, Pays d'Oc 2010
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 2005
Monte Alto, Tinto Reserva 2005
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Cabernet, Indian Wells 2009
Espiral, Vinho Rose
Vin-Koru, Pinot Gris 2011
14 Hands, Hot to Trot Red 2009
Rodney Strong, Cabernet, Sonoma 2009
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #11
Portuga, White 2010
La Bourgeoisie, Red 2009
Januik, Red 2009
Three Rivers, River's Red 2008
Kirkland, Alexander Valley Merlot 2008
Muga, Rioja Rose 2010
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
The Occasional Book
Neil Young - Waging Heavy Peace
Mark Bego - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2012 ed.)
Jenny Lawson - Let's Pretend This Never Happened
J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Timothy Egan - The Big Burn
Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt
Road Work
Miles run year to date: 21
At this date last year: 52
Total run in 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269
Comments (11)
Mushkila Kabeer!
Posted by Abe | December 21, 2009 7:15 AM
Hey, careful! He only needs to get Samdy excited about it and its a done deal.
Posted by Steve | December 21, 2009 7:23 AM
And the best part is that they'll never have to show up with the money to make this happen. Like far too many similar projects around the country, the only ones that happen are the ones finished at the beginning of the boom. This one will find a few suckers willing to throw in a few million, and then you'll never hear from the developers again unless they're seen in Carnival in Rio.
Posted by Texas Triffid Ranch | December 21, 2009 8:14 AM
"Sadeghi and Aeh both declined to give an estimated project cost, though Sadeghi noted it’s been estimated at $55 million."
Aaah, I'm getting sentimental. Wasn't 55 million one of the final tram numbers?
You know you've had a lot of projects when the same budget numbers start showing up again.
Posted by Bill McDonald | December 21, 2009 8:26 AM
Oh Jack, this is in the Pearl. Pearlites never run out of money to spend at frivolous markets.
They moved from NY or LA to their little play pen neighborhood specifically so that they could afford to throw money around forever.
Posted by Snards | December 21, 2009 8:50 AM
Add another gem to the crown of the Portland Development Commission.
Posted by john rettig | December 21, 2009 9:00 AM
Well maybe this will go better than SoWat and we can hope PDC spending will end-up NoWay.
Posted by LucsAdvo | December 21, 2009 12:38 PM
The names of the developers sound familiar. These guys may have been the same ones who tried to stiff my wife and her sibs over property in SE PDX. They almost succeeded until they ran a very nasty real estate attorney who represented the estate. Then things got squared away very quickly - even stuck them with all the legal bills and closed down that particular operation in short order. But it sounds like they are back toying with bigger numbers. Heaven help us all. I prefer lynch pins myself.
Posted by mrfearless47 | December 21, 2009 5:18 PM
Sadeghi was a guy that started up Quicksilver or was in the early stages after he worked for Jantzen.
Of course, once he made a lot of money he thinks he can do no wrong. His biggest thing is being the anti-mall person (whatever that means.)
Having said all of that, this project is gonna need a lot of public money, but its in the right location for Sam to get worked up about.
Posted by Steve | December 22, 2009 7:50 AM
I wonder if Centennial Mills would have been developed decades ago if the property wasn't owned by PDC and if public subsidies weren't common. Now, everyone waits for a subsidy, and PDC owns so many properties that the only way to develop any significant project is to go through them. In that way, PDC acts as a gatekeeper, letting in developers who play, and protecting them from the competition by developers outside that PDC/developer partnership. Not only does this arrangement stifle development, and cause any development that does happen to require large infusions of tax revenue, it also seems unconstitutional to have a government use its authority to insulate its own partnerships from private competition.
Posted by James | December 22, 2009 8:03 AM
I wonder if SoWhat would have been developed starting back in the late 80s if the PDC didn't get involved with all their subsidies? Schnitzer, Zidell, Pegasus and others wanted to develop before Mayor Katz, Goldschmidt and Sam stepped in and promised our taxpayer monies with PDC's controls.
Posted by Jerry | December 22, 2009 10:20 PM