“We benefit from powerful trends toward density and quality of life,” says MachineWorks developer Al Solheim. “Companies want places their employees can live and work.”

If you say it enough times, it becomes true, right?

A trip through Bridgeport Village, Washington Square, Tanasbourne and Clackamas Town Center might be eye opening to the sycophants who wrote that missive.

I was absolutely shocked at the holiday traffic at Clackamas TC and Bridgeport Village. Lloyd Center...not so much.

You heard it here first: when the holiday retail numbers come out, it will reveal that the flow of money is out of Portland proper to retailers outside the reach of Portland City Hall.

In general, the city center now attracts businesses that suburban campuses once monopolized — [such as] Northwest Evaluation Associates, which moved 450 employees to Old Town from Lake O in December.

In other words, a relocation of jobs rather than 450 new ones. Big deal.

Bob Tiernan
Portland

Al will say and do most anything that benefits Al.

Does anyone think maybe the rent might have benn quite a bit lower at Al's place compared to their old digs??

It would be interesting to know if any of these relocations were the result of smart money 'encouragements', aka bribes, i.e. more tax-funded subisidies. Good luck finding out the truth.

"On a grander scale, Intel’s $4 billion–plus expansion plans seem to give everyone a contact high."

Sure, they are a charitable non-prof, right? Why locate here...hmmm? Cheap power? No, not any more, the trend is for rising costs. Cheap water? No, same trend. Hah! Cheap labor with the current salary depression -- that's the ticket.

Am I being cynical? Try this opening paragraph from an article titled, "High-Tech Firms Flock To Pacific Northwest" on page 38 of the 18 December 1995 issue of the trade tabloid Electronic News:

Power, water, people. Usually in that order.

If anyone asks, I'll scan the page and put it up in the cloud for perusal.

Whistling past the graveyard...

"Students who want that environment will gravitate to places like Portland State. We awarded more degrees last year than any Oregon university ever—over 5,000.”

PSU aka Diploma Mill State. PSU will take anyone.

It would be interesting to know if any of these relocations were the result of smart money 'encouragements'

Good point - Portland is so popular we need to bribe Vestas and Rentrak several million to stay here.

Does anyone take Portland Monthly seriously?

Steve - Let me answer your question with a question. Does anyone take cheerleaders seriously?

"Does anyone take cheerleaders seriously?"

Depends on how attractive they are, but in this case, no.

I guess you can include Nick Fish in the happy clueless also.

The clueless keep forgetting the other news that is reported. Like 9200 industrial sector jobs that have been lost in central Portland between 2000 to 2006. Or like OHSU laying off 1000 people last year. Or of the top 5 employers in central Portland, the top 3 are government employers.

Then there is the long list of employers that have left or had major layoffs like Freightliner, Conway, Esco, etc. The PR trumpeters ignore these facts as well as the recent Portland Business Alliance Report.

Now it’s full, with tenants like Microsoft

Oooh, Microsoft moved 40 jobs from Lincoln Center in Tigard to Portland!

Meanwhile, Microsoft runs an extensive (gasp!) bus system to help its 40,000 Puget Sound employees get to work. God forbid that techies will ride a bus...but in Seattle they do! And I don't see Microsoft taking over the old WaMu tower in downtown Seattle...

“We benefit from powerful trends toward density and quality of life,” says MachineWorks developer Al Solheim. “Companies want places their employees can live and work.”

Who is We??

From what I have seen density has not been beneficial to quality of life.

At the same time the price of oil hit $90 a barrel recently with the recession still in full swing. And the number of miles driven by Americans has been dropping since 2005. See that year? That's before the recession started.

So those who accuse people of trying to push choo choo's from the 1920's may be equally guilty of worshipping the 1950's. Both era's have passed. It's the future we need to worry about.

Maybe Portland Monthly and its interviewees are being too optimistic, but that's certainly not a problem on this blog and with the blog's commenters. Jeez, you'd think we were living in Haiti or something ...

We are not living in Haiti,
people running the show are living in Hate!

Good comment Starbuck!
I would say people running the agenda are living in hate. Seems they have no real regard for people and how people need to live. The agenda is not about what is best for people; most of “today’s leaders” simply don’t give a damn.

Good comment clinamen.

Like Ahab chasing the white whale...
I guess that makes Portland the Pequod and Portlanders the sailors. I hope I get to be Ishmael.

Portland Monthly is still around? Knock me over with a feather. (The difference between writers at regional news and entertainment magazines and common prostitutes is that the hookers use the term "clients" instead of "subjects". That, and they're willing to hold out for a decent price on a Cleveland Steamer.)