Another rush-rush deal before the Sam Rands hit the road
Having turned gold to lead in the SoWhat District, Homer Williams and his crew are now going to get to build a hotel there. The Portland Development Commission has approved the Homer proposal over the two others that were vying for the site.
Apparently, one factor tipping the decision was the Williams group's willingness to put down a nonrefundable deposit and close more quickly than the other bidders. Ah yes, time is of the essence with just about everything in Portland these days.
If a successful hotel is actually built in SoWhat, we'd be mighty surprised.
Comments (13)
Once the hotel's open, we can float the Convention Center upstream and anchor it offshore. If we can't build a headquarters hotel next to the Convention Center, maybe we can move the Convention Center next to the headquarters hotel.
Great idea Isaac! Only let's make the convention center a casino!
Nah...on second thought we wouldn't want anything, even something as distasteful as a casino, to generate any money!
Maybe Homer will name it the "Jumby Bay" in memory of his early days in the Caribbean, where he no doubt still keeps his money these days.
Oh so untraceable.
SoWhat hasn't had one street improvement even though much of the TIF dollars have been spent, except that SW Moody has been rebuilt twice, and it was already there. Even though 97% of the trips into SoWhat are by vehicles and people get lost trying to find the place, who cares?
But if Homer is successful with the Hotel gig, watch how the North Portal street improvements are done for Homer's Hotel before the 8 year delayed South Portland at Macadam and Bancroft. The South Portal has a higher priority than the North. But Homer will make sure that's changed.
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
Hope Larson - A Wrinkle in Time, the Graphic Novel
Rudyard Kipling - Kim
Peter Ames Carlin - Bruce
Fran Cannon Slayton - When the Whistle Blows
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: 29
At this date last year: 66
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 (13)
Once the hotel's open, we can float the Convention Center upstream and anchor it offshore. If we can't build a headquarters hotel next to the Convention Center, maybe we can move the Convention Center next to the headquarters hotel.
Posted by Isaac Laquedem | May 3, 2012 2:43 PM
Great idea Isaac! Only let's make the convention center a casino!
Nah...on second thought we wouldn't want anything, even something as distasteful as a casino, to generate any money!
Posted by portland native | May 3, 2012 2:46 PM
"Apparently, one factor tipping the decision was the Williams group's..."
...steady stream of campaign contributions over the years.
I'd love to see a full accounting of how much public subsidy this one company has gotten in SoWa alone.
Posted by Snards | May 3, 2012 3:03 PM
I wonder what the name of the hotel will be?
Posted by Gil Slater | May 3, 2012 3:53 PM
How about road improvements so you can actually get in and out!
Pity the poor visitor who tries to navigate the maze.
Posted by Mike (one of the many) | May 3, 2012 4:02 PM
Can't wait to kickback at The Hotel Kickback. Relax. Just lay back & enjoy it all.
Posted by Mojo | May 3, 2012 4:52 PM
Avalon seems to be doing okay.
Posted by Max | May 3, 2012 6:35 PM
Maybe Homer will name it the "Jumby Bay" in memory of his early days in the Caribbean, where he no doubt still keeps his money these days.
Oh so untraceable.
Posted by Portland Native | May 3, 2012 8:08 PM
SoWhat hasn't had one street improvement even though much of the TIF dollars have been spent, except that SW Moody has been rebuilt twice, and it was already there. Even though 97% of the trips into SoWhat are by vehicles and people get lost trying to find the place, who cares?
But if Homer is successful with the Hotel gig, watch how the North Portal street improvements are done for Homer's Hotel before the 8 year delayed South Portland at Macadam and Bancroft. The South Portal has a higher priority than the North. But Homer will make sure that's changed.
Posted by lw | May 3, 2012 8:14 PM
Isn't there already a hotel in Riverplace, just down the road a bit? Isn't it struggling?
Posted by Talea | May 3, 2012 8:40 PM
Things need to happen quickly before arrest warrants are issued.
Posted by Mr. Grumpy | May 3, 2012 9:28 PM
How hard would it be to bribe an insider and learn how much Naito's bid was in advance?
The 0.477% bid variance between the top two contenders is suspicious, especially given that Homer came out on top.
Have any PDC underlings bought a new car or condo WITH CASH in the last three months?
Posted by MIster Tee | May 4, 2012 7:45 AM
The Nines' is doing so well - in a PRIME location - that a SoWhat hotel ought to be gangbusting!
Or...a place for a REALLY good night's sleep. Nice and quiet. Maybe a little too quiet.
Posted by Erik H. | May 4, 2012 12:25 PM