Homer Williams's Downtown L.A. condo jungle flops
"There was sort of a mania that fed on itself. People said downtown was the future, and young people bought into it. Some of those buildings should not have been built."Sounds a lot like the SoWhat District.
But hey, trendsetters, Homer and the boys always have a spin just for you:
James Atkins, whose development firm, Portland, Ore.-based Williams, Dame & Atkins, has built two major projects downtown, is bullish on the area but acknowledges that its transformation is not complete.Catch you at the Discovery Center.From his developments elsewhere, Atkins has learned that younger people will live in edgy new neighborhoods. But a neighborhood becomes firmly established when older, more affluent people are willing to move in -- a sign that the area's safety and amenities match that of the suburbs where they'd been living.
Downtown needs even more restaurants, stores and parks for that to happen, Atkins said. "When the Westside empty-nesters arrive, that's when we'll see the real jump in the market," he said.
He added: "That process took 20 years in Portland."
| Posted at 6:08 AM | Permalink |
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Comments (10)
So, am I to understand that condo prices are on the way down? After all, basic economics dictates that a glut in "supply" decreases "demand" for the product.
Perhaps all Portland needs are more restaurants and boutique stores. According to James Atkins, we don't have enough choices for dinner on Friday nights...
Posted by Tim Trickey | March 14, 2008 8:57 AM
Somehow, I don't think that a majority of the folks who work downtown could afford one of Homer's condos even if they wanted one. And what with Portland's anti-business tax and fee structure, those condos aren't likely to sell out anytime soon. As it is, more businesses are relocating to Kruse Way than to downtown.
Posted by Max | March 14, 2008 9:51 AM
No problem. Just get OHSU to open a satellite campus in downtown L.A.
Posted by Bill McDonald | March 14, 2008 10:34 AM
Wow! Wonder if there's a link somewhere here to Mr. X???
See today's PtldBizJrnl:
[http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/highlights/2008/03/17/story3.html?ana=e_ph]
Pivotal, and its mystery man, land state pact
Growth Account selects investment firm for new sustainability fund
Portland Business Journal - March 17, 2008
by Andy Giegerich
Business Journal staff writer
"The state's continued efforts to brand sustainability as a valuable economic cluster hinge on three veteran venture capitalists and a mystery man known, for now, as "Mr. X."
"The anonymous "X" is one of four partners in the new Pivotal Investments Fund, a Portland firm that has secured a $5 million commitment from the Oregon Growth Account. Pivotal won the state-directed investment after promising to commit it, and as much as $65 million more, to companies dealing in the renewable energy, green building, biomass material and healthy food trades."
Posted by starbird | March 14, 2008 10:44 AM
what happens when a city runs out of "edgy neighborhoods" to redevelop?
when your population's exploding and you're redeveloping at breakneck speed, there's no "cycle" involved--it's a 400-pound guy on a donut rampage.
or, what happens when your city gets too big *and* runs out of edgy neighborhoods? i think i have an idea.
Posted by ecohuman.com | March 14, 2008 11:04 AM
Maybe it's time for Homer to take a vacation at Jumby Bay. He can deposit his cash there too...no pesky wire transfers to trace.
Posted by portland native | March 14, 2008 2:37 PM
"But a neighborhood becomes firmly established when older, more affluent people are willing to move in -- a sign that the area's safety and amenities match that of the suburbs where they'd been living."
And that's going to happen in Portland when...? Yes, there are a few empty-nesters down in Portland but the word is FEW. The area of downtown is ... safe??? Since when?? The downtown remains a dirty, unsafe, rather nasty place to live no matter how much you spent to live there.
Posted by native portlander | March 14, 2008 5:16 PM
Homer must be hurting with his LA failure and his SoWhat projects. His second almost completed SoWhat condo tower has postponed its marketing program because his first Meriweather Tower isn't even 80% sold. In fact there are numerous deposits forfeited on canceled sells and lawsuits to claim deposits on canceled sells. To make a profit one needs minimum 85% to 90% sells without discounted sales. Sales in the first project are now being discounted and he can't afford to place the second project on the market because it will deflate his first project.
He's in a pickle. This might turn out to be like his resort/housing failure in Bend over a decade ago. I feel for the subcontractors, other partner investors and lenders. Hang on, we might have affordable housing in SoWhat without the taxpayers even subsidizing it.
Posted by Lee | March 14, 2008 6:47 PM
"The downtown remains a dirty, unsafe, rather nasty place to live no matter how much you spent to live there."
That's right. Homer's condos and PDC's urban renewal areas miss the mark not only because of the down market, but because both fail to see the real soul of the city. Portland has been a grungy place for 160 years. So has downtown LA. Unless Portland kicks out the riff raff for good, the ghosts of all the druggies, slave traders and prostitutes are going to haunt these blighted areas, and few rich, soft and vulnerable people will want to live there. That's how we like it in Portland. That's how they like it in LA. Portland and LA don't need need to be developed by New Yorkers.
Posted by Pat | March 14, 2008 8:21 PM
Lee: This might turn out to be like his resort/housing failure in Bend over a decade ago. I feel for the subcontractors, other partner investors and lenders.
The subcontractors, certainly. As for the other partner investors - well, it's not as if they weren't warned. And the lenders? What can we say; certainly not much good judgment has prevailed lately in that industry.
Posted by john rettig | March 14, 2008 11:10 PM