Repurposed Historic Properties May Help Satisfy Increasing Tenant Demand for Authentic Creative Office Space in Portland’s Pearl District
NEW YORK, NY – January 10, 2018 – Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Real Estate (“GSAM PRE”) announced today that it has acquired, in a joint venture partnership with HP Investors (together with GSAM PRE, the “Partnership”), Block 90 and 300 Building, a two- building 85,753 SF historic office portfolio located in Portland, Oregon (the “Properties”).
The buildings, which are adjacent to each other and comprise an entire block in the Pearl District, are listed on the National Historic Register, originally constructed in 1939 and 1946 as a printing press and supply depot for GE, but have been recently redeveloped. The Properties’ historic exterior is complemented by high-quality interior finishes with exposed “brick and-beam” features. The Properties are centrally located at NW Everett and 13th Avenue, which is in the heart of the Pearl District and offers tenants a live-work-play dynamic due to its proximity to retail amenities such as at the nearby Brewery Blocks, public transportation, and a significant number of residential projects.
The Partnership plans to maintain the boutique creative office space that caters to demand from a wide range of tenants in the marketplace looking for authentic, repurposed, office space. The Partnership will also focus on maintaining the occupancy of the ground-floor retail spaces that are currently leased by some of the top locally owned restauranteurs, who benefit from the foot traffic along the NW 13th Avenue Historic District. The Historic District is home to breweries, cafes, markets and numerous Pearl District Business Association events.
“The Portland office market has emerged as one of the premier West Coast office markets due to its strong and growing employment base, while being at a significant discount to nearby West Coast alternatives such as San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle. This is in part due to Portland’s growing contingent of skilled millennial employees who have sought out Portland’s better quality of life and lower cost of living,” said Joseph Sumberg, Co-Head of GSAM PRE. “We are excited about the opportunity to provide such a well-suited creative office asset to a tenant base that is keenly focused on authentic, repurposed historic space in a submarket with limited availability.”
“These buildings represent irreplaceable assets in an unparalleled Portland location,” continued Marc Stanworth, Principal with HP Investors. “We are thrilled to again partner with GSAM PRE to implement our long-term ownership strategy that will support the continued growth of these unique properties and the surrounding Pearl District neighborhood.”
The Property is GSAM PRE’s 21st office investment and its first investment in Portland. Overall, the group owns more than 3.7mm square feet of office space across the United States.
Chris Johnson and MaryKay West with Colliers International represented the buyer in the acquisition of the 300 Building.
About Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Real Estate
Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) Private Real Estate focuses on investing across all major property types spanning the risk and return spectrum, sourcing opportunities in primary and secondary markets. The group employs an active management approach, often partnering with operators or property managers to renovate and rebrand assets, including by implementing energy and operating efficiency programs to potentially realize cost savings. The group manages over $1.9 billion of real estate assets as of September 30, 2017 and is part of GSAM, one of the world’s leading investment managers with more than $1.2 trillion in assets under supervision globally as of September 30, 2017.
About HP Investors
HP Investors, founded in 2010, is a real estate investor / developer with offices in San Diego and Oakland, CA. The firm focuses on long-term oriented real estate investments in urban locations on the West Coast. The firm currently owns and manages over 45 real estate investments worth more than $500 million. For more information about HP Investors, please see our website, www.hpinvestors.com.