In 2015, the City of Portland approved a policy requiring commercial buildings 20,000 square feet or larger to track energy performance information using the Energy Star Portfolio Manager, and to report that information to...more
According to national broker and research firm CBRE, e-commerce businesses led the nation in leasing new industrial space in 2020. This is understandable given that we were all stuck at home during quarantine....more
As the two-year pandemic finally begins to fade into the background (at least for now), commercial real estate continues to adapt to market challenges, both old and new. Inflation is an old challenge that took quite an...more
In 2021, the Consumer Price Index jumped 7%, the largest yearly increase since 1982. The monthly increase in December 2021 was the largest in 40 years. Most economic experts believe that this inflationary period is a result...more
Last July we discussed the temporary adoption of remote online notarization (RON) in Oregon through June 30, 2021. On June 15, 2021, Governor Brown signed Senate Bill 765 making RON permanent. She also signed Senate Bill 220,...more
The long saga of the COVID-19 residential eviction moratorium in Oregon continues with the recent passage of Senate Bill 278, but there are indications that this may be the end of the road...more
Lately, each day has brought more signs that pandemic restrictions are being loosened and the opportunity for a “return to normal” is growing. But for commercial real estate landlords and tenants, will there be a new normal?...more
Starting March 8, small business owners in Oregon with 100 or fewer employees and who are behind on their rent can apply for a grant from Business Oregon, the state’s economic development agency. Grants are available for up...more
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On November 19, 2020, the Oregon Housing and Community Services Department (OHCS) announced a $20 million fund called the Oregon Homeowner Stabilization Initiative (OHSI) to help homeowners who are behind on their mortgage...more
On October 15, 2020 at 11:56 a.m., Portland General Electric Company shut down the coal-fired Boardman electricity generating station for the last time. Boise-based Idaho Power, which serves customers in eastern Oregon, is a...more
On September 28, Governor Kate Brown issued Executive Order 20-56. Citing the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the recent state wildfires, the Order extends the existing ban on eviction of residential tenants for non-payment of...more
Like most other industries, the real estate business was turned upside-down in March when the COVID-19 outbreak got real. Now that five months have passed and life with COVID-19 appears to be the new normal, some real estate...more
A recent study evaluated three overlooked steps that developers can take that will often result in surprising savings in development costs. The study focused on the development of wind energy generation facilities, but the...more
On June 30, 2020, the Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council (EFSC) issued a permanent administrative order adopting rule changes to hopefully clarify when new solar energy projects in the state must get a land use permit from...more
In a prior blog post, we identified the recent trend to adoption of e-notarization in several states in response to the COVID crisis. As of that time, Oregon had not authorized e-notarization on either a permanent or...more
On June 26, state lawmakers approved House Bill 4213 extending Governor Brown’s executive order temporarily prohibiting evictions of both residential and commercial tenants for non-payment of rent or other charges under a...more
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has brought a whirlwind of changes to how business is done in Oregon and across the country, and commercial real estate is no different. Enough time has passed, however, that a pattern of...more
Remote online notarization of documents, often called e-notarization, permits the execution of notarized documents via an audio-visual link between the signer and the notary. This eliminates the need for the signer and notary...more
A new infographic released by Cushman & Wakefield looks at the past 10 years of commercial real estate growth in Portland. With so much demand for office space from the multiple industries fueling our region's growth, I’m not...more
Is Portland really requiring private developers to provide campsites for the homeless? To find out, we checked in with our Ear to the Ground Person on the Street (“ETTGPOTS”).
Us: What the heck happened, that got so many...more
Commercial property owners and tenants often ask their lawyers for a "form lease." But no form will fit every situation, and this is particularly true when the tenant is a cannabis business.
Because cannabis remains...more
Our Real Estate Review miniseries continues with a look at the challenges developers often encounter due to local zoning and other land use regulations.
In Oregon, zoning and permitting regulations are mostly set by local...more
Crops need sun. Solar panels need sun. One would think there is enough sunshine, even in rainy Oregon, for everyone. But at the urging of some strict farmland preservationists, the Oregon Land Conservation and Development...more
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, signed into law in December 2017, promised radical changes to the federal tax code. Many of its goodies were aimed at the real estate industry, but because of a critical drafting error, many...more
Local real estate investment firm NBP Capital acquired the downtown Multnomah County courthouse for $28 million this past November. The current structure was completed in 1914, although the site has been the home of the...more