PDC Leads Broker Tour

On December 5, PDC staff led an early morning tour of Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. for a group of fifteen commercial brokers. The tour served three purposes:

• Create greater awareness of the benefits and opportunities available to businesses interested in locating in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. corridor;
  
• Educate brokers about available space for lease on the boulevard, highlighting projects that PDC has been involved with, as well as private projects with space available; and,
  
• Promote PDC programs such as Storefront, DOS, and small business loans to brokers, so that they can market this information to businesses looking for assistance.

This tour gave staff the opportunity to highlight some of the efforts underway that will improve the corridor. The tour visited four key PDC-involved projects to demonstrate catalytic public investments and specific opportunities in the area. The tour began at King’s Crossing, 3500 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., which recently signed its first tenant, Terroir. Participants were impressed with the energy on the boulevard and appreciated opportunity to see first hand how PDC assists with redevelopment.

Restaurant Signs Lease for Location on NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard

Terroir, a restaurant and wine bar, has signed a lease in the new King’s Crossing project located on NE Fremont Street between Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Grand Avenue in northeast Portland’s King neighborhood. The site has been known as the Fremont Project site and formerly housed the King Food Market. Terroir will occupy 2,400 square feet in the building on one floor. It will be open for dinner Tuesday through Sunday from 4:00-10:00 p.m. The restaurant will seat 65 inside with 15 seats outside—weather permitting. Owners Stu Stein and Mary Hinds are planning a May 2007 opening.

Terrior is a French word that loosely translates as a “taste of a place.” The term refers to a combination of climate, feed, soil and seasonal shifts that contribute to the end product whether that product is a local wine or produce. Terrior features food and wine from Pacific Northwest farms and wineries and its chef, Stu Stein, is the author of The Sustainable Kitchen: Passionate Cooking Inspired by Farms, Forests & Oceans which features cuisine based on seasonal ingredients and use of local products. The owners of Terroir are committed to sustainability and they appreciate the green building features of King’s Crossing. The building is slated to achieve LEED Silver certification.

Terroir Restaurant is excited to be part of the new King's Crossing project.

“We are pleased to have Terroir as a new tenant. The owner’s innovation and community-consciousness is representative of the emerging vibrancy along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard,” said Ron Sykes, a member of the project development team.

In addition to the new restaurant, the project contains 5,600 square feet of new office space on the second floor that enjoys views of the neighborhood and the city. King’s Crossing will serve as a Gateway into inner northeast Portland and anchor a prominent corner with new businesses that serve the community. The redevelopment of this site has been a community and neighborhood goal for a number of years. [For more information on leasing opportunities, contact Dan Bozich at Urban Works, 503-228-3080 or Jake Lancaster at Grubb & Ellis, 503-972-5511.]

Financing was provided through a collaborative effort utilizing Portland New Markets Fund I, LLC New Markets Tax Credit allocation in conjunction with the Portland Family of Funds. This has been the first use of this financing structure in the Oregon Convention Center Urban Renewal Area (URA). PDC also provided $2.9 million in tax increment funds from the URA which leveraged the New Markets Tax Credits. The public financing is leveraging $345,000 in private financing for the project to cover additional tenant improvement costs.

NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard Economic Development Study