Fanno Creek Place lands first tenant after two years

Another new building, Pacific Financial Center on Highway 99W, is still hunting for tenants

By Geoff Pursinger And Nick Peterson

The Times, Jul 5, 2010

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“It’s the market,” West said. “It’s a good building, it’s just a function of the market that it’s stayed empty.”

Fanno Creek Place isn’t alone, according to West, up to 30 percent of the suburban Portland commercial real estate market is up for grabs, and it’s not uncommon to have so-called “spec-buildings” at least partially empty in the down economy.

Pacific Financial Center

Across town on the other side of Tualatin along Highway 99W is the Pacific Financial Center, a beautiful, four-story, 95,000-square-foot building that has also never had a tenant since it opened its doors. The building is owned by Quest Group Trust 8, a group of construction union pension funds managed by Quest Investment Management.

“We opened the building in early 2009 and as things unfolded we decided to shut it down in the latter half of ’09,” said Kevin Johnson, the senior asset manager for Quest. “We reopened it again in February and we’ve been marketing it heavily. We do not have any tenants, but, unlike last year, we’re having lots of discussions.”

Johnson said the timing was poor in terms of constructing the building at the beginning of the economic downturn, but the owners built it without incurring any debt.

“So the ownership is in a very strong position, and we’re intent on waiting it out and providing Class A space,” Johnson said. “We’re also developing a retail piece out on the corner.”

That piece of the property on the coner of Southwest 124th and Highway 99W would be retail space for businesses like Starbucks and Cold Stone Creamery, Johnson said.

As far as attracting tenants, Johnson said, “We’re gathering information that we’ve been told will be interesting to banks. We’ve gone to banks and asked what kind of information would demonstrate to them that this is the right location for their bank. We have a space in the building that is designed for a bank and often times certain key tenants will attract other tenants.”

When asked if he thinks the economy may be turning around now, Johnson said he’s hopeful it is.

“But, certainly, it’s not hard to turn around much from zero,” he added.

Quest held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the building Wednesday.

Another level?

Back at Fanno Creek Place, West said that now the first tenants have signed, more will follow.

“Everything has a ripple effect,” she said. “The permits will go to the city, and people will talk to people who talk to people, and soon the physical signs of activity in the building will ramp everything up to another level.”

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