Development

Meira Gebel
May 31, 2023 - Development

Downtown Portland awaits Ritz-Carlton's summer opening

An image of the Ritz Carlton skyscraper in downtown Portland.

The new Ritz-Carlton Residences, Portland, will be one of the city’s tallest buildings. Photo: Courtesy of the Ritz-Carlton Residences, Portland

The $600 million Ritz-Carlton Residences, Portland, at 900 SW Washington St. was slated to be partly open this month, and though that has not happened, the developers are sticking with their late-summer schedule for completion.

Why it matters: Developer Walt Bowen is betting big on the return of our once-bustling downtown, while city officials are hoping to use the new luxury landmark to lure Portlanders of all kinds — not just the top 1% — back to the city's center.

Meira Gebel
May 26, 2023 - Development

Portland's fifth tiny home shelter site opens

A photo of seven tiny homes part of Portland's Safe Rest Villages program.

A section of the new Safe Rest Villages site in St. Johns. Photo: Meira Gebel/Axios

On Wednesday, Axios toured the newest Safe Rest Villages site — Peninsula Crossing in St. Johns, right off North Macrum Avenue.

Why it matters: This is the fifth tiny home shelter site to open in Portland, and based on Multnomah County data, the program has shown early success in moving people experiencing homelessness into permanent housing.

Portland's downtown activity flounders post-pandemic

Data: University of Toronto; Chart: Alice Feng/Axios

Downtown activity has yet to return to pre-pandemic rates in Portland.

  • That's according to anonymized mobile device connectivity data analyzed by researchers at the University of Toronto's School of Cities.
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