From Downtown to Outlying Suburbs, Greater Portland Works
Published Mar 24, 2008
The renaissance of downtown Portland continues at a rapid clip, as businesses implement multimillion-dollar projects in retail, entertainment and housing.
In the 1970s, Portland rode populist movements to a new era of prosperity. One – a commitment to protecting its patch of the earth – led to wise planning of neighborhoods, business districts and countryside.
A second – innovative regional transit systems – helped people get to all those places while easing traffic congestion and being friendly to the atmosphere.
The land-use planning and transportation initiatives dovetailed with Portland’s love of the environment to produce some startling trends:
The bottom line: Portland is a green city that generates waves of prosperity for its citizenry, says Sandra McDonough, president and chief executive officer of the Portland Business Alliance. That prosperity extends from the central business district to the outlying suburbs.
The favorable business climate has produced a number of retail coups, including a renovated, five-floor Macy’s and a 12,000-square-foot Brooks Brothers (the nation’s oldest clothing retailer), both of which opened downtown in late 2007.
Pam Maggs, the Brooks Brothers district manager who opened the company’s store in the Galleria building, is a longtime advocate of the city. “I think we honestly wanted to be here because of the growth downtown,” she says. “It’s a good place to come with Macy’s opening. I think people want quality here – and that’s who we are.”
Another addition to Portland’s vibrant downtown is high-end Seattle women’s clothing retailer Jeri Rice, returning to the Portland roots of her family’s fashion business.
Cooperation Breeds Success
McDonough of the Portland Business Alliance comments, “What you’re seeing is a city that understands you need to invest in downtown, and you need to make things happen organically and also deliberately.”
The Alliance works with Greenlight Greater Portland, a private-sector-funded group established in 2007, to promote the region as an outstanding place for businesses. In a formula that generates billions of dollars of investment, the Alliance helps to ensure an ideal climate for business success, the 50-year-old Portland Development Commission sparks urban renewal in 11 districts and the 39-year-old TriMet provides transportation solutions.
Regional partners include the Westside Economic Alliance, which with the city of Hillsboro landed a 190,000-square-foot facility for Genentech, a Wall Street pharmaceutical darling ranked by Forbes magazine as America’s best workplace.
“The secret of the Genentech success is a splendid economic development effort in Hillsboro,” McDonough says. “We have a suburban area that is hitting on all cylinders.”
Company spokeswoman Colleen Wilson says Oregon’s tax advantages and the Portland region’s quality of life were key factors in Genentech’s choice of Hillsboro, a city of 85,000 where chipmaker Intel employs more than 15,000 with an annual payroll topping $1 billion.
Apparel also spells big business in the region. Washington County-based Nike is a $16-billion-a-year company, and Columbia Sportswear, Patagonia, Pendleton Woolen Mills and adidas have major operations here.
Story by Gary Perilloux
Photo by Jeff Adkins
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