10.04.07
Elizabeth Lofts Sues Bar
Willamette Week reports that the Elizabeth Lofts condos are suing one of their own. Apparently the bar Trust...A Lounge, located on the building's SE corner, is falling out of favor with the neighbors. Elizabeth Lofts contends the bar's late hours and smoking patrons are ruining the reputation of the building. Anyone know if the bar owns or leases its space? This should get interesting...
10.03.07
"Spoil A Pet" Day at Umpqua
Any event that combines massage + psychic readings + costumes sounds fun, even if we can't technically join in...
This Friday, Oct. 5, Umpqua Bank is hosting "Spoil A Pet" Day from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., featuring a pet psychic, a pet masseuse, the Pearl Retriever, and OHS dogs available for adoption (between 11 am – 3 pm only). Pets are encouraged to come in Halloween costumes. All services for the day are complimentary.
Umpqua Bank is located at 1241 SW 10th Ave. in the Pearl District right outside the Pearl District.
Edited to Add: sorry for any confusion! We'd been told about this event by numerous people and ended up crossing our wires. It's being held at their downtown location (across from Safeway), rather than in the Pearl. Can you tell we're on vacation?
08.30.07
Coach Glanville Touts the Pearl
PSU's new football coach, Jerry Glanville, shows some love for his new neighborhood in the latest USA Today.
They live in an apartment in the city's Pearl District, and the streetcar runs underneath their window.The article talks about Glanville's colorful personality and the renewed optimism his arrival has brought to PSU students and alumni. Go Vikings!"We can walk to 60 restaurants," Glanville says. "We can be at Jimmy Mak's listening to the blues at 10 o'clock, walk home and be in bed by 10:30. It's a really great area to live. And the people here have been so nice to us. I just hope we can repay everybody by winning some games."
08.17.07
Pearl District Developer for Mayor?
Willamette Week is reporting that Pearl District developer Robert Ball is considering a run for mayor, that is, if Mayor Potter doesn't run for reelection. Ball is responsible for numerous Pearl District developments over the past few years, including the Marshall-Wells Lofts, the Avenue Lofts and The Wyatt.
Even if he doesn't run for mayor, it seems Ball is no stranger to lobbying for change. Just last month, Willamette Week wrote about his quest to change club policy at Columbia Edgewater to allow spousal privileges for gay members' partners.
And for another interesting read, here's an older Portland Business Journal profile on Ball.
08.02.07
Best of Portland (x2)
Just days after Willamette Week’s “Best Of” issue comes Portland Monthly’s annual version. Several Pearl District businesses were featured, including Kanani Pearl Spa for its soothing Hawaiian Hot Stone Massage.
“Kanani’s masseurs have all studied with Hawaiian masters of the technique, and the 85 minutes of fluid, rhythmic massage strokes – paired with the sound of the spa’s trickling waterfall – are so entrancing you’ll feel as if you were lying right on the Kona coast.”*sigh* we could really use one right now...
Other Pearl businesses that received glowing Best Of honors: Oblation, Urban Fauna, Cielo Home, Hive, Moulé, Michelle Decourcy, Hiroshi, Urbane Zen and Nolita.
Speaking of Nolita… they’re planning a huge blowout sale with summer items up to 70% off. The sale starts this Sat., Aug. 4, and lasts just one week.
08.01.07
Cupcake Jones Makes TV Debut
Our very own Cupcake Jones is being featured on KGW-TV this morning!
When entertainment reporter Drew Carney asked us about what's new in the neighborhood, we couldn't resist bragging about their special cupcakes. We suggested he do a live morning TV segment with them and a few weeks later, he came calling.
Check it out this morning, from 5-7 a.m. on channel 8. We'll post a clip from the show later today!
Updated to Add: Here's a compilation of this morning's cupcake clips!
07.24.07
Armed Robber Hits Via Delizia
Attention Pearl District business owners and residents... today we've actually got some serious news.
An armed robber hit popular Italian cafe Via Delizia this past Friday night, and owners Karen and Chris want to spread the word to help protect their neighboring businesses.
Shortly before midnight (closing time on the weekend), a white male carrying a Louis Vuitton "mailbag" came in the restaurant and demanded the money from the till while brandishing a silver and black gun in the front of his waistband. Via Delizia employees complied and the man stuffed the money in his large bag and left.
The robber was approximately 5'9" - 5'10", white, lanky with a thin face and scruffy dark goatee. He wore dark jeans, a dark shirt and a red baseball cap with a black bill. According to the Pearl District Business Association, this isn't the first armed robbery in the neighborhood. The Quizno's shop in the Marshall Wells building was also hit recently, and police think it's the same guy.
If you notice someone matching this description, lingering around your business near closing time, alert the police. We're thinking his stylish Louis Vuitton bag, real or not, is gonna get him caught!
07.24.07
Bits and Pieces of Pearl District News
The Brewery Blocks have only been up for sale for a matter of months and they're already going, going, gone! According to today's Oregonian, JPMorgan Chase & Co. outbid 15 other companies for the right to shell out $291.6 million for the coveted property.
The public may see little or no impact from the sale, at least in the short term. Nearly all of the tenants are in long-term leases of about 10 years or so.Seven years after the brewery purchase, the blocks are nearly 100 percent occupied, and many of the eight local investors that originally invested in the development are ready to move on.
In other Pearl development news, the new foot and bike overpass proposed by the Pearl District Neighborhood Association is getting some coverage in local media. KGW business reporter Joe Smith reports on the project, calling it "expensive, but possibly historic." So who's gonna foot the bill?
The Pearl District Neighborhood Association will use tax incremental funding and help from the Portland Development Commission to foot the bill for some of the the extra cost. The rest will come from private donors.
06.20.07
"A Streetcar Named Aspire"
Today's Wall Street Journal features an article on the streetcar boom, discussing cities in which streetcar projects have been part of an overall goal to spur development. Portland and the Pearl District are mentioned:
... And in Portland, Ore., the poster child for such development, officials say the streetcar system has helped bring $2.7 billion in investment within two blocks of its 3.6 mile line, much of it in the 24-hour hub known as the Pearl District. "It's one of the most vibrant neighborhoods in the city," says Richard Brandman, deputy planning director for Metro, the Portland area's regional government.The topic of our streetcars is always met with some debate, usually stemming around whether they're the best use of public funds - not just here, but in other cities as well. The streetcar proponents in the article argue that streetcars are not designed to save time, but rather to change the way neighborhoods are built.
05.29.07
Pearl Realtor Takes Issue with Construction Waste
Realtor Brian Ramsay, who lives in the area and represents many Pearl District real estate clients, recently started noticing some odd debris floating through the sky at NW 12th and Lovejoy. The objects, he discovered, are bits of aluminum sheets which are a by-product from the pressure of pounding steel beams into the ground at a Pearl area construction site.
Prompted by Brian's concerns, the DEQ briefly visited the site and declared that the debris is within "acceptable low risk levels." Brian, however, was still determined to make the developer accountable for the mess they're making, and shared his concerns with KGW-TV. Check out a clip of the story that recently ran. Kudos to Brian for his dedication to the neighborhood's cleanliness and safety!
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