From a recent Oregonian article on businesses almost frantic to leave city center:
"Businesses want out of downtown Portland, as soon as possible.
"The amount of space available for sublease in downtown jumped by 36% in the spring as tenants sought to vacate offices and storefronts in the early months of the coronavirus pandemic, according to data provided by real estate firm CBRE. Other firms have also reported an increase in the number of downtown businesses looking to leave."
The lead thought is that it is due to the pandemic though protests are mentioned.
"The pandemic has led to empty office buildings and a lack of tourism, depriving downtown businesses of their regular clientele. Business owners have expressed concerns about continued downtown protests, which have given Portland a reputation for upheaval and, at times, led to vandalism and looting."
Reporter Jamie Goldberg does take issue with real estate firm vice president Trevor Kafoury's claim that it is national coverage of Portland protests, not the protests themselves, that is causing people to stay away from downtown in droves. She points out that Kassab Jewelers and Standard Insurance have had real security problems.
“'I don’t think there are ‘unique’ issues,' Kafoury said. 'Many downtowns face issues related to social unrest. However, Portland has received an inordinate amount of national media attention and a challenge we face is overcoming the perception that has been created for downtown.'”
"However, it isn’t an issue of perception for some downtown businesses.
"Kassab Jewelers was looted after a riot broke out on May 30 following a peaceful protest in the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police officers. Kassab Jewelers' downtown location has yet to reopen and its owners are now suing the City of Portland for failing to protect downtown merchants.
"Bob Speltz, a spokesman for Portland-based insurance company The Standard, said in August that the company had relocated downtown employees to the suburbs after its office building sustained repeated damage and several employees and security contractors were assaulted near the downtown office. He said The Standard was deeply supportive of a renewed focus on racial justice, but concerned about continued 'criminal activity from opportunists not associated with the legitimate protests.'”
Still Goldberg has trouble putting two and two together. She reports that businesses are fleeing downtown Portland to places "outside downtown and in the suburbs"--which have the same COVID-19 problems as downtown Portland. So, why is business so much better outside city center? Goldberg doesn't seem interested in finding the answer.
"Industry experts aren’t seeing the same problems outside downtown and in the suburbs.
"[Jacob] Pavlik [a real estate company research manager] said some companies that were already considering moving their offices to the suburbs have been quicker to pull the trigger because of questions about the downtown market. Kafoury said he has seen numerous downtown tenants touring suburban spaces and considering a move out of downtown as well. Other tenants have stayed in downtown spaces after working with their landlords to restructure their leases."
The only major difference that has suddenly appeared on the scene is the protests and their violence which the mayor, city council and the Multnomah County district attorney seem not at all interested in curbing. In fact, another Oregonian article released on the 7th reports the Multnomah County DA Mike Schmidt has "declined" to prosecute 70% of the protest cases referred to him. That he hasn't declined to prosecute 70% of all cases referred to him by the police shows that he has been corrupted by personal agreement with or fear of the law breaking protesters so that he treats them differently from all other law breakers--which is, paradoxically, exactly what the protesters are supposed to be protesting--unequal treatment. The new slogan should be: Defund District Attorneys!
Schmidt doesn't seem to have a problem prosecuting violence outside city center and in the suburbs even for minor crimes, but downtown it's a different story. People see that difference and feel how dangerous downtown has become but don't feel similarly about doing business outside the downtown area or in the suburbs.
It's pretty clear that violence will continue in city center and business will continue its disastrous decline as long as people like Schmidt, Wheeler and the Portland City Council are elected. Caveat emptor.
2 comments:
Exactly why I've not been to downtown Portland in years. When I lived there 40 or so years ago, it was an entirely different place than now.
I have a friend living in a high rise around 18th street. Used to be fun for her to walk around and visit shops and eat at little places. Not now. Pretty much she's a prisoner in her building even though usually there aren't protesters during the day--but sometimes at night. The whole environment with thousands of homeless people living in the downtown area has changed it to a nightmare scenario.
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