The city’s economic development agency now declines to provide copies of those reviews to WW, citing attorney-client privilege.
Murmurs: Prosper Portland Won’t Release Review of Loan Program
WW Staff
wweek.com
Chuck Slothower
@chuckslothower.bsky.social
Reporter and editor, Daily Journal of Commerce, Portland. Interested in housing, development, CRE, design, construction, public policy. Oregonian. Typing at my kitchen table.
Does this look like the face of a man who would rear-end a fire engine with a scooter at 1:50 a.m.? Oh, it does? Oh.
Blazers' Dewayne Hankins, at the City Council, reiterates that the team will not contribute any amount to Moda Center renovations: "Going forward, in order for this deal to make economic sense, the contribution needs to come from the public sector. "
The first draft of the Design Review Temporary Suspension Project was meant to have been released last week. As best I can tell, it still hasn't been. www.portland.gov/bps/planning...
Midwest-based industrial developer Scannell Properties is expanding its presence in Oregon. djcoregon.com/news/2026/07...
Scannell Properties launches speculative project in Hillsboro
Construction is expected to start in late September on the Midwest developer's 126,000-square-foot industrial building near U.S. Route 26. Mackenzie is designing the project, and CBRE will search for ...
djcoregon.com
A new name in town — Scannell Properties — is getting into the speculative industrial development game with a forthcoming warehouse project in Hillsboro. djcoregon.com/news/2026/07...
Scannell Properties launches speculative project in Hillsboro
Construction is expected to start in late September on the Midwest developer's 126,000-square-foot industrial building near U.S. Route 26. Mackenzie is designing the project, and CBRE will search for ...
djcoregon.com
As city councilors ready legislation to suspend design review in Portland for two years, design commissioners are weighing how to respond. djcoregon.com/news/2026/07...
Fight over Portland design review process looms
Portland design commissioners are preparing to state their opposition to a proposal for a two-year suspension of mandatory design reviews to help facilitate housing production.
djcoregon.com
new housing crisis driver just dropped: * 28% of America's 3+ bedroom homes are owned by empty-nest boomers, who are upsizing in retirement rather than downsizing * Millennials with children own just 16% of such homes www.wsj.com/economy/hous...
Boomers Were Supposed to Downsize. They Are Buying Bigger Homes Instead.
Wealthy, older Americans are ripping up the traditional script for aging: “We’ll downsize when they plant me 6 feet into the ground.”
wsj.com
Worth noting here that it appears most councilors were completely blindsided by this term sheet announcement yesterday:
Portland releases draft term sheet as business coalition presses for public Moda Center funding
The draft term sheet kicks off a new round of negotiations with Trail Blazers owners over funding for arena improvements.
opb.org
Interesting in light of the Moda Center debate in Portland. T-Mobile is owned by a public stadium district, and the Mariners have invested some real money into the stadium.
Ryan Blake@swingsandtakes.com · 3w agoThe Mariners have spent about $160M on T-Mobile Park since the last Long-Term Needs Assessment was completed four years ago. Here's the breakdown:
NEW STATEMENT from mayor: “We are operating on an aggressive timeline to reach a new lease, and we have been explicit with the Blazers that design information and clarity around public investment are necessary to move forward…”
My daughter drew a blueberry surrounded by stars in sidewalk chalk.
This from @kyla.bsky.social is quite apt. "Give a floor that doesn’t depend on a buyer overpaying for a two bedroom, and the zero-sum logic that is dividing generations — my retirement versus your first home — could disappear." www.nytimes.com/2026/07/14/o...
nytimes.com
Who's putting out a better song than "Ringing Hollow" this year? "Lady Liberty don't look so good while she's wearing a scowl." Decent band, imo.
Kiewit's work on the I-205-Abernethy Bridge project earned four consecutive negative annual evaluations from ODOT, according to public documents released to the DJC. Most seriously, a "near fatality" occurred in February when a work vehicle backed over a worker. djcoregon.com/news/2026/07...
Kiewit’s performance issues persist at Abernethy Bridge
Since the project began in 2022-23, Kiewit Infrastructure West has received negative marks on four consecutive annual evaluations by the Oregon Department of Transportation.
djcoregon.com
Numbers suggesting Gov. Tina Kotek's Republican challenger could have a lead might be surprising in a state that hasn’t had a GOP governor in four decades — especially in a year when national political momentum appears to favor Democrats.
Early signs suggest Oregon governor’s race is competitive
Political analysts have softened their bullishness on Gov. Tina Kotek, and one candidate’s polling suggests a tight margin.
opb.org
Many lawmakers and transportation workgroup members supported the idea of implementing road user charges, or charging drivers based on the number of miles they travel rather than the amount of fuel they purchase.
Oregon lawmakers say they’ll prioritize bipartisanship in 2027 transportation funding plan
At its third meeting, Kotek’s transportation workgroup invited lawmakers to discuss their priorities and policy ideas they want to include in 2027.
opb.org
They NYT article has good graphics explaining the extent of the addition to the failing tower in Midtown which better explain the source of the problems.... www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Manhattan Building’s Columns Buckled Beneath New Addition, Images Show
Images and videos of the Manhattan building analyzed by The Times show that the structural columns buckled directly beneath where the recent addition was built.
nytimes.com
Oregon and Washington have received federal approval to build the $14.4 billion Interstate Bridge replacement project. News and reax here: djcoregon.com/news/2026/07...
Interstate Bridge Project wins federal approval for $14.4 billion build
The $14.4 billion Interstate Bridge project in Portland received federal approval, moving toward contractor selection and construction over the Columbia River.
djcoregon.com
@wweek.com reports that Jonathan Cohen and Jessie Burke have listed the Old Town Society Hotel for sale and are moving out of town. www.wweek.com/news/city/20...
After Bid to Remake Old Town, a Power Couple Is Selling the Society Hotel
Owners Jonathan Cohen and Jessie Burke appear to be selling off most of their assets in Portland.
wweek.com
The Port of Coos Bay has received a $25 million federal grant to advance planning on a $2+ billion container shipping project. The private developer is matching the grant. djcoregon.com/news/2026/06...
Port project gets $25 million federal grant
The Oregon International Port of Coos Bay received a $25 million federal grant to advance the Pacific Coast Intermodal Port project with NorthPoint Development.
djcoregon.com
Two theories of how NPR mistakenly published a story about Alito retiring from the Supreme Court. 1. It was a pre-write. Reporters prewrite obits all the time, and it wouldn't surprise me if Totenberg has retirement prewrites for the justices. Maybe it accidentally got published via the CMS.
Here's @yappelbaum.bsky.social on my forthcoming book, BUILD OR DIE: "In prose as vital and engaging as the cities he celebrates, Resnikoff offers a compelling guide to fixing our urban spaces—and our democracy." press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
Build or Die
From a leading voice of the pro-housing movement comes a blueprint for revitalizing America’s major cities
press.princeton.edu
Wildland firefighters do not get enough credit for the risks they take. May these three rest in peace. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/28/u...
Three Firefighters Die as Wildfires Ravage Utah and Colorado
nytimes.com
A lot is discussed about the city's decision to buy Moda for $1 in 2024, but that was set in motion in 1995. The agreements signed by the team & city in '24 addresses relocation. The team cannot pursue relocation w/ NBA through Oct. 2030 w/o city approval efiles.portlandoregon.gov/recordhtml/1...
🔴 It has come to my attention that Grand Central has dropped a seasonal Reuben.🔴
