A once sought-after city in Oregon is working to win back investor confidence after chaotic protests and so-called ‘woke‘ policies drove away developers.
Portland was once a hotspot for housing investment, particularly after a construction boom in 2010, but has recently seen a dramatic decline. The city dropped to 80th out of 81 metro hubs in a recent Urban Land Institute report into construction levels, according to Oregon Live.
At the end of 2024, the city had just over 1,600 housing units under construction – the lowest number recorded since 2011.
The construction slowdown can be attributed in part to the 2020 protests in the heart of the city and the reputational damage that followed, with one economist describing Portland’s lingering image as a ‘dumpster fire,’ according to Oregon Live.
Governor Tina Kotek and Mayor Keith Wilson have agreed to meet with skeptical investors in an effort to address the city’s rising cost of living and restore confidence in the housing market.
‘We’re going to have to stay on the development community,’ Gov Kotek told the outlet.
‘I want to make sure Portland is competitive,’ she added.
To rein in the cost of living in the coastal metro, more housing must be developed – but homebuilders rely heavily on outside investors to finance these projects.
Portland, Oregon (pictured) was once a sought-after area but is now working to win back investor confidence after chaotic protests and so-called ‘woke’ policies drove builders away
Portland was once a hotspot for housing investment, particularly after a construction boom in 2010, but has recently seen a dramatic decline (pictured: construction)
Governor Tina Kotek (left) and Mayor Keith Wilson (right) have agreed to meet with skeptical investors in an effort to address the city’s rising cost of living and restore confidence in the housing market
Wilson and Kotek share a goal of boosting housing by making construction easier – starting with a three-year waiver on certain building fees.
The Portland City Council approved the fee waiver earlier this month, a move welcomed by developers, according to Oregon Live.
The idea to waive the system development charges and fees related to housing construction came from a group called the Multifamily Housing Development Workgroup.
But the recent report, watched by investors and industry insiders – has done little to restore confidence among business owners and developers about Portland’s future.
This week, the mayor and governor convened a taskforce made up of city councilors, state officials and housing policy experts – an idea also suggested by the Multifamily Housing Development Workgroup.
Together, the group will brainstorm ways to reverse the city’s severe apartment construction slump, though the details of upcoming meetings about Portland’s business outlook are still undecided.
Since the murder of George Floyd in 2020, Portland has been grappling with ongoing unrest that has deeply affected the city.
On New Year’s Eve 2020, another riot erupted as protesters smashed windows and threw firebombs at police officers, who later shared images of Molotov-style cocktails scattered on the streets.
The construction slowdown can be attributed in part to the 2020 protests in the heart of the city and the reputational damage that followed (pictured: downtown Portland)
The Portland City Council approved a three year waiver on certain building fees earlier this month
This week the governor (pictured) launched a taskforce made up of city councilors, state officials and housing policy experts to generate ideas to reverse the city’s construction slump
Earlier this month chaos erupted at an ICE detention facility center in the city after hundreds of protestors attempted to storm holding cells (pictured)
In May the west coast city was forced to slash the sale price of one of its biggest office buildings after it became overrun with homeless people.
Portland, which is known for its liberal politics, has since seen its downtown suffer after a failed attempt at drug decriminalization.
The city’s office vacancy rate was 35 percent in the first three months of the year, the worst of the top 25 central business districts in the country, according to real estate firm Colliers.
One of the most telling signs of its downtown decline is the sale of its US Bancorp Tower at a list price of 80 percent less than its previous valuation, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Technology publisher Digital Trends filed a lease-termination lawsuit claiming its staff were unsafe as the building had been taken over by the homeless population of downtown Portland.
The publisher claimed in its lawsuit that the building had ‘vagrants sleeping in hallways of vacant office floors… starting fires in stairwells, smoking fentanyl and defecating in common areas.’
The building had became a ‘cesspool of criminal activity and vandalism,’ they alleged.
Earlier this month chaos erupted at an ICE detention facility center in the city after hundreds of protestors attempted to storm holding cells.
Video footage captured demonstrators being tackled to the ground as officers deployed smoke bombs and tear gas to try and control the crowd.
