Once Digital Trends exited the U.S. Bancorp Tower located in Portland, Ore., the tech publishing company was quite vocal regarding their reasons for departure.
Once considered a prime location within the city, the property faced issues where "homeless individuals would sleep in the corridors of empty office levels." These people reportedly "set fires in the stairwells, used fentanyl, and left waste in shared spaces," as stated in documents submitted for a lease termination legal case by the firm.
Two years later, the city's tallest office building remains over halfway vacant. U.S. Bank, the primary occupant whose parent company lent its name to the structure, relocated most of its staff elsewhere last year following over a hundred years in the city.
The 42-floor skyscraper has been listed for sale lately. Affectionately dubbed Big Pink due to its distinctive pink-toned Spanish granite and rose-colored glazed glass facade, the property is currently on the market with a requested price of around $70 million, sources say from real estate agents. This valuation represents over 80% less than what the original proprietors spent acquiring it roughly ten years prior.
Even investors such as Jordan Menashe who look for distressed properties is staying far from this one. He states that any recovery appears to be years off.
"I don't see a path to getting it into the green within the next five to seven years," Menashe stated.
Representatives for the property's owners—a joint effort between Unico Properties from Seattle and a fund overseen by UBS—did not wish to provide comments.
The issues at Big Pink provide a strong emblem of the problems plaguing downtown Portland. They similarly act as a cautionary tale about the potential fate of formerly vibrant downtown areas if neglected. trapped in the cycle of destruction of losing businesses.
A number of cities throughout the U.S. are beginning to bounce back from what has been among the most severe office market declines in the last seven decades. Companies leased more office space In the initial three months of 2025, conditions were better than in any quarter since 2019. This improvement spanned from New York to San Francisco as organizations brought employees back into offices, which in turn revitalized nearby businesses.
However, Portland’s commercial real estate market appears unlikely to recover soon due to the aftermath of the pandemic, an increase in homelessness, and Oregon’s flawed attempt at drug decriminalization. Major firms like Unitus Community Credit Union and Wells Fargo have either departed from Portland or are reducing their footprint within the city. Instead, many are relocating to nearby suburban areas.
In the first quarter, Portland had the highest office vacancy rate at 35%, ranking top among the 25 biggest central business districts in the U.S., as reported by Colliers, a real estate company. This has put strain on the city’s finances, partly due to reduced property tax revenues resulting from falling values of commercial properties.
Recently, some updates have brought about positive changes. There has been significant improvement in public safety, with fewer incidents of violence reported lately. Last year, Oregon’s lawmakers repealed the state’s lenient drug legislation. Additionally, Apple removed the metal cladding from their downtown location, which was once emblematic of the area’s decline.
Mayor Keith Wilson is seen as supportive of business interests, and County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez is regarded as more stringent when dealing with criminal activities.
However, businesses continue to depart. Recently, Adobe declared its intention to shut down its office in Portland, relocating staff to its locations in San Jose, California, and Seattle. The firm stated that this choice stemmed from an assessment of "business requirements alongside how employees utilize these spaces."
The office chaos in Portland is now affecting the residential sector. A $600 million project featuring condominiums, offices, and a Ritz-Carlton hotel launched in 2023 is facing difficulties. Lenders are attempting to claim ownership of the property due to sluggish condo sales among other reasons.
Before the pandemic, Portland seemed more appealing. The region's attractive scenery and comparatively affordable real estate prices relative to those of Seattle and San Francisco drew technology firms.
Similar to other central business district office structures, U.S. Bancorp Tower benefited from increasing rental rates and strong occupancies. Over the years, culminating with its acquisition by Unico and the UBS fund in 2015, the worth of this 42-year-old skyscraper continued to climb as various institutional investors bought and subsequently offloaded the asset.
The property owners invested significantly to lure tech companies. In 2013, Digital Trends committed to a lease and continued expanding within the facility, enhancing their area with a dedicated kitchen, laundry facilities, restrooms, and a home theater designed for evaluating consumer goods.
Jason Green, who leads CBRE's Portland branch as the managing director, reminisced about the more prosperous times. Back then, when major technology corporations acquired businesses based in Portland, staff members from the headquarters often bombarded these companies with requests to be relocated to their new offices in Portland.
"He mentioned that this sped up the process for many technology firms stating, if their staff wishes to be based there, perhaps they ought to develop a significant second office in Portland," he explained.
Following the onset of the pandemic and the murder of George Floyd, social unrest escalated, leading to ongoing demonstrations in Portland throughout 2021 even as they waned elsewhere. Additionally, new business taxes were introduced to fund universal childcare and accommodation for the homeless.
The Big Pink faced significant challenges due to its closeness to areas densely populated with homeless services. An adjacent public square turned into a focal point for drug consumption and trafficking activities.
The legal documents from Digital Trends indicated that Big Pink turned into a "hub of criminal behavior and vandalism," which compelled them to leave the premises.
Unico stated in legal documents that they fulfilled all their lease requirements and charged Digital Trends with attempting to "evade" their lease responsibilities by pinning the blame on the landlord for the poor condition of downtown Portland.
Following a ruling from a Multnomah County judge permitting the case to move forward to the deposition stage, both parties reached an agreement and resolved the issue last year.
The newly elected mayor has taken a personal interest in Big Pink. He stated his readiness to offer municipal permits and additional non-monetary assistance for the erection of a bridge connecting the structure to an adjacent parking lot situated opposite the road. This initiative aims to allow employees easy access to the premises without needing to cross the street.
However, Portland has redirected its focus away from luring new enterprises.
"Currently, our main focus is on retaining employees," stated Raihana Ansary, who serves as the deputy chief of staff for Mayor Wilson.
Send the letter to Peter Grant peter.grant@wsj.com
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