but all 1,000 tickets for the 2008 Street of Eames modern home tour are already gone. Immediate absorption of all tickets has become an annual event.
Update: Organizers tell me that tickets sold out in 1 hour. And, please don’t yell at the volunteer staff. Only so many modern architecture fanatics can traverse the gracious hosts’ homes in one day!
The Street of Eames home tour is a phenomenally successful fund-raising event for the after-school programs for low-income and homeless children attending Portland’s Chapman and Beach Elementary schools.
If you didn’t get tickets, you can view a handful of pictures of the homes you won’t get to see on tour at http://www.streetofeames.org.
As one of the nation’s leading cities in conservation, Portland is also at the forefront of sustainable building practices, products and technologies. To accentuate that point, this Saturday, September 15, the city sponsors the sixth annual Build It Green! Tour of Homes and Information Fair.
Now in its sixth year, the 2007 Build It Green! Tour of Homes features eighteen remodels and new homes, two high-rise residential condominiums and one cohousing development, showcasing a variety of ways homeowners are conserving energy and other natural resources while creating beautiful, unique and healthy homes.
Homes of all kinds can be found on the tour: high-rise condos, period remodels, multi-family homes, eco-architecture (cob, straw, clay), ultra-modern rowhouses, infill projects and co-housing.
Editorial note: I wouldn’t normally burn a couple real estate blog entries on a retail store premiere…but one of the all-too-rare perks of blogging is occasionally getting an invite to speak, write, or in this case, an opportunity to attend a pre-grand-opening…opening.
So my wife and I roamed the Swedish furniture and housewares retailer with reporters from Willamette Week, the Oregonian, Oregon Home, a few radio and TV stations, and a fellow blogger from Metroblogging Portland. After a brief lunch of Swedish gravalax, potato salad, meatballs, lingonberries and a quick speech from store managers, we were led on a tour through their labyrinthine store layout.
Even in the absence of this weekend’s upcoming crowds, the store’s staged rooms and displays were visually overwhelming. The upper floor contains all their room displays with items shown in context to help you with design ideas. The lower floor has all the individual merchandise and the warehouse stock. IKEA’s merchandising is impressive–they even show the entire room dioramas with an all-for-one price in case you like every single piece in their staged room.
I’m no IKEA furniture fanboy, but I was impressed with the organization and preparation for what will undoubtedly be a legendary retail onslaughtthis upcoming weekend Wednesday, July 25. Five days away from opening and the store was 99% ready for customers already. Employees appeared to be focused and driven to finish their merchandising preparation–yet each was exceedingly patient while we lolly-gagger ‘journalists’ ogled the merchandise and slowed their progress.
That said, heaven help anyone bound for the PDX airport this weekend next week, ‘cuz it’s going to be ugly. The routes in and out of Cascade Station are limited and there have been historic traffic jams, even tramplings, in previous IKEA openings.
IKEA officials are braced for the mayhem with lots of extra traffic police, etc. They are even encouraging the party atmosphere with planned festivities like a campout in the IKEA parking lot, starting as early as Monday night (July 23). The first 100 adults in line get a very nice leather chair. They are also handing out 2,500 mystery bags with various coupons and prizes to early-birds in line.
Even without the grand opening party (and despite its unpopular big box footprint), IKEA would have done very well in Portland anyway. They have a good record of sustainable production practices, a good corporate stewardship reputation…and good grief, the stuff is exceedingly affordable (I will stop just short of ‘cheap’). They will even give you a $10 home delivery credit for taking the MAX to the store this weekend.
What does this have to do with Portland real estate? Not much, but I was impressed by their kitchen cabinets, counters, faucets, and range hoods. We toured with the Willamette Week writers, and one told me he had done his entire kitchen for under $1,000 with IKEA cabinets and counters. The drawer units I tried had those slow-close rails and felt substantial to the touch. While their designs continue to be predominately modern and spare in nature, many major furniture item designs were moving more toward the mainstream, and I have a feeling we’ll be seeing more IKEA-designed kitchen remodels in Portland in the near future.
Portland and its real estate market have been making a few headlines recently.
First, the local Portland Tribune (Portland’s semi-weekly newspaper) provides some deep reporting on the local real estate and housing market as part of its ReThinking Portland series.
Articles touch on topics such as affordability, density and planning, first-time buyer assistance, gentrification, urban renewal, and housing for seniors. The main theme of the section is affordability, or the lack of it as the Portland market continues to appreciate at a much greater rate than wage growth.
Then, Fast Company magazine names Portland as one of its Green Leaders in its Fast Cities article. The article highlights the top 30 urban centers worldwide they believe will be sites for future business innovation based on factors such as creative class, research & design, and startup environments. In Fast Company’s words:
They are cauldrons of creativity where the most important ideas and the organizations of tomorrow are centered. They attract the best and brightest. They are great places to work and live.
And about Portland:
Population > 2.5 million
Leading indicator > With 125 projects and counting, Portland has the most structures certified by the U.S. Green Building Council
Fast companies > Nike; Tektronix; Adidas USA; ad firm Wieden+Kennedy
Three decades ago, Portland became a case study on how to stuff sprawl when it enacted strict limits on urban growth. Today, it’s at the forefront of the “eat local” revolution, in which individuals and restaurants buy directly from area farmers to preserve livelihoods and open space. With 13 farmer’s markets, and nearby world-class vineyards, residents not only buy local but they eat and drink well too.
Sounds like the author spent some time at Higgins.
Finally, HousingPredictor.com puts Portland in its top 25 appreciating markets (at number 10). Their coverage of Oregon forecasts an appreciation rate of 6.7% in the Portland area for 2007. Albuquerque comes in at number one at 9.1% anticipated appreciation.
Well known for recycling and other sustainable living practices, Portland area residents are proud of their conservation efforts. Well, on June 16, preservationists outdid themselves by moving the historic Ladd Carriage House through several city blocks to a temporary site, an impressive feat requiring over 15 hours to complete.
Built in 1883, the house was located on the site of a future underground parking garage that will serve the Ladd Tower luxury apartment upon its completion. The home weighed 534,000 pounds and required 70,000 pounds in lifting steel for transport. Here’s some time-lapse video and commentary: Link: YouTube time-lapse video of Ladd Carriage House move.
While it would be easy to simply regurgitate the Visitor’s Association version of the area’s virtues, I will share my summertime, top-of-mind list:
Oregon Strawberry Season — If you haven’t tried the delicate, ephemeral, and fragrant sugar-bomb also known as the Oregon strawberry, then you’ve been eating poseur fruit. Make your pilgrimage to Strawberry Mecca soon, though. The season is about over. Then you’re stuck with the insipid versions from Cali or Mexico.
Hoop Heaven — Ok, let’s get down to my real inspiration for writing this today.
The NBA Championship will soon be arriving in Portland. With today’s expected drafting of Greg Oden, Portland’s only major pro sports franchise has the opportunity to shed several years of mediocrity and shame, and thus, reestablish the Rip City/BlazerMania fever that grips and elevates the city when we have a contender. Besides, we get to thumb our nose at Seattle (You’re Number Two!).
Housing inventory is at a 3-year high — (A real estate point, finally!) Portland metro home inventory has been hovering in the 12,000 or 13,000 active listings range for a few months now. Market times are up and prices are leveling some. With the pace of sales slowing, you have more choices and, perhaps, more negotiating room. Neither increased inventory, time on market, or rising interest rates have seriously dented the Portland real estate market and turned it into a purely buyer’s market…yet.
In fairness, a couple reasons NOT to move to Portland — summertime road construction and hay fever. Not on the visitor association list, but just my personal gripes.
Swedish home furnishings retailer IKEA announced today its first Oregon store will open at 9 a.m. Wednesday July 25.
The 280,000-square-foot store, on 19 acres, will anchor Cascade Station, a 120-acre mixed-use development planned to include office, hotel and retail near Portland International Airport. The store is under construction at the southwest corner of Interstate 205 and Airport Way.
Like many of its more than 250 stores worldwide, IKEA’s Portland store will offer 50 different room settings, three model homes, supervised children’s play areas and a 250-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties.
A MAX light rail stop is located near the front of the store, which will include about 1,200 parking spaces and 75 bicycle racks.
True to Portland form, it means you can haul your Effectiv modular desk set home on mass transit (or by bike), if needed. Until now, Portlanders had to hump it up I-5 to Renton, WA (a Seattle suburb) for their fix of Scandinavian-design furniture and Swedish meatball lunch.
Portland-area farmers’ markets are opening this month, gearing up for the bountiful summer season. Virtually every Portland neighborhood and suburb has a weekly market, flush with fresh, local-grown fruit, vegetables, plants, plus crafts, artwork, music, and more.
Local farmers’ markets are broadening their appeal beyond just local foodies. Many markets are making it easier for lower income families to shop, as well as offering modern transaction services. From the Oregon Farmers’ Market Association:
Farmers’ Markets are increasingly offering electronic services on their market site. These electronic services have expanded sales through the use of food stamps, debit and credit card transactions.
Planning a trip to Oregon this summer? Maybe you’re interested in living here, and want to take a couple weeks to drink in all that the region has to offer.
Well if you can afford the third highest fuel cost in the U.S., then come on by. The Welcome Mat is out, and the tourism council has a great resource for you to browse while you plan your visit.
The Portland Business Journal today highlights the launch of a 6-week campaign heralding the start of the heavy travel and tourism season in Oregon. The TravelOregon website features a wealth of visitor resources, events, travel planners, blog entries, recreation venues, arts and cultural attractions, and much more.
My favorite feature of the site is the 365 Days in Oregon multimedia section.
Each banner ad depicts images or video of a uniquely Oregon event or experience — such as the Eighth Annual UFO Festival, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, roller derby and original Oregon music.
A different ad will appear each day of the six-week campaign period, with the opening line, “Today in Oregon … ” and an accompanying description.
The campaign was designed by the stalwart Portland agency, Wieden + Kennedy (who ironically lost some of the Nike account due to their lack of digital media experience!).
The site reminds me that as a 35-year Oregon resident, I am amazed at my own lack of exposure to the myriad Oregon sights and attractions…something I endeavor to change. Trips to the Wallowas, more exploration of the Oregon high desert, the Gorge, and the majority of the south region of the state are on my agenda.
Articles have been light lately here at re:PDX (it’s the busy season, you know!), but here are a few items from the past couple weeks about Portland’s real estate market and activity, as well as lifestyle:
Portland home market cools — The Oregonian
Condo and house prices are up over last year, but it’s taking longer for properties to sell
More Than 430,000 Foreclosure Filings Reported in Q1 — RealtyTrac
U.S. Foreclosure Activity Up 27 Percent From Previous Quarter, Nevada, Colorado, Georgia Post Highest Foreclosure Rates (Oregon is 27th in nation, one foreclosure filing for every 664 homes, up 9% over same period in 2006)
36 Hours in North Portland: The Real Deal – More Hockey Less War
A North Portland blogger shares his version of the NY Times article (above). Note: language may not be family-friendly.
As one of the nation’s leading cities in conservation, Portland is also at the forefront of sustainable building practices, products and technologies. To accentuate that point, this Saturday, September 15, the city sponsors the sixth annual Build It Green! Tour of Homes and Information Fair.
Editorial note: I wouldn’t normally burn a couple real estate blog entries on a retail store premiere…but one of the all-too-rare perks of blogging is occasionally getting an invite to speak, write, or in this case, an opportunity to attend a pre-grand-opening…opening. 
Portland and its real estate market have been making a few headlines recently.
Hoop Heaven — Ok, let’s get down to my real inspiration for writing this today.
Yep, Portlanders…your meatball dreams….I mean, 
Portland-area farmers’ markets are opening this month, gearing up for the bountiful summer season. Virtually every Portland neighborhood and suburb has a weekly market, flush with fresh, local-grown fruit, vegetables, plants, plus crafts, artwork, music, and more.
Planning a trip to Oregon this summer? Maybe you’re interested in living here, and want to take a couple weeks to drink in all that the region has to offer. 
Articles have been light lately here at re:PDX (it’s the busy season, you know!), but here are a few items from the past couple weeks about Portland’s real estate market and activity, as well as lifestyle:
