Once a crown jewel of Portland's skyline, the US Bancorp Tower—aka "Big Pink"—now sits more than half empty. The 42-story tower's struggle to attract and retain business tenants speaks volumes about the city's downtown struggles. It's also now up for sale, with its asking price slashed to $70 million—more than 80% less than what it fetched a decade ago, per the Wall Street Journal. Once a magnet for tech companies, the tower saw tenants such as the Digital Trends media firm leave amid reports of people sleeping in hallways, fires in stairwells, and public drug use.
The Journal notes that Big Pink's woes "serve as a warning for what can happen to once-bustling downtowns if they get caught in the doom loop of losing businesses." Portland's downtown has been slower to recover than other major US cities after the pandemic, facing rising homelessness, a failed drug decriminalization effort, and new taxes aimed at funding social services. The city's office vacancy rate hit 35% in the first quarter, the highest among America's 25 largest urban centers, and key players like Adobe, Wells Fargo, and Unitus Community Credit Union have either downsized or departed for the suburbs.
Recent developments suggest some improvement in the city: reported declines in violent crime, the reversal of permissive drug laws, and efforts by a new pro-business mayor and county district attorney to address safety concerns. Mayor Keith Wilson is personally working to make Big Pink—which was sold to Unico Properties and other owners for $372.5 million in 2015, per Oregon Live—more accessible by supporting plans for a direct bridge to a nearby parking garage. Wilson says he wishes the Journal hadn't focused mostly on Portland's troubles. "I wish they'd covered our rapid improvements in public safety, new residents, business opportunities, regional destinations, and creatives," he wrote in an email to constituents on Tuesday, per the Willamette Week. (This content was created with the help of AI. Read our AI policy.)
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