By Kate Snyder
An historic office building in Portland traded for less than a third of what it sold for nearly 10 years ago. The city’s American Bank Building, located in the heart of downtown, was purchased for $13.6 million, or approximately $74 per square foot, according to a report from the Portland Business Journal. The buyer was Menashe Properties, a family-owned real estate investment firm, and the seller was an entity affiliated with Lionstone Investments, which listed the building for sale earlier this year. In 2014, the structure traded for $45.1 million, or about $245 per square foot.
Located at 621 SW Morrison St., the 183,735 square foot building has been substantially modernized and received both Fitwel and EnergyStar certifications, according to previous reporting from The Registry. Nearly $10 million has been invested into significant capital upgrades and amenities such as the building’s fitness center, bike storage facility, main lobby, common area lobbies, elevators, restrooms, roof and HVAC upgrades.
The American Bank Building is 46 percent leased, and since the end of 2022, it has filled 15,000 square feet out of its total space with new tenants. The base of the building has 23,000 square feet occupied by long-term leases with CVS, Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley as well as local retailers Greenleaf Juice and Rose Spa by VouPre. Portland’s TriMet MAX line and Nike’s BikeTown program are also located at the building’s front steps.
Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Lionstone Investments was founded in 2001 as a privately-owned real estate investment firm, according to the company’s website. The firm focuses on 17 internationally competitive U.S. markets and has invested in more than 22 million square feet of diversified real estate properties, including mixed-use, multifamily, retail and office. Lionstone services all functions of investing, such as portfolio management, asset management, risk management, analytics and research and acquisitions. The company also has offices in Boston, Los Angeles and Minneapolis.
Menashe Properties is based in Portland with an office in Dallas, Texas, according to the firm’s website. The company’s portfolio includes office, retail and industrial properties as well as development sites. With more than 40 years in business, the firm has four million square feet under ownership and more than 500 tenants in over 20 submarkets throughout the western United States.
