January 7, 2016

Seattle's URG expands its Portland portfolio

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Pacwest Center is a 30-story, 522,000-square-foot building constructed in 1984 and renovated in 2011.

Seattle's Urban Renaissance Group acquired the 1.4 million-square-foot leasing, construction, and property and parking management portfolio of Langley Investment Properties in downtown Portland.

Terms of the deal were not released.

This means URG has more than doubled its Portland portfolio to 2.1 million square feet. The firm said it now has an “operating platform” of more than 10 million square feet in Portland, Seattle, Bellevue and Denver.

As part of the transition, URG's Portland market leader Tom Kilbane has been promoted to vice president, regional general manager, overseeing the combined operations, according to a press release from the firms.

Langley is a privately held real estate investment firm in Portland focused on urban properties. Scott Langley will continue to lead the firm and refocus on private investment and development, including potentially with URG. He will join the URG board.

Here are the office properties involved in the deal:

• Pacwest Center at 1211 S.W. Fifth Ave. The 30-story, 522,000-square-foot building was constructed in 1984 and renovated in 2011. Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt and Merrill Lynch & Co. are major tenants.

• Liberty Centre at 650 N.E. Holladay. The 17-story, 277,000-square-foot building was constructed in 1997. Liberty Northwest and Knowledge Universe are major tenants.

• Moda Tower at 601 S.W. Second Ave. The 24-story, 398,000-square-foot building was constructed in 1999. Lane Powell and Health Services Group are major tenants.

• One Pacific Square at 220 N.W. Second Ave. The 13-story, 240,000-square-foot building was constructed in 1983 and renovated in 2011. NW Natural is a major tenant.

URG Founder and CEO Patrick Callahan said in an interview that Portland has come into its own in this cycle as people move into the urban core.

“These assets are well positioned to take advantage of that type of demand,” Callahan said.

He said several of the high-rises “are entertaining renovation, and certainly we'd look forward to being involved in that type of thing.”

In the press release, Callahan said, “We have known Scott and Langley Investment Properties for many years. The firm's 40-year history in the marketplace, strong reputation and great culture made this acquisition a natural fit for us as we expand our Portland-area presence. The firm's focus on Class-A high-rise office tower assets is also a great expansion of our existing portfolio of Class-A historic and contemporary assets.”

URG is a commercial real estate company whose investment strategy focuses on urbanization. It acquires, develops, leases and manages property.

Its Portland area properties include Five Centerpointe, 1320 Broadway, Willamette Oaks, 2100 River Parkway, Morgan Building and Yeon Building, which it renovated. The firm is completing a renovation of 1320 Broadway, a 1940s building.

In the Puget Sound region, URG operates almost 8 million square feet of real estate, and in this development cycle will deliver 1.6 million square feet of office space and two hotels in the Seattle market through its acquisition of Touchstone Corp. in 2014.

Joshua Green Corp. is the majority investor in Urban Renaissance Group.