Chown Pella Lofts

Chown Pella Lofts

Monday, February 16, 2009

An introduction.........I started selling real estate back in 1986. It was a terrible market and interest rates were double digit. I loved it from the first day. Finding the perfect home for a client is a rewarding challenge. Selling a property at the right price while easing stress for the seller is equally rewarding.

Ten years later in 1996 I was the first to specialize in selling condos in the Pearl District. Back then the Pearl was barely on anyone's radar. Not all the streets were paved and parking meters were only on the main streets. There was just one coffee shop and it was easy to park anywhere! Life was simple.

In 1996 when I started working in the Pearl, there were just two residential projects. Irving Street Lofts at 13th & Irving had been converted into a rental lofts project in 1985 and in early 1996 was in the process of selling as condos. Very slowly selling, that is. Folks were still trying to get used to open undivided spaces. Buyers asked "Where are the closets?" City Lofts was the real condo pioneer in 1993, when an old warehouse at Glisan & 10th was converted into 13 lofts. In 1996 Chown Pella was in the process of being converted to lofts and Hoyt Commons and Pearl Lofts were both under construction. That was really the beginning of the Pearl District....when things all started coming together to form a new neighborhood. In 1997 I had a Pearl District Report that listed all the condos and lofts for sale and it fit on just one page. Now my report is 31 pages long! A lot has happened since then and the Pearl District has grown into a lively urban neighborhood. It is a destination for shopping, first Thursday gallery tours, enjoying live theater & music and fantastic dining.

This blog will include detailed descriptions of all the Pearl District residential projects along with some of my favorite urban condo projects in downtown and northwest Portland. Most of the projects are unique, one of kind buildings. There are some that follow a design formula but are still decent buildings and good places to live. I put the properties into six different categories:
* Loft Style
* Tradtional Condos
* Townhouses
* Hybrid Style
* Apartment Conversions
* New construction

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