Portland’s Tallest Office Tower Changes Hands

By Keith Loria

Wells Fargo Center

Starwood Capital Group has acquired Wells Fargo Center, a 40-story skyline office tower and an adjacent five-story former data processing building in downtown Portland, Ore., from Wells Fargo. Together, the deal amounts to a little more than 725,000 square feet of Class A and creative office space.

Trevor Kafoury and Michelle Franceschi of CBRE will lease the tower, and Josh Schweitz, Brandon O’Leary and Travis Parrott of Kidder Mathews will lease the five-story adaptive reuse structure. “As one of the largest owners of office properties in the metro area, we are deeply committed to Portland and believe this property is an excellent addition to our portfolio,” Sam Caven, Starwood Capital Group’s vice president, said in a prepared release. 

Originally constructed in 1973, the Wells Fargo Center is Portland’s tallest skyscraper at 546 feet, which is 10 feet taller than the U.S. Bancorp Tower. It boasts unrivaled panoramic views of the surrounding region including Mt. Hood, the Willamette River, Mt. St Helens, downtown Portland and the West Hills. 

This summer, Wells Fargo announced it would sell the buildings and planned to relocate some of the 900 employees working there to other local offices. d

Renovations Planned

Starwood is planning to invest substantial capital to reposition the property into a premier Class A asset, including remodeling the lobbies and entries and adding new tenant amenities, such as conference facilities, a tenant lounge, reimagined retail areas, a fitness center, and bike hub.

“We are thrilled to offer both existing and prospective tenants exceptional office space in a wide variety of size options ranging from smaller suites to some of the largest contiguous blocks of space in Portland in excess of 100,000 square feet,” Andrew Wong, Starwood Capital Group’s vice president, said. “We are confident that our ambitious renovation plans will restore this building to its former status as one of the most iconic Class A office towers not just in Portland but also in the dynamic West Coast office markets.”

Lincoln Property Company will serve as the property management firm and oversee all capital improvement related activities.

In July, Starwood Capital Group acquired The Jeremy West Hollywood Hotel, a newly constructed 286-key hotel in West Hollywood, Calif., from the CIM Group for a reported $280 million.