Things are looking up in our city – all good stuff! We have our fingers loosely on the pulse of downtown and would like to share with you what we see and hear.

What we know:

• They are ripping apart the old Banana Republic store in the Fox Tower.   We understand Uniqlo (the Japanese fashion brand) is moving in there.
• The Portland Spirit is working on a deal to buy the old Rose Festival Foundation office on the waterfront, and they want to put a restaurant there.  It is also where people board one of the boats.  Would be an excellent location for a restaurant.
• One of Portland’s iconic waterfront facades finally has a new tenant! It’s been two years since McCormick & Schmick’s Harborside closed its doors. But visitors to downtown Portland will soon be able to dine with a riverside view again. Cay Bar & Grill — a family-run Vietnamese restaurant is the newest addition to Portland’s waterfront and is gearing up for a late summer opening.
• The new Live Nation entertainment venue is coming together nicely on the inner east side. It’s called “Steelhead.” The new venue will seat 3,500 people and fill a much-needed gap in the midsize entertainment area.
• So far, I have looked at maybe eight buildings to buy for the new TenBridge office for 2028. Of those, about three of them have already sold!
• The James Beard Public Market going in here by Pioneer Square is still under construction and slated to open soon.  We know our friends at Migration Brewing were awarded the rooftop restaurant / bar in the new market.

Remember the old McDonald’s location downtown?  They are renovating it and a restaurant named Eduardo’s Tacos is moving in soon.  We are excited to try their food.  Eduardo’s Tacos is a regional chain with locations mainly in Southern Oregon famous for their burritos (oddly enough) and signature hot orange and avocado salsa.

What we have heard:

• The old Newport Bay floating restaurant on the river has been purchased and is in escrow.  I only know because I wanted to go tour it and consider purchasing it for TenBridge, but someone beat me to it!  Right now, it is zoned for restaurant only, so my assumption is someone is putting in a new restaurant.
• We have word that a great local brand corporate headquarters is moving into our building at Jackson Tower.

We also have word that someone is looking to move into the former jewelry store in our building at Jackson Tower.

What we look forward to and are hopeful will come to fruition:

• The Lloyd Center redevelopment and design plan looks amazing.  It will transform a mostly austere downtown neighborhood into a vibrant and inviting area.
• Combine this with the MODA Center redevelopment which is desperately needed.
• And the Albina Vision Trust project.

And you will see an entire section of our city from the waterfront up to SE 24th get changed in amazingly beautiful ways becoming another incredible neighborhood in a city full of them.

The future OMSI District would transform 24 acres of underdeveloped land on the inner east side of Portland into a vibrant hub of science and innovation combined with transit oriented mixed-use development and market rate affordable housing.

The urban areas of our country have been hit hard since Covid and the resultant changes to work and play.  Some people like to write off the city core as dead, never coming back.  We have always begged to differ and evidence of its reemergence are all around us.  It is slow, but it is no different than a forest growing back after a fire, and trust us, Portland caught fire.  But we see the shoots, feel the pulse, and sense the changes everywhere, and they are all good! Come downtown and see for yourself!

About TenBridge Partners

TenBridge Partners is an independent financial planning and investment management firm based in Portland, Oregon with a simple focus of honoring the fiduciary responsibility of putting clients first. Guiding with curiosity and trusted expertise, we empower people to live their unique story with financial clarity and confidence.

Planning is central to everything we do. Our focus is on a complete understanding of your needs through the financial planning process, putting your success at the heart of our work.

We strive to create a community where financial planning feels fun, dynamic, and human.