Big Pink Ownership Comes Home

By Sam DeBaltzo and Michael Fletcher

U.S. Bancorp Tower (aka “Big Pink”) located at 111 SW Fifth Avenue, has officially been sold. Of local significance, ownership has transferred from various nationally based real estate firms to home-grown entrepreneur Jeff Swickard.

My partner Michael Fletcher and I had the pleasure of advising Jeff and his team through this purchase, and we’re excited for new energy to come into a building that is so iconic in the Portland real estate sphere and downtown skyline.

This purchase is a big win for Portland and its commercial real estate market. Dealing with subpar occupancy rates and needed improvements will be the key focus in revitalizing the building, and it will be a multi-year effort to bring Big Pink back to an ideal state of operations. However, Jeff is well aware of the sweat equity that will need to go into this investment, and we expect Big Pink to flourish under the new ownership. Although remote and hybrid work continue to be relevant factors in office vacancies, we expect that over time more and more businesses will implement partial or whole return to office policies, allowing for this landmark to flourish under its new ownership.