Pioneer Place mall is bringing in a big new tenant, but not one that sells clothes or shoes.
Instead, it’ll be the second Portland location for WeWork, a popular New York-based shared-office company that caters to freelancers, startups and traveling employees. The company first arrived in 2015, leasing space in the landmark, and long vacant, former U.S. Custom House in the Pearl District.
The Pioneer Place location will open in the spring.
The downtown mall’s unusual tenant arrives as shopping centers across the country try to find their footing. Their traditional anchors are fighting the tides of online shopping, leaving big chunks of empty space.
In Portland, the Lloyd Center is undergoing major renovations that included repurposing its old movie theater as office space. Next door to Pioneer Place, Macy’s is holding a clearance sale; its five floors in the Meier & Frank building will be converted into street-level retail and creative office space by the new owner.
Office space is an uncommon use for a shopping center — often a last resort to fill out space that would otherwise sit empty.
But WeWork, which stocks craft-roasted coffee and whose aesthetic leans more toward hip than sterile, isn’t one to soak up space just because it’s available at a fire-sale price. Instead, it says the mall provides access to retail and restaurants that wouldn’t be close at hand from the upper floors of an office tower.
WeWork expects to house 675 users in its new 30,000-square-foot space. Mall managers say they’ll bring new energy to Pioneer Place as it, like many shopping centers, works to reinvent itself.
“We operate best-in-class retail properties, providing an outstanding environment to our communities,” said Bob Buchanan, the senior general manager for Pioneer Place. “It’s something that we take very seriously, but to achieve that, we need to continuously evolve.”
WeWork’s arrival will mean more foot traffic, the lifeblood of urban retail. Its members will be able to use a separate entrance on Southwest Sixth Avenue — allowing them office access when Pioneer Place is closed — but they’ll also have direct access to the mall.
An entrance to Pioneer Place mall, shown in 2009.Michael Wilhelm
The shopping center, in turn, will provide WeWork amenities not available in a traditional office space, such as a renovated food court focused on local and regional brands. Construction on that will begin within weeks, Buchanan said.
WeWork’s suite won’t be the only office newcomer in the neighborhood.
Much of Macy’s space in the Meier & Frank Building is also being converted to office space for as-yet undetermined tenants.
The repurposing also comes as the center of gravity of Portland’s retail scene shifts west. Some vaunted retailers have migrated toward the West End, an emergent district between Southwest Park Avenue and Interstate 405, and the Pearl District.
That’s not to say retailers are abandoning the area around Pioneer Place. Apple and Tiffany & Co., two retailers known for unrivaled sales figures, are firmly planted in the neighborhood, and Apple recently spent millions on a landmark new store on a site owned by Pioneer Place.
Traditional shopping centers have also struggled with retailers’ growing preference for street-side storefronts, said Ashley Heichelbech, a broker with Commercial Realty Advisors NW.
“We do see retailers who still want to be in a traditional mall environment, but we’re starting to see strong migration and interest in a street experience,” Heichelbech said.
Local stores and regional chains in particular have moved away from the setting, she said, but many national retailers still favor it. Those companies might also have existing business relationships with mall owners like General Growth Properties, which owns Pioneer Place and other shopping centers across the country.
In any case, Buchanan said, the influx of new office workers can only be good for nearby retailers.
The repurposed space, he said, shows that creative workers and companies want to be in the heart of downtown.
“Creative office space doesn’t necessarily have to be in a high-rise somewhere,” Buchanan said. “This gives them really fantastic real estate right in the middle of everything.”
— Elliot Njus
enjus@oregonian.com
503-294-5034
@enjus
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
