Union pension funds invested in South Waterfront Central District project

Union pension funds will help finance land acquisition and infrastructure development of approximately 28 acres in Portland’s 130- acre South Waterfront Central District off Southwest Macadam Avenue south of the Ross Island Bridge in Portland.

Washington Capital Management Inc. has provided $17,650,000 in two loans to North Macadam Investors, LLC.

A groundbreaking ceremony with Mayor Vera Katz, Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) President Peter Kohler and developer Homer Williams was held Oct. 13.

Katz has referred to the South Waterfront District has Portland’s “last great development opportunity for the central city and the most critical project we can dedicate ourselves to in the next decade.”

The first phase will be developed into residential condominiums and apartments, as well as commercial space for OHSU, which will eventually accommodate over 1 million square feet of office, lab or classroom space and will serve as an extension to the Marquam Hill campus.

According to Bruce Korter of Washington Capital Management, the loans are a part of the $31 million in required private funds for construction of the infrastructure, which includes new streets and utility extensions, and an overhead aerial tram connecting the South Waterfront to OHSU and an extension of the Portland city streetcar. The tram will be able to move over 6,000 people per day, city officials said.

The money invested by Washington Capital comes largely from building trades’ union pension funds.

“As a result of making this loan, the local building trades look forward to further involvement in helping develop the South Waterfront area,” Korter said. “This is a terrific opportunity for a long-term public/private partnership involving the city of Portland, Portland Development Commission, developers, unions and contractors.”

Wally Mehrens, executive secretary-treasurer of the Columbia-Pacific Building Trades, said that investing local union pension fund dollars in the community to advance economic development “provides a win-win for our members, our contractors, our community and a good investment for our pension fund in these projects like the South Waterfront.”

Washington Capital Management is a first mortgage construction and term lender for union-built real estate projects from $2 million to over $30 million. It provided $20 million in financing for the construction of Blocks 4 & 5 of the Brewery Blocks development in the Pearl District of Portland and it acquired InFocus Corporation’s corporate headquarters building in Wilsonville for $21.2 million.

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