May 15, 2014
The Portland Development Commission has selected a team consisting of Naito Development, Eagle Point Hotel Partners (EPHP), and Filament Hospitality to redevelop the Grove Hotel property in downtown Portland on West Burnside Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues.
“This decision marks another milestone in the continuing momentum of Old Town/Chinatown as a location of choice for new projects and business expansions,” said PDC Executive Director Patrick Quinton. “We’re very optimistic about the success of the project, given the strength of the team and their viable business model.”
Principals of the selected team include Bob Naito (Naito Development), Stephen Chan (EPHP), and Ingrid Summerfield (Filament). The Naito team proposes to convert the former 70-room single room occupant (SRO) hotel to a 52-guestroom lifestyle hotel with a potential of 190 sellable beds. Each of the guestrooms will have an ensuite bathroom, which will provide flexibility in marketing and booking the rooms as individual hotel rooms or as group rooms. For the first floor the team is proposing a restaurant, coffee shop, speakeasy, hotel lobby, and flexible retail space. Preliminary plans also include a rooftop deck.
Development of the property will advance several PDC objectives for Old Town/Chinatown, including activation of the prominent location near the Chinatown Gate, increased area vitality and diversity, and positive economic activity that will contribute to the real and perceived safety of the neighborhood.
Raymond Cheng, a local architect and member of the selection committee, said, “We were impressed with both the number (11) and quality of responses we received for this project. Naito Development’s local knowledge and experience, EPHP’s hotel market expertise and financing capabilities and Filament Hospitality’s experience with creating and operating hotels made the strongest case among several excellent proposals.”
The preliminary development budget calls for $7.5 million in private investment. The team is proposing to buy the property from PDC for $630,000 and is not seeking additional financial assistance. The business terms will be negotiated during the due diligence period prior to signing a binding development agreement.
