Developer threatens withdrawal of $75M project
The developer of the proposed $75 million “midtown” project in Portland’s Bayside neighborhood has threatened to withdraw the plan for an apartment and retail complex if it doesn’t receive approval from the city’s Planning Board by the end of the month.
Jonathan Cox, the founder and chairman of Miami-based The Federated Cos., told the Portland Press Herald that if “the Planning Board isn't prepared to vote [at its meeting] on Jan. 27, then [the company] will withdraw.” He added, “We have come to the realization that it’s just not possible to take this project past the end of January.”
Cox’s ultimatum comes after the mixed-use proposal had a rocky year in 2014, mostly due to a citizen group’s court challenge of the city’s initial approval of the project. After the Planning Board approved an initial plan to build four 14-story buildings in January 2014, the decision was challenged in court by Keep Portland Livable, which said the tall buildings would have “walled off” the city’s peninsula.
The developer eventually reached a settlement with the group by agreeing to scale down the project to four six-story buildings. But because the new plan called for building everything at once instead of the original phased development plan, the Planning Board in December said an “extended review” is now required, prompting the developer’s most recent comments.
Federated Cos. first proposed the project five years ago.
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