Portland Puts Tax Credits to Green Use

PFF’s first experience with New Markets Tax Credits came in 2003, through a sub-allocation from the investment bank Goldman Sachs. These funds are being applied to the $28 million restoration of the 1889 Armory Building in Portland’s Pearl District, set for completion in the spring of 2006. PFF hopes the 55,000 ft2 (5,100 m2) Armory, which will serve as a performing arts center and community space, will become the first LEED Platinum historic renovation. By combining these credits with historic and other tax credits, loans, and investments, PFF has reduced the cost of the Armory renovation by an estimated 40%.

The first allocation of Portland’s own New Markets Tax Credits is planned for what PFF hopes will be a catalytic series of six real estate and business projects along a 15-block stretch of Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard in Northeast Portland. The LEED Gold projects will bring hundreds of jobs to the district and provide “healthy places to work or visit,” according to Cowan.