PFF provides tax credit consulting services that bring triple bottom line returns for investors, lenders, developers and Community Development Entities operating in the Portland Metro area. Our services include sourcing debt and equity, tax credit transaction structuring, community impacts measurement, closing, and tax credit compliance services.

PFF consults primarily on New Markets Tax Credits structures, and can combine NMTCs with other tax credits such as Historic and Business Energy Tax Credits where appropriate. The three transactions shown below typify PFF's skill sets in the NMTC program, which PFF structured and closed for National Development Council and Historic Rehabilitation Fund I, LLC (The Civic); GS New Markets Fund (Gerding Theater at the Armory); and Hospitality Fund I, LLC (Meier & Frank/The Nines Hotel).

The Gerding Theater at the Armory

An Historic Armory Becomes a Green Performing Arts Center

"Portland, Ore., for example, this month opened its old Downtown armory as the Portland Center Stage Gerding Theater. The theater is a jewel in the heart of the Pearl District, one of the city's major redevelopment areas." - as reported in The Arizona Daily Star

Built in 1891 for the First Regiment Militia, the Portland Armory was for many years the largest indoor space in the city. Throughout the 20th century, generations of Portlanders thrilled to basketball games, wrestling matches, opera and symphony performances, speeches by three US Presidents, even a dynamic performance by the Godfather of Soul, James Brown. $36.1 million of New Markets Tax Credits were structured and closed by Portland Family of Funds to allow this architectural treasure to be restored as The Gerding Theater at the Armory. Now, future generations of Portlanders will know their second-largest 19th century building as the home of Portland Center Stage, the city's premier Equity theater group, and the most sustainable theater in the world (it was the first building on the National Register of Historic Places to receive the coveted LEED Platinum designation from the US Green Building Council). In addition to world-class theater, one can learn about the shows, the building's history, donors, preservation and sustainable design through interactive displays by Portland's own Second Story Interactive Studios. The project also created Vera Katz Park, a new sliver park on the building's north side, a cafe, regular tours, enhanced community outreach programs, and an open door policy to stay awhile at the Pearl District's oldest, and newest, creative space.

Learn more about the Armory at www.pcs.org.

The Civic

Pioneering Mixed-use Project in Portland's West End Includes Retail, Condo and Green Low Income Housing

"Success is measured in sales -- more than 80 percent of the units have sold with almost no advertising beyond a sign posted at the construction site." - Wendy Culverwell, Portland Business Journal

The Civic Apartment building, located on West Burnside Avenue adjacent to PGE Park in Portland's West End, had been boarded up for many years. The Housing Authority of Portland released a Request for Proposals which was awarded to Gerding/Edlen Development Company, who proposed to redevelop the site to include for-sale condominiums targeted primarily at first time homebuyers; ground floor retail; for-rent affordable housing, parking and an open promenade to help link Burnside with the ball park. Investors had been hesitant to invest in the neighborhood until Portland Family of Funds, acting as a consultant, was able to attract New Markets Tax Credits from two Community Development Entities and tax credit investment from a major bank. PFF structured the New Markets transaction to bring the final piece of financing to the project, enabling construction to begin. Over 90% of the condominiums have been sold prior to a planned opening in the summer of 2007; the building is targeted for a LEED Silver rating from the US Green Building Council. The rental housing is anticipated to be completed in 2008, and is targeted for LEED Gold - making it one of the most environmentally sustainable low income housing buildings in the US.

Meier & Frank/"The Nines" Hotel

Preserving and Repurposing the Centerpiece of Portland's Downtown Retail Core

"There was a time when, if a woman went downtown to Meier & Frank looking for style, she also showed off her own. You might have said she was dressed to the nines." - Dylan Rivera, The Oregonian

Legend has it that east coast wholesalers used to say "there are four cities on out west: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Meier & Frank." The company's historic flagship building with the distinctive white terra cotta facade was built in three stages in 1909, 1915 and 1932. Each floor equals an acre of downtown real estate. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Though department store business gave way to suburban malls and the business was sold to out-of-town owners, the building remained the lynchpin for the City's downtown redevelopment plans for 15 years. The high costs of seismic updates were a barrier to its restoration, however, and it was not until 2004, when the CDFI fund awarded the largest single project allocation of New Markets Tax Credits ($72.5 million) to Hospitality Fund I (Sage Hospitality Resources, Denver), that the project was able to move forward. Portland Family of Funds acted as a consultant on the application and in structuring the tax credit transaction in a condominiumized structure. The top nine floors are undergoing a $117.0 million renovation to become "The Nines," a 334-room Starwood Luxury Collection hotel, including a restaurant and rooftop lounge, scheduled to open in the summer of 2008. The bottom five floors will become a Macy's department store scheduled to open for the holiday season, 2007. In an homage to history, Macy's has renamed the block "The Meier & Frank Square."