George Smith Partners Aids Under Armour Build-to-Suit in Portland

By Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor 

Under Armour Offices, Portland, Ore.

Portland, Ore.—The development of Under Armour‘s new 108,700-square-foot build-to-suit office in Portland, Ore., takes a notable step forward as George Smith Partners orchestrates $19.9 million in bridge/rehab financing for the project.

Run Our Dream LLC is developing the new offices for Under Armour, which entered into a 15-year lease agreement for the property, located at 2815 SW. Barbur Blvd. But the global sports apparel company had conditions for committing to the project: the existing 68,700-square-foot building, previously the site of the local YMCA, would have to be transformed into a creative office campus. “Amazing space, glass and steel, innovation—a great place to not only retain and recruit new folks, but an innovative place to build some of the world’s best product,” Kip Fulks, president of Under Armour, said during the company’s investor day meeting in September 2015.

Now with financing in place, Run Our Dream can commence construction. Obtaining the funds, however, was no simple feat. GSP had some distinct challenges to contend with when it was tasked with presenting the Under Armour project to the lending community. First off, there were no properties that were similar to the proposed development, so there were no comparisons to offer lenders. Additionally, the project itself wasn’t an easy sell, given the level of work needed for completing the conversion. Undeterred, GSP countered the negatives with positives, adding a few points to the plus column.

GSP highlighted the high-credit tenant, Under Armour, that had signed on to occupy the property under a long-term agreement, and noted the take-out financing options the borrower would have once Under Armour commenced its tenancy. And GSP had one more argument in its arsenal. “The building owner had already presented a permit-ready plan to the City for review and approval, which gave the lender added confidence in the execution and timeframe for the project,” Malcolm Davies, principal with GSP, said in a prepared statement.  “Ultimately, we were able to identify a capital provider that recognized the value in the project, and the opportunity in this loan.”

Under Armour’s new home will be four times the size of its current Portland digs in the Pearl District.