Timeshares in the Pearl?

Wyndham TimeshareBuried in the Oregonian today is news that a Pearl District hotel project may likely be marketed as a timeshare — perhaps the city’s first.

Opus Northwest is hoping to complete the project, located at NW 14 & Irving, in two years. From the city’s Design Commission docket for August 7, 2008:

The building is U-shaped, pulling back on its south façade to form a private ground floor courtyard distinguished from the Irving St walkway by a fence and landscaped planter. Active ground floor uses form the NW 14th Ave frontage, with a hotel lobby, hotel services and a sales room facing the street. The ground floor of the NW 15th Ave façade is characterized by vehicular uses, with a structured loading bay, and the entrance to two floors of below-grade parking incorporating 109 parking stalls. Three hotel units form the ground-floor of the southwestern corner of the building with outdoor patio spaces facing the Irving St walkway. The upper floors include of a total of 114 hotel units of varying sizes.

The building design is by SERA Architects. The Oregonian reports the client is Wyndham Worldwide, a timeshare operator.

In a soft condo market, I think the idea could have some momentum — serving the occasional to frequent Portland visitor. It would provide an alternative to the pied-a-terre model of a small, temporary-stay second home. Often, the burden of homeowner association fees and insurance make pied-a-terres overly expensive for the less-than-frequent visitor. Fractional ownership usually offers clients some flexibility to travel to other resort locations, too.

The Portland Design Commission is holding a public hearing on Opus Northwest’s (the developer) design advice request at 1:30 p.m., Aug. 7, in Room 2500A at 1900 S.W. Fourth Ave.

No word yet on how excruciating the sales presentations will be :)

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August 5, 2008 · Filed Under Communities, Lifestyle, Relocation

Comments

3 Responses to “Timeshares in the Pearl?”

  1. George King on January 18th, 2009 1:44 pm

    Re: 8/05/2008 article on Pearl timeshare hotel. I would appreciate any updates on this. We are looking for a partial ownership in the NW Portland area.
    Thanks
    George King

  2. Ron Ares on January 18th, 2009 1:53 pm

    I haven’t heard any thing more on the timeshare hotel. I will follow up with an update. Thanks.

  3. Ron Ares on September 1st, 2009 6:03 am

    Update: Wyndham and SERA Architects report that the project has been canceled.

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