Portland — Shorenstein Properties, LLC celebrated the newest addition to downtown Portland’s growing business community — at a groundbreaking event held yesterday afternoon for a 16 story office tower to be named First & Main.  The property located at SW First & SW Main, will be one of downtown Portland’s premier office buildings.

The building will feature approximately 346,500 square feet of office space, 20,000 square feet of ground floor retail space, balconies on the fourth, fifteenth and sixteenth floors, and views of Mount Hood and the Willamette River. The planned amenities include a warm and inviting lobby with casual seating and wireless connectivity, ground level retail and restaurants, as well as three levels of below-grade parking with up to 300 stalls.  First & Main will be LEED certified and will feature an expansive eco-terrace located on the fourth floor of the building. To serve bicycle commuters, First & Main will have a bike hub providing convenient, secure bike storage and shower facilities on the ground floor.

“The First & Main building will add to downtown Portland’s vitality as one of the preeminent office markets in the Pacific Northwest,” said Gregg Meyer of Shorenstein Properties LLC. “When completed, First & Main will be our third Class A office building in downtown Portland which demonstrates Shorenstein’s commitment to the area and to our tenants.”

Shorenstein has selected Gerding Edlen Development, GBD Architects and Hoffman Construction as the local development team, and Norris, Beggs & Simpson and Urban Works Real Estate as the third-party office and retail listing agents. The project is estimated to be completed in early 2010.

Shorenstein is one of the oldest and most respected privately held real estate companies in the country, investing in and managing primarily Class A office properties.  Shorenstein’s Portland Metro-area portfolio consists of just over four million square feet in four distinct submarkets throughout the region (Downtown, Kruse Way/Tigard, Beaverton, and John’s Landing).

About Shorenstein Properties LLC:

San Francisco-based Shorenstein Properties LLC (www.shorenstein.com) is one of the oldest and most successful private real estate investment companies active throughout the United States in the acquisition, development, ownership and management of office and mixed-use properties. Since its beginning in 1924, the company has evolved from a regional real estate operating company to an active national investor and manager of commingled institutional capital. Since 1992, Shorenstein has sponsored nine closed-end real estate investment funds.  Shorenstein’s broad access to transactions and extensive in-house investment and operating expertise has positioned Shorenstein to produce attractive investment results across multiple market cycles.