Portland’s skyline-defining ‘Big Pink’ office tower sold at markdown price

After only two months on the market, the U.S. Bancorp Tower in downtown Portland, often referred to as Big Pink, has sold.

The tower JLL, a real estate company, was marketing the sale of Oregon’s largest office building. The structure is mostly empty when U.S. Bank declined to extend its lease at its eponymous tower last year.

According to the Portland Business Journal, the buyer is Jeff Swickard, an executive in the auto and telecommunications industries. In addition to owning a vacation home in Oregon, Swickard resides in Las Vegas, Nevada, the home of his car company.

According to a spokeswoman, Swickard paid roughly $45 million in full cash for the tower, which is only 12% of the $372.5 million that UBS paid the seller in 2015.

The acquisition is a full-circle moment, according to Swickard, who owns properties in California, Nevada, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Hawaii, and Texas and is the owner of Swickard Auto Group.

I received my degree from the University of Oregon almost twenty-five years ago. Big Pink stood tall as a symbol of what was possible, and like so many others, I loved the Portland skyline from a distance, Swickard stated in a news release. Early in my career, I even went to an interview for a job in the tower. Being its owner now is a full-circle experience that entails responsibility as well as purpose.

According to Swickard, he intends to invest millions more to entice new building occupants. According to Swickard, early concepts for the building’s renovation might include a skybridge connecting the offices to a nearby parking lot, multi-story tenant experiences, fitness centers, coffee shops, dining options, and more.

He stated that in order to overcome the deterrent he perceives in Portland’s taxes, the expenditure would be necessary.

According to Swickard, Portland is not drawing businesses on its own. Unfortunately, Portland’s tax issue is driving people away. Therefore, you must do something very exceptional for them—something that is exclusive to a tenant—in order to get them to come to Portland.

Over a ten-year period, Swickard estimated he might spend $150 million.

On Wednesday, Mayor Keith Wilson praised Big Pink’s ambitious turnaround plans and pledged that City Hall was prepared to work with Jeff to help tenants, improve confidence, and make sure downtown continues to be a fantastic place to live, work, and grow.

The city’s ongoing struggle with its national image following the 2020 protests that brought down the titans of Portland’s commercial real estate industry, COVID-19, and the move to remote labor. In 2024, the third-largest office building in Portland, Montgomery Park, was purchased by Menashe Properties, a local family-run real estate company, for $33 million, which is also a small portion of its previous value.

Big Pink’s sale to Swickard, according to CEO Jordan Menashe, is an example of how the city’s office market is starting over as upscale buildings are being sold for deeply discounted rates, luring investors back into the market.

According to him, this transaction is great for the market and enables the bottoming out process to occur.

Swickard expressed his desire to restore downtown Portland to its former glory as a bustling hub while attending the University of Oregon. He stated that lowering building rentals and luring workers from the Portland suburbs to the city is one way to do it.

“My goal is to entice people to return to downtown Portland and restore the Big Pink to its former status as the most iconic building,” he stated. It’s simply a very unique location where people can come to conduct business, have dinner, and have fun.

The property has been owned by UBS for ten years. The 42-story structure will still be managed by its partner, Unico Properties of Seattle.

Digital Trends, a former tenant, sued Unico in 2023, claiming that security failings occasionally made the property unsafe for its employees. Since then, the lawsuit has been resolved.

Swickard says he intends to keep spending money on private security in order to guarantee the safety of the tower’s employees and buildings.

“With our private security in and around that building, it’s like a mini police department,” he remarked. Swickard expressed optimism that the efforts of Portland Mayor Keith Wilson and Governor Tina Kotek to improve public safety and reduce homelessness will be successful in the area of Big Pink.

Swickard stated that he would invest close to $100 million in Oregon real estate this year in order to expand his holdings. He didn’t reveal any other transactions.

Swickard intends to conduct focus groups and speak with renters about their requirements and desires for the U.S. Bancorp Tower as well as for downtown Portland.

He remarked, “We’re not building flippers.” This is something I want to keep for a very long time. I adore Oregon.