The Economic Times

KBS bought Portlands 16-story Meier & Frank department store for $54 million in 2016; it then transformed the landmark into Class A mixed-use space

In November 2016, real estate firm KBS bought the 16-story building for $54 million in a joint venture with private developer Sterling Bay. Their goal was to turn the retail property into a Class A mixed-use building while preserving its historical architecture. The $16.6 million project took a year to complete. It covered 200,000 square feet of core renovations and 23,000 square feet of interior updates. Figures cited in the 2021 project account put Portland's technology workforce at 60,550 people, making it the 26th-largest tech talent pool in the country.