The Future of Skyscrapers (?)

May, 29. 2025
By: Fred Leeson

Big Pink (nee U.S. National Bank Tower)

In the history of urban development, Portland faces a problem perhaps never before considered:  What to do with skyscrapers nobody wants?

At issue are 72 stories in two downtown skyscrapers, the former U.S. National Bank tower (42 stories) and PacWest Center (30 stories) which made big news when they opened in 1983 and 1984, respectively.

Now both are for sale.  With office vacancy rates running at 30 percent or higher and many employees happily ensconced working from home, it is hard to imagine these towers ever being filled again with office workers.  The high-end owners who are throwing in the towels likely are headed for major “haircuts,” the investment trade jargon for losses. 

Aside from the financial losses, what lies ahead for these towers?  Demolition seems unlikely, given the huge costs involved.  Can they be remodeled into something else, with other uses besides office space?

The topic is attracting attention in the construction trades, where housing often is listed as the primary need in repurposing old buildings.  Yet the obstacles are daunting, including earthquake bracing, operable windows for fresh air, and redesigned plumbing and electrical access.  However, the problems are not always insurmountable.  Downtown Portland’s best example is the Woodlark Hotel, created by joining the 9-story Woodlark office building from 1912 and the seven story Cornelius Hotel from 1908.

Carl Kloos, a Portland structural engineer, said seismic requirements were met in part in the Woodlark project by tying together the common walls between the historic buildings.

Woodlark (left) and Cornelius Revived Together

In a talk with the Carbon Leadership Forum, Kloos said the city of Los Angeles started taking steps to encourage older buildings being rehabbed into housing.  [Including a Adaptive Reuse Ordinance] Since 1999, he said Los Angeles has added 12,000 housing units in buildings converted from other uses.

In 2025, Los Angeles revamped its development rules by adding new incentives for adaptive conversions.  Incentives include an extra story allowed above zoning or height limits for fitness facilities or lounges open to all residents; up to two additional stories dedicated to affordable housing; no minimum unit sizes; and square footages lost to lightwells or courtyards can be added on adjacent properties.

Kloos said the beauty of the Los Angeles rules is they show developers what the city really wants instead of what it merely will tolerate.  “Why isn’t somebody doing something like that here?” he asked.  His message clearly caught the attention of Portland preservation advocates, who see adaptive reuse of historic buildings as a vital means of saving valued historic architecture that otherwise could be demolished.

As for what happens to the former U.S. Bank Tower and PacWest Center – we must not hold our breaths.  Architecture buffs will remember that the pink granite on the U.S. Bank Tower was recommended by Pietro Belluschi, who served as a consultant late in his storied career.  The tower quickly earned Big Pink as a nickname. Now maybe its new nickname will be “White Elephant.”

Fred Leeson writes the Building on History Blog and is a former president of the Bosco-Milligan Foundation and a member of the foundation's Board of Advisors.