White Stag Block earns ‘Gold’

Venerable Group Inc. has earned “gold” level certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for its multimillion dollar renovation of the White Stag Block in Old Town China Town.

The council awarded the three-building project the second-highest honor in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Program.

Venerable remodeled the historic buildings for two primary tenants. It is the new Portland home for the University of Oregon’s local architecture and journalism program as well as United Fund Advisors.

The renovations included an extensive rainwater harvesting system that reduces water demand by 86 percent. The project recycled 99 percent of construction waste and included installation of a new climate control system that is 30 percent more efficient than industry standard.

Portland Business Journal

Toyota provides electric shuttle cars

Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. Inc. on Wednesday said it will provided four electric vehicles for use in Portland as a shuttle from mass-transit stops.

The automaker, speaking at a Sustainable Mobility Seminar in Portland, said it would put four of its RAV4 electric vehicles into operation in Portland. Portland State University will develop a program to use the vehicles to shuttle people from transit terminals to downtown and suburban locations, Toyota said in a news release.

The news comes as Portland General Electric Co. continues to roll out a series of electric car-charging stations across the metro area where the cars can refuel.

“It’s obvious that the next several years will see a growing number of low-emission and no-emission vehicle options, particularly electric and hybrid vehicles,” George Beard of PSU’s Mark O. Hatfield School of Government, said in the news release. “Our region’s position in renewable energy and its leadership reputation in urban sustainability make this partnership a natural for all involved.”

Toyota also announced a series of other announcements at the event Wednesday, including its plans to display a Camry hybrid powered by compressed natural gas at the Los Angeles Auto Show, and that the company is studying the business case for remanufacturing hybrid vehicle batters in North America as a way of lowering replacement costs.

Portland Business Journal

September Real Estate Market Report

The RMLS Market report published today shows that sales activity in the Portland Metro Area slowed down in August compared to the previous year. New listings are down 27.1% from August 2007. Closed sales are down 30.7% and pending sales fell 22%. Closed sales and pending sales are also down somewhat from July 2008.

Average sales price is down 6.7% from this time last year while the median sale price dropped 7.3%. Compared to last month, the average price dropped 2.7% and the median price dropped 2.8%. This is a clear indication that real estate values have dropped in the Portland area market. Our average home price is now $331,300 and the median home price is $280,000.

The amount of inventory in our area remains high. We have 9.9 months of available inventory at the current rate of sales. This is down a little from last month but well above last year’s inventory (6.2 months) and that of August 2006 (3.6 months).