Intel Taking Down Most of What's Going Up at AmberGlen

BEAVERTON, OR-With all three of the flex-office buildings under construction at AmberGlen Business Park filling up, developer Birtcher Real Estate Group and leasing agent Grubb & Ellis are close to breaking ground on the park’s third class A office building.

In the next couple of weeks, Birtcher will break ground on 1915 NW AmberGlen Pkwy, a 100,000-sf, four-story class A office building to be the mirror image of 1925 NW AmberGlen Pkwy, which is occupied by the locally-based Internet company Webridge.

If the space leases up as quickly as other projects in the park have lately, 1915 will be filled up long before it’s complete. Two of the three 52,000-sf flex-office buildings going up right now–165 and 1185 NW AmberGlen Parkway–have been preleased to Intel, and there are reportedly leases are out for signature that will fill up the other, 20475 Amberwood.

“We need product,” says Jim Edwards, AmberGlen’s vice president of marketing and development. “It’s leasing up as fast as its coming out of the ground.”

Part of the current situation was caused by an oversupply at the beginning of the year that had developers weary of breaking more ground. Within just a couple of months, however, things took off and the excess had been soaked up. As a result, early returns are that not much space was absorbed in the third quarter for the simple reason that there was not much to be had. In turn, the fourth quarter will see instant absorption, as the projects scheduled to come on line at AmberGlen and elsewhere have already been preleased.

Intel’s new leases at AmberGlen were brokered by Bradford Fletcher, managing director of Grubb & Ellis’ Portland office and Intel’s exclusive leasing agent here. The third flex building on the rise there is being filled by G&E’s Dave Squire and Steve Marcy. World Wide Packets signed on for 12,500-sf in the building a month ago, and there are reportedly leases out for signature that will fill the remaining space.

When these projects are complete, right around 1.2 million sf will have been developed at AmberGlen since its inception in 1983, leaving only about 800,000-sf left to be built. If the market continues to simmer, says Edwards, Birtcher will be developing at least 200,000 sf per year until it maxes out the 217-acre park.