Saying the economy is such that the company didn't feel comfortable moving forward with the larger project on a speculative basis, C.E. John's Walker John tells GlobeSt.com that the building will be one story and 12,000 sf rather than three stories and 21,000 sf. John says the company expects to start on the project late this year and complete it in early 2003.

The company owns several acres in the immediate vicinity of the would-be office property that it has already developed as retail and residential, including the Beaches Restaurant property and the Meriwether Condominiums. Lease rates for the office space will be in the $30 per sf range on a full services basis.

In April, C.E. John also cancelled plans for new office space at Northwest 10th & Hoyt in Portland's Pearl District. In early 2001, when the city loosened height restrictions and the office market seemed healthy, C.E. John was planning a 10-story building with residential over office and ground-floor retail. It will now be a five-story all-residential project for which Trammell Crow will be the lead developer. TC is also partnering with C.E. John on a 183-unit project in Portland's Lloyd District, where the Lions Restaurant used to be at MLK Boulevard and Northeast Multnomah.