Opera Buys Former KPTV Space, Adjacent Lot

PORTLAND-The Portland Opera secured its future digs this week. The nonprofit paid Meredith Corp. $5 million for the 45,000-sf former KPTV-12 building and an adjacent parking lot. The property is located on the east bank of the Willamette River, next to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, better known as OMSI. Meredith Corp. built the building for its television news organization in 1996 for $8 million. The property’s latest assessed value came in at around $6 million. As Portland Opera is a nonprofit, the million-dollar difference between the sale price and the value is considered a tax deductible contribution.

Portland opera General Director Robert Bailey tells GlobeSt.com that the 12,000-sf second floor will be marketed for lease until the Opera grows into the space. “We are pricing the space very very competitively with the idea we can get a tenant in there quickly,” says Bailey. “We have a couple of very interested parties.” Macadam Forbes’ Greg Burpee, who represented the Opera in the acquisition, has the leasing assignment.