TriMet has moved to a new headquarters in downtown Portland. The new headquarters, which TriMet is calling One Main Place, is located on 101 Southwest Main Street. The lease includes 95,000 square feet of space within the 20-story office tower.
The location of One Main Place at Southwest 1st Avenue and Main Street, retains TriMet’s administrative presence in downtown Portland, where 39 percent of TriMet buses and trains travel daily. Throughout the agency’s 50-plus year history, downtown Portland has been a vital connection point, where people from communities throughout the 533-square-mile service area come together.
“For as long as TriMet has existed, we’ve been part of downtown Portland, and we’re not going anywhere,” said TriMet General Manager Sam Desue Jr. “During the darkest days of the pandemic, our buses and trains were some of the only vehicles on those streets. We never stopped, and our commitment to revitalizing the heart of our city will never fade. With 11 years to go on our lease at One Main Place and increasing optimism for the future, we are here for Portland. We are here to stay.”
One Main Place includes a lobby with shared common space. TriMet occupies six floors of the building. The reception area is on the seventh floor. Workgroups that report regularly to One Main Place include Engineering, Construction and Planning, Facilities Management, Finance, Labor Relations and Human Resources, Legal Services, Public Affairs and Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access. The general manager, chief operating officer and members of the executive leadership team also have offices at One Main Place.
The building is located near the Hawthorne Bridgehead. One of the city’s first Rose Lanes, installed in 2019 to help speed up buses traveling into downtown, leads to a bus stop right outside. Lines 6-ML King Jr. Blvd., 10-Harold and 14-Hawthorne arrive there regularly each day. Hundreds of buses can be accessed on the Portland Transit Mall, just blocks away on Southwest 5th and 6th Avenues. All five MAX lines also travel to downtown Portland, and TriMet's Customer Support Center is located at Pioneer Courthouse Square.
One Main Place is situated in a vibrant section of downtown Portland, close to coffee shops, restaurants and cafes that bustle with business during the work day. The location provides easy access to services and shopping. In addition, it is located within walking distance of parks, fountains and the Willamette River.
Lease terms leverage advantageous economic conditions
When TriMet negotiated terms for the lease agreement at One Main Place in late 2021, it represented the largest new commercial lease agreement in the state of Oregon. The agency’s total investment over the 11-year term of the lease is about $33 million, a total that TriMet Board Member Thomas Kim described as a “heck of a deal,” when the board approved the terms in early 2022. TriMet was also able to secure advantageous terms for the lease, as the region grappled with the economic realities of the COVID-19 pandemic, including a central city with a growing inventory of vacant office space. TriMet’s real estate broker, Cushman & Wakefield, estimates downtown Portland’s vacancy rate was 20 percent at that time.
TriMet previously leased more than 50,000 square feet of administrative office at Harrison Square, an office building about a half mile south of One Main Place. The 10-year agreement for that property expired in June. Should TriMet have stayed, the agency notes it would have been responsible for a much larger financial obligation under a longer lease term. It was projected at $44.2 million, compared to $33 million at One Main Place.
TriMet reviewed 27 potential locations before selecting One Main Place. The building checked many of the boxes in the agency’s search criteria, including a location that is well-served by transit, near a vibrant neighborhood and is seismically resilient.
A new home away from home for TriMet’s administrative employees
About 275 people, nearly half of TriMet’s 600 non-union employees, will report to One Main Place at least one day per week under the revised telework policy that brought administrative workers back to the office in January 2023. Having TriMet staff report to work in person boosts ridership, as many use transit and forms of active transportation such as biking to get to the office. While the building provides free bike parking to TriMet employees, we do not have space for employees to park personal vehicles. There is limited access for agency-owned vehicles that are used for work purposes.
Fare increase revenue dedicated to service
Earlier this year, the TriMet Board of Directors approved the agency’s first increase in adult fare in more than a decade. It takes effect in January 2024. None of the funds will be directed toward the lease at One Main Place. Annual payments for the lease at One Main Place are included in TriMet’s annual budget for leased facilities.
