Nordstrom Rack moving to Portland's ODS Tower

Daily Journal of Commerce (Portland, OR), Jun 25, 2004 by Aimee Curl

Nordstrom Rack will relocate from its subterranean space in the Kress Block, on the corner of Southwest Morrison Street and Fourth Avenue, to the ODS Tower.

The retailer, a discount version of Nordstrom, will replace Copeland Sports at ODS Tower, located between Southwest Morrison and Alder streets and Second and Third avenues.

Seattle-based Nordstrom opened Nordstrom Rack in downtown Portland in 1986. The move means an expansion for Nordstrom Rack, which will increase its size from 19,000 to 33,698 square feet.

For Nordstrom, it's a great branding move for them, a great way to put their best foot forward, said Jim Dix of Gray & Associates, who represented Wright Runstad & Co., which co-owns and manages ODS Tower. ODS is a great location and a great match for them.

For us it's about serving our customers in the best location we can, said Deniz Anders, Nordstrom's spokeswoman. We were looking to have a larger store in a new location but wanted to stay in downtown Portland. This was a great opportunity for us.

Anders said the additional space will give the store twice the space to merchandise shoes.

The new location also provides us a street presence and a second level, she said. The layout will be more efficient. We're looking forward to it.

Wright Runstad's Traci Wall, the general manager of the ODS Tower, said the new tenant is an exciting opportunity for the building.

It will generate a lot more foot traffic. It's good for the ownership in terms of visibility. We're very excited. Nordstrom is a terrific tenant to have in your building.

The 24-story, 400,000-square-foot ODS Tower, which is primarily made up of office space, has a day care and small coffee shop in addition to the large retail space. Wall said the building is 98 percent leased.

Wall called Copeland Sport's move a mutually agreed upon decision for them to vacate.

They had a five-year window, she said. After that, they had to make a decision of whether or not the store was being successful for them.

Wayne Peterson, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Copeland Sports, said the company is currently looking for another location, preferably downtown.

We definitely like Portland. It's a market we'd like to continue to grow in. We're looking at a couple of sites right now. We just don't have anything to announce, he said. There's not a whole lot available downtown. That's why it's going to take a little longer.

The San Luis Obispo, Calif.-based company has five other Oregon stores including locations in Jantzen Beach, the Clackamas Town Center, Beaverton, Eugene and Medford. Copland Sports is also planning a store in Salem at the Lancaster Mall.

Peterson said the company typically looks for spaces that are on a single level and range in size between 30,000 and 35,000 square feet.

We also look for good access for our customers and a location within a strong retail environment, he said.

If Copland Sports can't find space downtown, Peterson said the company would still likely open another location in the Portland area.

We think the market can support additional stores, he said. We like Oregon and the Portland area. We will continue to look for alternative locations in the state and in the city.

Nordstrom currently operates five full-line stores in Oregon and three Nordstrom Rack stores. The new downtown location is scheduled to open in February 2005.