Doing (not) Business in or near downtown Portland (Beaverton, Burns: city hall, crime)

[Cyril]

Old Town's drug problems continue, frustrating business owners | OregonLive.com

In my experience as a hands on business owner form 2003-2008 I lost over 100K to crime, closures, vandalism to my property, strong armed robbers and even suffered 2 physical assaults one afternoon at hands of one of Portlands beloved meth head street punks. 4pm, people saw and walked right by me. I was never open after 6pm and still this damage to myself, staff and investment. Built out at a good cost. I finally pulled the plug after another assault, shuttered it and moved back to my hometown. Every other city I have worked/done business in city I have done business has never had such a serious crime issue. I floated it on the market trying to sell it after the 4th year of this. Big name franchise reps loved the space but I watched them size up the dope dealing out in the open, teen prostitutes 6 blocks from city hall and they walked away and never called back.I urged a commisioner to help and he tried but it is a BROKEN city. I was not open eveneing and was right downtown on a main street.
I could never say a word to my customers or complain because they would actually get angry at at me for criticizing the 'homeless'.
Permits, Fees, water bills,waste haulers, linen services, wholesale prices are on average 15 to 20% higher than many other cities..(except Seattle).
Watch out for predatory local vendor contracts. They didn't get me but tried and as a rule I used NATIONAL/PROFESSIONAL companies such as Cintas as a rule.
High payroll taxes, very, very lax unemployment laws where just about anybody can hop on the dole and business owners pay and pay.
Oregon even did a "Clawback' tax in 2009 during the worst economic crunch in years. They raised taxes going back 3 years and sent a bill to businesses. Glad I left by that time. High min wage and no 'tip credit'.
To come to work smoked up on weed in expected.
In all my years in the retail food business I never experienced people coming and complaining about the prices on a regular and before they even saw the portion, before ordering. It is a provincial place in many ways.
If you come from another city and do well the Portland-ageing hippie- business mafia will hassle you no end and even cyber harass you on review sites. Glad I left and many professional business types urged me to do so.
If you are coming from a city that is pro business or is even decently run you will not like Portland.
If anyone had told me before moving there all these negatives would have damaged my business and career in Portland I would have laughed.
I had been warned but now heed.

[Deezus]

Cyril, did you have a problem in every city named Portland? Looks like you complain about Portland, Maine as well...

//www.city-data.com/forum/portl...l#post15191681

[pdxMIKEpdx]

Read the article then read the comments at the bottom of the page.
There's at least seven pages of them.

I always mention reading the "comments" because you will get a far more realistic viewpoint of the citizens of Portland, and what they actually think, rather than the avoidance of negativity and the lack of discussion concerning important issues of Portland one tends to see here.

[Nell Plotts]

A smart business owner researches the neighborhood s/he is considering. Locating in Old Town was a mistake. It is a very small area with a number of social service organizations that attract people 'down on their luck'. There are similar areas in every city and are not at all representative of the city as a whole.

An employer establishes their business culture. He does not even tolerate users of weed and he tests. Those who assert that smoking dope is accepted by Portland employers are incorrect.

With respect to vendor costs researching that is a part of a business plan. Note he indicates that Seattle has the same problem.

I can't speak to his issues with the City or County.

[Deezus]

Old Town has problems because it's been the dumping ground for a lot of the sketchier elements of Portland for a long time... Homeless shelters, methdone clinics, low-rent long term occupancy hotels, and other social services for the lower rungs of society. On the other hand, no one in more established residential neighborhoods wants any of these sort of services or the associated clientale located in their own neighborhoods. No one wants half-way houses or methadone clinics near the gentrified inner Southeast and Northeast neighborhoods nor the middle class or lower class neighborhoods further out. Even in the poorest neighborhoods on the East Side, you'd be hardpressed to find any homeless shelters set up there. Where you have a massive concentration of the down and out you're going to have the societal ills of drugs and crime following.

Another reason for Old Town's problems is that since the drug and prostitution exclusion zones expired, you've had a upswing in the crack/heroin trade. Before police were able to actually exclude people from the area for 90 days after a drug arrest, otherwise they'd face trespassing charges upon returning.

The police with the right manpower and budget could easily shut down or disrupt a lot of the drug trade in Portland--the thing is though that they're really not encouraged to do so. Just like the Tenderloin in San Francisco or Pioneer Square in Seattle it's a dirty little municipal secret that local governments would rather have the dope trade and other sketchier elements concentrated in one neighborhood. Old Town could easily be cleaned up and turned into an extention of the Pearl District. It's just going to remain a low-rent neighborhood with a bar/nightclub scene in some parts, because it's easier to just leave it that way. You clean up Old Town and Old Town's problems just migrate to some other area...

As bad as Old Town is at times though, I walk through it all the time--and while it's sketchy and sort of depressing--it really isn't that threatening at most times. I'd love to see one of the more historic areas of Portland cleaned up and made more of an attraction for our city, however at the same time, it's probably not going to happen anytime soon.

[turquoise1]

Someone told me that Old Town used to house a lot of Chinese businesses, but that certain political decisions were made to discourage this. Honestly, Portland's Chinatown is the least Chinese Chinatown I have seen! It is a shame, because tourists (me included) love to visit Chinatowns. Some of my favorites have been in Victoria, Vancouver, Boston, Washington DC, and of course, the Chinatowns in Flushing, Sunset Park, and NYC.

From a business or tourism standpoint, it doesn't seem like a decision that makes sense. The waterfront is not being utilized like it could.

Then again, in NYC we have the Bowery, and it seems to be gentrifying at the same time that it is able to provide social services. But yes, Deezus, the sheer concentration in one area is the problem.

[Deezus]

Originally Posted by turquoise1

Someone told me that Old Town used to house a lot of Chinese businesses, but that certain political decisions were made to discourage this. Honestly, Portland's Chinatown is the least Chinese Chinatown I have seen! It is a shame, because tourists (me included) love to visit Chinatowns. Some of my favorites have been in Victoria, Vancouver, Boston, Washington DC, and of course, the Chinatowns in Flushing, Sunset Park, and NYC.

From a business or tourism standpoint, it doesn't seem like a decision that makes sense. The waterfront is not being utilized like it could.

Then again, in NYC we have the Bowery, and it seems to be gentrifying at the same time that it is able to provide social services. But yes, Deezus, the sheer concentration in one area is the problem.

Portland's Chinatown used to be on the other side of Burnside in the SW portion of what's considered Old Town. What's now Chinatown used to be Japanatown until the World War II-era internment of the Japanese community there. The Chinese business owners relocated into Japantown after that.

Chinatown lost a good opportunity when Uwajimaya(the huge Seattle Asian market with a branch in Beaverton) decided not to open a huge mixed use complex in Chinatown. The only thing really worth checking out in Portland Chinatown these days is the Chinese Garden--there's maybe a couple decent restaurants outside of that... The real Chinese community is out on 82nd. A lot of middle class Chinese don't want anything to do with the Old Town area...

[turquoise1]

I guess this is why you can't get decent Chinese food downtown? Do you have any recommendations for 82nd Street? I love dim sum, Shanghainese seafood, etc.

[SETabor]

I've always been to Wong's King on SE Division for dim sum but my neighbor told me that the up and coming place is in a strip mall on SE 82nd in the same complex as the Wal-Mart.

[davemess10]

Originally Posted by pdxMIKEpdx

I always mention reading the "comments" because you will get a far more realistic viewpoint of the citizens of Portland, and what they actually think, rather than the avoidance of negativity and the lack of discussion concerning important issues of Portland one tends to see here.

Somewhat, you still have to remember those are just Portlanders who read the Oregonian. Which tend to be older and more conservative.