Here's what's on our mind.

Force majeure clauses in contracts are intended to allow performing parties to avoid liability if certain natural or unavoidable events or catastrophes interrupt the expected course of events and impact the parties’ ability to perform.

On March 22, Oregon Governor Kate Brown issued an executive order temporarily prohibiting law enforcement officers from acting on evictions as a result of nonpayment of rent. This followed the City of Portland and Multnomah County (which includes…

In this age of non-stop news coverage, we continue to be bombarded with news of how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting our world. Most of us would likely agree that the pandemic was unforeseeable and that it was out of anyone’s control.

While I was social distancing at home, I was talking with an electrician friend and he said that builders are not slowing down on projects at all. If anything they are accelerating.

As cases of COVID-19, also known as coronavirus, surpass 5,000 in the United States as of March 17 and global stock markets tumble amidst concerns over economic uncertainty, the Federal Reserve has taken measures to address economic turmoil. Most…

This article looks at how owners and builders can minimize risk for both private and public projects. A construction contract is the primary source for managing risk for a project of any size.

A new infographic released by Cushman & Wakefield looks at the past 10 years of commercial real estate growth in Portland. With so much demand for office space from the multiple industries fueling our region's growth, I’m not surprised to see that 85…

Farmland is going out of farm production in Oregon at what seems to some to be an alarming rate – near double the nationwide rate. As everyone knows, we also have a dearth of low income housing, at least near urban areas. "Wait a minute!," you say…

The Portland Planning and Sustainability Commission proposed edits to the City’s Design Guidelines to require that the street frontage of some new commercial developments be designed with spaces for people to “rest,” which some interpreted as spaces…

On June 21, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Knick v. Township of Scott, Pennsylvania, 139 S. Ct. 2162 (2019) (Knick), that private parties seeking to challenge a local government under the “Takings Clause” can now file their lawsuits directly…

Commercial property owners and tenants often ask their lawyers for a "form lease." But no form will fit every situation, and this is particularly true when the tenant is a cannabis business. Because cannabis remains illegal under federal law…

The field is wide open as far as what kind of entity can invest in and hold real estate in Oregon. And even though any legal entity may be used, most commercial real estate in Oregon is owned by a single-purpose entity, an LLC. If an entity is formed…

Given the continuous fluctuation in business immigration, tariffs, and international relations, it shouldn’t be a surprise that foreign investment into the U.S. (especially by China), has slowed. And yet, it is still happening. The Oregon real estate…

Our Real Estate Review miniseries continues with a look at the challenges developers often encounter due to local zoning and other land use regulations. In Oregon, zoning and permitting regulations are mostly set by local city or county governments…

As we continue our look at the legal environment for Oregon Real Estate we’re going to get a little messy and explore the due diligence recommended for buying property that may have environmental contamination. In the Sale and Purchase section of the…

When it comes to big buildings, the suburbs have been where the action is. The largest projects and transactions in the past twelve months have been in the Portland area's western suburbs.

Oregon continues to benefit from one of the nation’s most attractive residential and commercial real estate environments. We have had, and will continue to have, ebbs and flows just like any market, as we discussed here. But the region's general…

Prefabrication of building components has come a long way since the 1970s. The current focus is on commercial applications. Commercial building projects are often driven by schedule as much as cost.

Crops need sun. Solar panels need sun. One would think there is enough sunshine, even in rainy Oregon, for everyone. But at the urging of some strict farmland preservationists, the Oregon Land Conservation and Development Commission recently adopted…

Oregon's next bumper crop may end up being industrial hemp, the nearly THC-free cousin of marijuana, grown for recreational andr medical use. With planting season 2019 in full swing, Oregon farmers have registered to grow around 50,000 acres of hemp…