“Support for school bond” from a commercial developer

BY JOSH BENTHIEN

I want to loudly voice my support for the $94.7 million school bond that will be on the November ballot. It is a comprehensive compromise proposal that meets many of the identified needs of our students while being responsible stewards of our tax dollars. My support for the bond comes from my professional perspective, as someone who has spent 20 years in the commercial real estate industry, the last 16 spent as a developer in Portland. I thought I would share some of my insights here, because, as both a taxpayer and real estate developer, I’m impressed with the process and the resulting compromise proposal.

As a developer, I am primarily focused on developing new buildings or renovating older structures for commercial tenants who need modern and efficient facilities to better serve their business and attract workers. There are certainly times when a renovation is a wise course of action, but for tenants interested in long-term price stability and meeting modern building system efficiency targets, a new facility is always the better option.

Construction pricing is high, but unfortunately my experience tells me that it is unlikely to go down. Modern technologies and building methods that yield healthier spaces and reduce energy consumption come with significantly higher upfront costs.

My real estate development projects are long-term investments. The new middle school is a long-term investment in our critical infrastructure, our students, our teachers and community. I will be voting “yes” on November 5th and urge you to do the same.