Burnside 26 Building Sells for $41.5 Million

Controversial development was subject of WW cover story.

BURNSIDE 26
By ANTHONY MACUK

The controversial eastside apartment building called Burnside 26 has been sold to an unidentified investor, the Portland Business Journal reported today.

The 135-unit apartment complex, built in 2014, initially came under fire after posting a video ad featuring a fictional couple named Luke and Jess enjoying the building's dog-washing stations and other amenities. Critics who attacked the ad online saw it as representative of a growing trend of unaffordable new apartments pricing out older residents in central Portland.

As a counterpoint to the wave of online rage, WW contributor and Burnside 26 resident Tyler Hurst wrote a post defending the building and those who choose to live there. Many readers attacked Hurst's initial post, and he addressed their concerns in a June 10 cover story.

According to a report from the Business Journal, the building sold for $41.5 million. Executives Phil Oester and Joe Nydahlat of Berkadia, the brokerage firm that handled the deal, closed the sale Aug. 4 and announced it in a press release today.

"Portland has some of the best multifamily metrics in the nation," Nydahl said in the statement. "This property is strategically located in Portland's inner eastside, a submarket that is experiencing incredible demand."

Hurst continues to live at Burnside 26, and remains unrepentant.

WWeek 2015

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