History
Construction began in 1974 on the 19-story structure, with plans to name it after a construction materials company that was to call it home. Construction ended in 1974 on the $16 million dollar project, but the namesake suffered economic setbacks and did not move into the building, leaving it nameless. The building opened in 1975, and Benjamin Franklin Federal Savings and Loan Association moved their headquarters to the building and were able to get the building named as the Benjamin Franklin Plaza. When Benjamin Franklin moved into the 19th floor, cast iron pieces from the demolished Ladd Building were added as the CEO was a fan of the old look. Additionally, part of the stained-glass ceiling from the old Washington Hotel was on that floor housing the executive offices of the thrift.
In 1983, RREEF Funds purchased the building for about US$35 million. Benjamin Franklin Savings & Loan was closed by the federal government in 1990 and liquidated, but the name of the building remained. Nichiei America Corporation, a subsidiary of Nichiei Co. Ltd., purchased the building in 1990 from RREEF Funds for $34 million. In 1997, the Plaza was remodeled at a cost of $2.7 million and won Office Building of the Year from the Building Owners and Managers Association of Portland. Sportswear company Fila opened a design office in the building in 1997.
In 1998, Spieker Properties bought the tower from Nichiei at a cost of $50 million. Spieker Properties later merged and became part of Equity Office Properties Trust. Following the attacks on the morning of September 11, 2001, the structure was one of many taller buildings to be closed to the public. The accounting firm Ernst & Young LLP opened an office in the building in 2003.
Umpqua Bank became the Plaza’s largest tenant in 2005 when it added more than 52,000 square feet (4,800 m2) to its lease, where it already leased 12,000 square feet (1,100 m2) for a bank branch and some offices. This led to the Benjamin Franklin Plaza being renamed as the Umpqua Bank Plaza on January 19, 2005. The bank’s parent company, Umpqua Holdings Corporation, houses its headquarters in the building, though the bank is still headquartered in Roseburg in Southern Oregon.
In March 2007, Shorenstein Properties LLC purchased the building, along with a several others in Portland, from the Blackstone Group. Blackstone had acquired the same buildings when they purchased Equity Office Properties Trust. The building earned Gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council in 2012 for its sustainability.
Read more about this topic: Umpqua Bank Plaza
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“... all big changes in human history have been arrived at slowly and through many compromises.”
—Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962)