Talk radio had an interesting topic today: population growth of the state. Even with the economy in shambles Portland's "conservative population projection" has the Portland proper-population from 582,000 to over 800,000 and the metro population to 3.4+ million by 2025. It'll be even more if you include Salem, which is within the 1-hour metro limit. In comparison, Portland will be a tad bigger than what Seattle is today.
Notice the trend? Lots of public projects, some entertainment, some residential, almost no commercial. If you want a city to be vibrant, eventually you have to have jobs. Government can't create them; Government can only provide the atmosphere for them to flourish and then get out of the way.
Most of the development has been residential. In fact, First and Main Tower is the only one that comes to mind. Though, things are starting to pick up again for commercial development: -Oregon Live There are high-rise office buildings in the early stages of being proposed, most of which will be in the Pearl.
Yay! Another government project! Building apartment buildings without employment growth is just rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. This region needs jobs--specifically private sector jobs--and the long term prospects for Portland aren't good without growth in that area.
