PORTLAND — Under Armour’s plan to move into the former Metro Family YMCA building on Southwest Barbur Boulevard helps solidify the Portland region’s reputation as an epicenter for footwear design, officials said Monday.
The Baltimore-based sports apparel brand confirmed Monday that it would make a move to the empty facility next to Duniway Park.
With its move, Under Armour appears ready to take a more visible presence in Portland. The company has quietly worked from an office in the North Park Blocks, steadily growing a workforce of footwear designers — many of them hired from nearby Nike, Adidas America and Columbia Sportswear.
The 64,400-square-foot building was sold Tuesday for $10 million by Madrona Duniway LLC and Duniway Park LLC to Run Our Dream, LLC, a Seattle-based developer.
The YMCA of Columbia-Willamette in 2007 sold the building it had occupied since 1977 to a real estate developer. In 2009, the YMCA stopped leasing the building, which was taken over by Seattle-based Allstar Fitness. Gym members found chains on the Allstar Fitness doors and an eviction notice in August 2013.
The existing Portland Under Armour office does not have an outdoor sign heralding its occupant. And the company only acknowledged the Portland office’s presence last year — more than a year after it opened.
City officials and leaders in the active and outdoors industry lauded Under Armour’s decision to expand its presence.
“Under Armour’s expanded presence will only add to the depth and diversity of talent in our region,” said Patrick Quinton, executive director of the Portland Development Commission. “Under Armour’s expansion in Portland confirms that talent drives innovation in the athletic and outdoor industry, and if you want access to the top footwear talent in the world, you need to be in Portland.”
Portland Mayor Charlie Hales also praised Under Armour’s decision.
“This is an exciting expansion for Portland,” Hales said in an email. “Oregon is a hub for the athletic/outdoor apparel industry, so this move makes great sense. Plus, Under Armour has already reached out to discuss how it can support the work of Portland Parks and Recreation to engage kids in sports and other activities.”
Hales visited the Under Armour headquarters in Baltimore earlier this year, said his spokesman, Dana Haynes.
In addition to sporting-goods brands, Portland also is home to fledgling sports product programs at the University of Oregon, Portland State and Pensole Footwear Design Academy in Old Town Portland.
Under Armour’s roots are in performance apparel, specifically tight-fitting, wicking “baselayers.”
But the company has steadily worked its way into athletic footwear too, noted Ellen Schmidt-Devlin, director of the UO Sports Product Management Program.
