PORTLAND — A mysterious company won building permits this month for a $1 million office remodel inside one of Portland’s premier high-tech buildings.
The company, which goes by the code name “Delta Office PDX” in city planning documents, has leased 17,000 square feet on the seventh floor of the newly refurbished Block 300 building overlooking the Willamette River. An office that size could hold several dozen employees.
Block 300 houses the headquarters of Portland computer network management powerhouse Puppet and outposts for Aruba Networks and Cvent. The $1 million budget for tenant improvements suggests a major project — for comparison, in 2014 legal tech firm Smarsh spent $2 million to remodel three floors downtown for a new headquarters.
The broker representing Block 300, Jones Lang LaSalle, said it had signed a nondisclosure agreement that precluded it from identifying Delta Office PDX. Hoffman Construction, which is doing the interior construction, invited bids to help with the work last month. In bright red, all-caps letters, it warned: “CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT REQUIRED.”
A Seattle architectural firm listed in planning documents as designing the building’s interior said Friday it has no record of “Delta Office PDX.” It does have a project listed by another name: Google Fiber.
For 30 months, Google Fiber has contemplated bringing its superfast internet service to Portland and its suburbs. A decision to proceed appeared imminent at the beginning of the summer, and planning documents suggest Delta Office is ready to begin making improvements to the new space.
Last week, though, the company confirmed that it’s delaying its Portland launch for at least several months while it explores other networking technologies, including point-to-point wireless connections it hopes can provide high-speed online access without stringing fiber to every home it serves.
Google Fiber retained its small Portland staff, however, who have been working out of Google’s downtown engineering office.
If Google is indeed behind Delta Office PDX, it’s another indication of just how close the company was to its Portland launch before the delay announced this month.
People familiar with Google’s plans say the company still intends to proceed with its internet service in Portland, but say there’s no firm timetable for acting. And it’s unclear when or if Google Fiber will proceed with building out the new office in Block 300.
Google Fiber declined comment on the Block 300 space.
