Portland State real estate alumni team up to build better cities

A group of Portland State alums have joined forces to take on the city’s housing challenges by building smarter, not bigger. Viking Development’s mission prioritizes sustainability, gentle density and buildings that feel like natural extensions of their neighborhoods.

The company’s name is a nod to the team’s time together in PSU’s Master of Real Estate Development program. Robert Pile (’13), Mitch Powell (’13), George McCleary (’13), and Jeff Shindler (’14) were all part of the inaugural MRED cohort before independently launching successful careers in real estate.

Five years after finishing the program, Pile began developing a new idea to create more housing while reducing environmental and neighborhood impact and reached out to his former classmates. All four alums saw the potential in combining their expertise and Viking Development was born.

One way to add homes without drastically changing neighborhoods is by building small multi-family units on existing infrastructure, also called “gentle density.” Pile explains it as, “redevelopment of historically single-family homes from the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s that have frontage on major neighborhood connector streets like SE Hawthorne, E Burnside, and NE Killingsworth.” These are dense, walkable neighborhoods already served by transit and anchored by small businesses that are able to accommodate more residents.

For Pile, the soul of the project is their commitment to Net Zero Energy. Their first building is designed and engineered to generate 100% of the electricity it uses over the course of a year, which is a key piece of their climate resilience strategy. “We’re not drawing more resources from the grid,” he says. And in a city famous for its environmentally conscious ethos, living in an apartment that powers itself is a huge draw for some potential residents (and is pretty cool in itself, Pile says).

That prototype is located on N. Lombard in the St. Johns neighborhood. The 12-unit urban infill project is near completion and is expected to begin leasing this summer.

Pile makes a point to say that they’re not in the business of building behemoth apartment complexes that stick out like a sore thumb. “We’re focused on adding homes that match the character of those communities,” he says. “Portland is a city of neighborhoods. Our units are for people who love that aspect of Portland.”

Viking is eager to see what types of people are interested in living in their rentals. While they’re open to all potential residents, they are hoping to capture some of the student population at University of Portland, employees at the nearby Adidas campus, and downsizing retirees drawn to the liveliness of an urban neighborhood.

Each rental is priced comparably with other new construction in the St. John’s and Overlook neighborhoods at around $1,800 per month (roughly $3 per square foot), and Pile encourages people who believe in the value of local community and in radical sustainability to invest in that vision.

He also says, “Accessibility is a goal we’re always working toward.” The development group will break ground on their next building (in an adjacent lot) and is already exploring the possibilities of more financially accessible spaces like rent-restricted units and lower-priced micro-condos. Partnering with local providers, including a modular builder based in Portland, may also bring down costs and build times while keeping cash inside the community.

The alums of Viking Development, he says, take PSU’s motto, “Let Knowledge Serve the City,” seriously.

“To my knowledge,” Pile finishes, “this is the first commercial project like this—a group of alumni collaborating on real development—to come out of PSU’s MRED program. We’d love to see more of this and be an example to other graduates.”

Viking Development’s work is for locals, by locals and an example of how small, thoughtful changes can impact neighborhoods for the better. Their success isn’t just measured in square feet, but in collaboration and in the belief that the foundations of the past are crucial in supporting the growth of the future.