Colorful Towers Draw Attention To Crowdfunding's Potential

Portland firm Guerrilla Development Co has turned to crowdfunding to finance its latest project, located in the Burnside Bridgehead. The project will have two six-story towers and will be named—wait for it—the Fair-Haired Dumbbell development. The wacky name coincides well with the outlandish and funky exterior design. While the particular pattern pictured here didn’t get past the city’s Design Review Board, a slightly different pattern for the façade is in the works, according to Curbed.

The aspect of the Fair-Haired Dumbbell development that Guerilla is most excited about, however, is the use of crowdfunding to raise a small portion of the necessary capital. About $1.5M of a total $18M will come from crowdfunding. Thought to encourage community involvement in real estate development, crowdfunding could be the democracy of the future, Curbed reports.

Guerrilla is expecting investment spots to fill up quickly. With a minimum contribution of $3k, the intention is to attract everyday investors instead of the usual accredited crowd. Investors in the project, approved by the SEC, are told they can expect a return of 8% over the next three to five years, according to the Portland Business Journal. Guerrilla is using the local real estate crowdfunding site CrowdStreet.

Construction is set to begin this month, nearly a year late, and is slated for completion in about eight months. When complete, it will include a total of 56k SF of office space and the two towers will be connected by skybridges at each level.