Metrofactual

It’s no secret, we like our beer.

The Portland area’s microbrew cluster, anchored by longtimers such as Bridgeport, Widmers and McMenamins, offers up a total of 49 microbreweries and brewpubs, scattered from Vancouver to Clackamas to Hillsboro.

Make that an even 50, starting May 2, when Bend-based Deschutes Deschutes opens its hip-cool new brewery in Portland’s Pearl, across from the Gerding Theatre.

Deschutes invested a reported $5 million to renovate an auto body shop that now includes a grain silo nestled into the building’s roof, tables crafted from massive reclaimed beams, and a brewhouse that was trucked across the country from North Carolina to brew 650 gallons per batch here in Portland.

Deschutes expects the new brewery to produce 130,000 gallons of beer annually for Portlanders. And we expect to drink them.

Check out Deschutes’ April 26 pre-opening benefit for Oregon Trout, whose good work helps clean up our rivers and streams.

More Metrofacts:

Where there’s beer, there’s pizza.

Greater Portland, with 352 pizza places, is the pizza capital of the West.

With 16 pizza joints per 100,000 residents, the metro area outranks Seattle (with 13), L.A. (10) and San Francisco (a mere seven).

The US Census Bureau’s just-released population estimates for metropolitan areas suggest we’re a nation of sun seekers.

Of the 50 major US metros, 43 added residents in 2006, with the biggest gainers dotting the Sun Belt. Topping the list were Dallas, Atlanta, Phoenix, Houston, and Riverside-San Bernadino, California. Of the 10 most moved-to metros in ’06, four were in Texas.

Then there are those, Portland among them, that are defying the trend and attracting residents with amenities other than relentless sunshine. In the top 15, joining the southern metros were Chicago, Denver, Seattle, Washington, D.C., and Portland.

While the greater Portland region’s growth was a modest 2% from 2006-2007, Charlotte, Austin and Raleigh grew at the fastest clip – more than 4% each. The US overall grew by 1%.

The Portland region welcomed some 41,000 new residents in 2006 – nearly the same number that moved to twice-our-size Washington, D.C. The increase puts our estimated total at 2,175,113 residents and makes us the 23rd-largest major metro in the US.

More Metrofacts:

Biggest population losers in 2006 were the Rust Belt metros of…

Detroit (-27,000 residents)
Cleveland (-9,000 residents)
Pittsburgh (-7,500 residents)
Buffalo (-5,000 residents)

Don’t bet on the weather? So much for conventional wisdom.

Venture capitalists regionally and nationally are throwing great heaps of money into the sun and wind, as renewable energy becomes the new rock star of sectors for investors.

Investment in the “energy/industrial” sector nationwide grew at a wind-whipped rate of 261% from 2002-2007, according to PWC MoneyTree. And in the Northwest (Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming), it’s been a gale force, with the growth of venture capital to energy firms soaring off the charts at 3,924%.

Renewable energy firms in the Northwest drew $158 million in 2007, while nationwide the sector attracted nearly $3 billion.

The Portland-Vancouver region is positioned to grow its portion of those dollars, especially as our solar cluster gains momentum (SolarWorld, Solaicx, Mr. Sun Solar). Solar companies, according to the Business Journal, have pumped nearly $500 million into Oregon’s economy in the last few years.

More metrofacts:

Venture capitalists’ favorite sectors in 2007 were…

software ($5.2 billion national, $316 million Northwest).

biotech ($5.2 billion national, $265 million Northwest).

medical devices ($3.9 billion national, $198 million Northwest).

The folks at Americans for the Arts have long known that arts are good for our economic health. But just how good? They looked deeper.

Conducting a comprehensive study of the nation’s arts and culture industry, the advocacy organization documented that nonprofits alone generate $166.2 billion in economic activity annually and provide 5.7 million FTE jobs.

That’s sweet for Portland, which ranks sixth among the top 50 US cities for arts-related businesses, non- and for-profit, per thousand residents. With Portland home to some 2,194 arts businesses, from museums, symphonies, theaters and dance studios to film, architecture and advertising companies, we’ve got ourselves a powerful economic steam engine.

“Most Americans understand that the arts improve our quality of life,” says Americans for the Arts CEO Robert L. Lynch. “This study demonstrates that a vibrant arts and culture industry helps local businesses thrive.”

Arts in America’s newest study, Creative Industries, documents both non- and for-profit arts businesses and workers in communities across the US. To find out how they stack up, check out http://www.artsusa.org/information_services/research/services/creative_industries/default.asp

More metrofacts:

While San Francisco, LA, Denver and others saw a decline in arts businesses from 2006-2007, Portland’s increased by 1%.
Among the Portland-metro region’s artsy businesses are 110 tattoo parlors.