The recession has reared its ugly head and this time it has touched the Northwest city of Portland. Tom Moyer, one of Oregon’s most successful real estate developers, stopped construction on his Park Avenue West project yesterday and showed everyone that no one is protected from the downturn in the economy.

Park Avenue West is situated on one of the more desirable locations in downtown Portland and was projected to flourish as Portland ranks as having the country’s second most stable office market. The project, which was scheduled to be completed in 2011, already had more than half the building leased by a law firm and a Nike store.

Vanessa Sturgeon, president of TMT Development, Moyer’s company, which is building Park Avenue West said she expects construction to remain halted until 2010 when the company thinks it can secure additional financing. During the almost one year down time, the company will redesign the building and remove the top 10 stories that were to be “ultra-luxury” condos. The condos would have had an asking price starting at about $1 million for a 1,800 square foot unit.