Apex and the private partnership that owns PAE Living Building are hardly alone in their desperation. As foreclosure looms for some owners, downtown buildings offer dazzling broker bonuses to draw interest. The Portland City Council earlier this year studied the viability of adding a vacancy tax to combat empty storefronts downtown. Portland City Councilor Mitch Green called Guivernau’s plan innovative but says it suffers from a noteworthy flaw: It doesn’t put pressure on building owners to lower their rents. And high rents plus exceedingly low demand are why Portland now finds itself with broker bonuses of $15 per square foot, Green says.