Loo loot: How much has Portland made in the toilet business? Where does the cash go?

PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland is in the toilet business and it's flush with cash. Over the past several years, it has raked in hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Portland Loo.

The Portland Loo, touted as a “unique solution to a universal problem,” is a Portland invention. It was the brainchild of former City Commissioner Randy Leonard. The city owns a patent on the design.

The first Loo opened in 2012. There are now 15 Loos around the city and nearly 90 “loocations” around the world. You can find a Loo everywhere from Alaska to Florida. There is one in New Zealand.

Almost every Loo has been made in Northwest Portland at Madden Fabrication. The city gets a cut of every Loo sold.

Initially, Portland tried marketing and selling the Loo to other cities on its own. In 2014, it turned that job over to Madden Fabrication. The manufacturer agreed to pay Portland an 8% royalty for every loo sale.

Evan Madden is the sales manager for the Portland Loo.

“I call myself a restroom nerd,” he said.

Madden showed KATU around the manufacturing facility where a few Loos were being assembled. He says the Loo is geared toward those who maintain it.

“When the city has to foot the bill yearly for this thing, they want to make sure it's not going to cost more to clean and maintain,” Madden said.

The walls have a special anti-graffiti coating. There is no hot water, preventing people from using a Loo to bathe in. There are see-through slats on the top and bottom so you can see if and how many people are inside.

A single Loo costs $95,000. Madden says they increased the price last year from $90,000.

Do the math. When Madden sells a Loo, the city of Portland makes $7,600.

Since 2014, Madden says they have paid Portland $362,323.61.

Where does that money go?

Mark Ross, a spokesperson for Portland Parks & Recreation and source of the “loocation” pun earlier in this story, says all Loo revenues go toward Loo-related expenses.

For example, sales money will pay for a replacement toilet seat, a new coat hook, a lighter door, or a new flush handle.

“It's not like we depend on that revenue. But, it's like savings money for a small home-improvement project,” said Ross.

Loo revenues are also used for copyright and trademark-related costs associated with managing the Loo as a product, according to Ross.

Money from Loo sales is not used for cleaning the public toilets. Ross said the city contracts with Downtown Clean and Safe to clean the Loos. He said that money comes from the PP&R’s operating budget.

Ross said sales revenue is considered "soft" money, meaning they can reinvest the cash but cannot count on it as a reliable source of income.

"That's a nice, valuable asset," said Ross. "Something we don't have to go to City Council and ask money for."

This story is part of our Following the Money initiative. If you suspect government waste or a lack of accountability, give our Following the Money reporter, Keaton Thomas, a call or write him an email.