From 1986 to 2001, the Society used the former Meier & Frank Delivery Depot, in the Pearl District, to house its collection (except items on display at the museum at any given time) and for processing of new acquisitions. In 2000, after property values began rising due to redevelopment in the Pearl that started in the late 1990s, the Society sold that building, for $12.7 million. It moved its storage and processing to a warehouse in suburban Gresham over a four-month period in the first half of 2001. The Gresham warehouse was less conveniently located but had cost only $3.2 million to purchase, although modifications to that building were expected to raise the overall cost of the move to about $6 million.