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The Patrick Building was constructed in 1878 and stands as one of the oldest buildings in the Yamhill neighborhood. But the building has had a rough couple of years.

Its owner, John Beardsley, had liens placed against many of his buildings in 2007 as the economy started its slide into the recession. The Patrick Building, at 828 S.W. First Ave., was one of them.

Another was the Harker-Poppleton Building next door.

The broker for the Patrick Building, Denise Razzeto of Norris & Stevens, said the defaults have been cleared up so the banks wouldn鈥檛 take the properties. She added that owners of historic properties are generally struggling right now, so their lease rates are competitive.

鈥淭hese older buildings do happen to be cheaper,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hen we come out of the recession, smaller users will want to rent them. We are already seeing that.鈥�

The 16,000-square-foot building leases for about $18 per square foot. The Patrick Building is distinguishable by the amount of cast iron used in its construction, a common architectural trait of Portland buildings constructed in the late 19th century.

Razzeto said the building would be ideal for small law firms or other service-based companies. The typical floor size in the building is 5,351 square feet, she said.

鈥淪ome people just want to have a sense of character,鈥� Razzeto said. 鈥淏ut right now, with people worried about moving into new space, it鈥檚 not as hard to bring people into space that is driven by character and history. We end up doing more cold-calling because of that.鈥�