91视频

Portland’s historic U.S. Custom House at 220 N.W. Eighth Ave. is up for grabs once again, but some local experts are not enthusiastic about redevelopment options for the 110-year-old landmark.

After a three-week auction last year, local real estate company won the U.S. Custom House with a bid of $2.5 million. But the firm recently failed to close on the deal and the U.S. General Services Administration opted to begin another public sale process.

鈥淚t’s a tough project,鈥� said Jacob Johnson, a spokesman for PREM Group. 鈥淚t comes with a lot of unknowns, and between seismic, environmental and just historical layout of the project, it poses a lot of unknown costs.鈥�

The 78,838-square-foot building was constructed in 1901 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, but it also has a significant backlog of deferred maintenance. Johnson said the cost estimates for necessary improvements ranged from $2 million to $17 million, and the deal ultimately fell through when it became apparent that financing would have been too expensive or too prolonged for the GSA‘s time frame.

鈥淩arely do our sales fall through, but in this economy and real estate market, it’s a contingency we have to deal with,鈥� GSA spokeswoman Stephanie Kenitzer said. 鈥淎nd as it happens in the commercial and private sector, it happens on the federal front too.鈥�

The building has major seismic weaknesses, but it also is plagued with asbestos and needs work to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Plus, energy use in the vast concrete and steel building is significantly inefficient.

And according to one of Portland’s most successful developers, finding a tenant will become increasingly difficult as the building remains vacant.

鈥淭here’s more hair on it all the time now; that’s the problem,鈥� said Joe Weston, developer of hundreds of apartments in Portland’s Pearl District and around the region.

Weston bid on the U.S. Custom House last year, but said he wouldn’t bid on it again.

鈥淢aybe it’s a blessing in disguise that we didn’t get it,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ringing it up to code hits you hard. That’s what’s killing every transaction.鈥�

PREM Group will keep its offices at Northwest 12th聽Avenue and Flanders Street. The company planned to use the considerably larger U.S. Custom House to better accommodate the 20 to 30 weekly meetings it hosts for various neighborhood associations, trade groups and others.

Vast floors, high ceilings and neoclassic grandeur make the U.S. Custom House tough to repurpose, according to Chet Orloff, urban studies professor at Portland State University and director emeritus at the Oregon Historical Society.

鈥淚t’s the perfect wrong size,鈥� Orloff said. 鈥�(The U.S. Custom House) was designed in an era when the government was building large buildings that were really meant for almost a single use, which is probably why it’s so difficult for developers to redevelop the building and remodel it.鈥�

Other than short-term leases for film and television productions, including TNT’s 鈥淟everage鈥� and NBC’s 鈥淕rimm鈥� recently, the building has been vacant for approximately six years, according to the GSA. The most recent tenant was the Northwestern Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

鈥淵ou’ve got to have someone buy it who loves architecture and wants to see it there,鈥� Weston said. 鈥淚t’s a nice building, but only the government can afford to own it.鈥�

The GSA hosted its first open house on Tuesday; another is planned for Dec. 8. A new round of online bidding will open Dec. 1, with a minimum bid of $250,000.