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Brandon Brown, a Portland developer, had traveled past the old, run-down building on North Williams Street for much of his adult life.

With an ornate, red-brick facade and white, decorative bands, the building stood out among the surrounding wood-frame houses. Brick parapets rose from the rooftop and an octagonal tower contributed to its prominence. But it also had been vacant for many years, and plywood boards and graffiti now covered its exterior.

Brown wondered about its potential.

So when a colleague informed Brown and his father, Tim, about a year and a half ago of an opportunity to buy the building for $400,000, they jumped at it. They envisioned a historic renovation with retail on the ground floor and residential units on the second.

But there was one big problem.

The building, at 3041 N. Williams Ave., was listed with the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office; however, because of an oversight in its nomination, plywood boards covering windows were included. As such, the boards could not be removed.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been a long, arduous process,鈥� Brown said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a big history there, but a lot of it is very clouded 鈥� (The plywood) was a crazy thing I never thought I鈥檇 run into.鈥�

The historic listing assumed that the boards tied to the history of the structure constructed in 1911 as the Rinehart Building. It was originally a confectionary manufacturing space and later a butcher鈥檚 shop. But its most notable role was as the Cleo-Lillian Social Club, an important hub for the African-American community during the latter half of the 20th century.

Cleo Hampton opened the club with her sister in 1952. It was a charitable organization, based around a restaurant and bar, that worked to raise money for African-American social causes. Cathy Galbraith, executive director of the Bosco-Milligan Foundation, was a member in its later years and remembers eating lunch there.

鈥淚t was a place with character,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou know 鈥� nothing too fancy, but you always saw someone you knew. The food was good. The service was always good. The proprietors were always friendly. It was what it was 鈥� a community institution.鈥�

Galbraith said the club became increasingly important in the 1970s, when development of Veterans Memorial Coliseum and an attempt to expand Legacy Emanuel Medical Center displaced many African-American homes and businesses. The club was one of the businesses that survived.

By the 1990s, a community leader named Louis Browning had purchased the building and continued to operate the club. Across the street was property that Browning sold to a developer, Galbraith said. The developer built homes on the property, and the new residents began complaining to the Oregon Liquor Control Commission and the city about noise at the club.

The club ultimately shut down as a result. Brown said Damon Stoudamire, a former Portland Trail Blazer, later purchased the building and applied for the historic listing. Stoudamire wasn鈥檛 able to revitalize the building, so he sold it.

To solve the plywood issue, Brown contacted Dave Skilton, a city planner who had visited the building in 2001 while working for the State Historic Preservation Office. Skilton had asked about the plywood then, but his suggestions were ignored.

鈥淪o, when the current owner came along 鈥� Brandon Brown 鈥� I raised the question again: We need to understand whether (the plywood is) significant or not,鈥� Skilton said. 鈥淎nd everybody was scratching their heads, and they were looking at it and saying, 鈥榃ell, how can we figure that out?鈥� 鈥�

Erik Opsahl of , the general contractor for the redevelopment project, had an idea. Plywood typically bears a stamp of the mill that produced it. If stamps could be dated, they could reveal whether the wood was historically significant.

Opsahl took photographs of the stamps and began showing them. Then, on one fateful night, at , on North Mississippi Avenue, Opsahl struck up a conversation with a fellow who turned out to be a lumber inspector. He gave Opsahl the name of a company in Madison, Wis., that could identify the stamps.

The Wisconsin company then provided information that helped the development team prove that the plywood did not contribute to the building鈥檚 historic significance.

Now, construction is set to begin this weekend on a $700,000 renovation. Five residential units will range in size from 500 to 700 square feet, and the retail space will be 3,500 square feet. Brown said he has received many inquiries about the retail space, but hasn鈥檛 yet found the right business or businesses to occupy it.

The restoration will require some extensive construction, including a voluntary seismic upgrade. Opsahl said his company will drill 300 epoxy anchors into the unreinforced masonry building. Every 10th anchor will require a special inspection 鈥� and that will take three to four weeks.

Rainier Pacific will tear off the roof and rebuild it so that it ties to the building鈥檚 diaphragm. Also, an original cornice detail will be reconstructed with a small section of an old photograph as reference. is the project鈥檚 architect.

Brown said the project should require six months. He said the structure鈥檚 potential is waiting to be released.

鈥淚t鈥檚 got great bones,鈥� said Brown, who noted that a national historic listing is being sought for the building. 鈥淚t鈥檚 got great timber, really elaborate masonry and I think, finally, it鈥檚 financially feasible to do something because the neighborhood is on the upswing and it鈥檚 definitely generating more interest.鈥�