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The 108-year-old Grove Hotel is officially back on the market.

The Portland Development Commission has issued a new request for proposals from firms to acquire and redevelop the historic 27,570-square-foot building at 401-439 W. Burnside St. The city purchased the neglected building in 2007 for $3.7 million, with the hope of spurring its revitalization.

Developer David Gold previously signed up for the task, but his contract with the PDC expired this past June after private investors pulled out of his project. Gold attributed that to the ongoing presence of the Right 2 Dream Too homeless camp across the street; he said it thwarted his efforts to bring a retail tenant to the Grove’s ground floor.

The camp is still located on the northeast corner of West Burnside Street and Northwest Fourth Avenue. However, for the past few months Right 2 Dream Too has been spearheading a citywide discussion about alternative locations. On Thursday, Portland Mayor Charlie Hales and Commissioner Amanda Fritz announced they had reached a deal with Pearl District stakeholders to sell a city-owned lot beneath the Broadway Bridge that was being considered for R2DToo. The proceeds of the sale ($846,000) will aid the effort to find R2DToo a new location.

Meanwhile, the PDC has been in discussions with the camp site’s property owner, Michael Wright, to purchase the lot. According to the PDC, an independent appraisal valued the property at $1.2 million.

That deal is completely separate from the opportunity the PDC is now pitching at the Grove Hotel, but its proximity makes it relevant – though Eric Jacobson, a senior project manager at the PDC, said the economic development agency thinks the Grove’s redevelopment is feasible on its own.

Jacobson said a big difference between now and when Gold’s contract fell apart is that significant progress has been made on a new action plan for the revitalization of Old Town Chinatown. The economy has also made major strides, and he said private groups are zeroing in on the underdeveloped area’s potential. The PDC already has received a couple unsolicited inquiries on the Grove Hotel. And, in addition to the Pacific Northwest College of Art’s renovation of the 511 Federal Building, Gerding Edlen is planning a mixed-use development at 60 N.W. Davis St. that would include 50,000 square feet of creative office space and 100 apartments.

“Like the central east side, (Old Town Chinatown) attracts a certain style of people who are looking for that kind of urban experience, and there’s a lot of small software and creative industry companies located in this area,” Jacobson said. “People are realizing it’s undervalued relative to other parts of the central business district.”

The last appraisal valued the Grove Hotel at $660,000 (which included a deduction for minor roof repairs). Jacobson said a new appraisal will be needed once a memorandum of understanding is established with a new developer.