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The Portland City Council on Thursday rejected a proposal to demolish a Northwest Portland building listed as a contributing structure in the Alphabet Historic District.

The Buck-Prager Building, at 1727 N.W. Hoyt St., has sat vacant since 2007, and the property owners earlier this year announced plans to tear it down and build in its place a $14 million, 82-unit apartment complex.

Gerding Edlen officials on Nov. 17 presented plans to the Portland Historic Landmarks Commission and argued that the building did not have enough historic significance to merit preservation.

At the same hearing, several neighbors testified the opposite, pointing out that the structure was home to the Women’s Hospital of Portland after its completion in 1919. The hospital was managed by Alta B.Y. Spaulding, a superintendent of the Multnomah County Hospital and founder of the Multnomah Training School, a predecessor of Oregon Health and Science University’s School of Nursing.

The council voted 4-1 to save the building, saying that demolition of a historic landmark would set a precedent for similar situations in the future.

Steve Novick cast the only vote in favor of demolition, citing safety concerns. The building has not been seismically reinforced.