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The old Mariners Home, built in 1882 and vacant for more than 30 years, will again be a haven for travelers when it reopens in October.

The building of at the corner of Northwest Davis Street and Northwest Third Avenue in Portland’s Old Town Chinatown district will be renamed the and will offer hostel-style bunk beds as well as private rooms and suites.

The building has undergone massive renovation and seismic upgrades since reconstruction began more than a year ago, said Matt Siegel, owner of Building Blocks LLC. Siegel is one of four partners who are investing between $4 million and $5 million in the building. The partners, including Jessie Burke, Gabe Genauer and Jonathan Cohen, secured approximately $700,000 in loans from the Portland Development Commission and obtained the rest of the money from Lewis & Clark Bank.

Cohen, an engineer, designed a 鈥渢op-notch system鈥� with heat pumps that will 鈥渉eat and cool and provide continuous fresh air into every room,鈥� Siegel said.

Siegel’s company is in charge of construction with project management by Groundswell Development, Inc. The design was handled by Integrate Architecture, DCI Engineers and Blossom Igarashi Interior Design. All are based in Portland.

Shawn Uhlman, spokesman for the Portland Development Commission, said he toured the almost finished building last week and anticipates the project will transform the neighborhood.

鈥淗otel projects in Old Town Chinatown have been pretty rare things,鈥� Uhlman said. 鈥淏ut it will have a steady stream of people outside the 鈥�8 to 5鈥� window and that augments all of the positive momentum that seems to be occurring there right now. It’s a welcome addition and will be bringing tourists to that part of Portland 鈥� the oldest part of the city. They will come and bring their dollars and it will have a fantastic ripple effect.鈥�

In addition, Uhlman said Siegel and his team have been extremely cooperative throughout the whole process.

鈥淲e have really enjoyed working with that team and they are to be commended,鈥� he said.

A SHARED PASSION

The four-member team consists of Siegel, whose company specializes in historic preservation; 鈥渢echnical guru鈥� Cohen; Genauer, with 27 years in real estate and construction; and Burke, 鈥渉ospitality expert and community-organizing glue,鈥� according to hotel literature.

One thing the four all have in common is their passion for the project, Siegel said, and they plan on running the hotel themselves. When asked how much experience they had in running a hotel, Siegel was blunt.

鈥淎bsolutely none,鈥� he said with a big grin.

The hotel will be staffed full-time around the clock, Siegel said, and he and his partners will depend on the expertise of consultant Mark Keller of Partnership Hospitality.

The building was once a place of refuge for sailors back in the late 1800s, and Siegel said he hopes to attract modern-day adventurers.

鈥淲e went back and forth on the name, but it was first used by the Seaman’s Friendship Society,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e want it to be welcome and open to adventurous travelers because that’s who came to Portland 150 years ago.鈥�

Rates will range from $35 per night for a bunk bed to $135 a night for a private suite and bath. The hostel portion of the hotel will feature triple-level bunk. Hostel guests will have storage lockers, privacy curtains, reading lamps and electric outlets, Siegel said, and the hotel will have free Wi-Fi throughout.

鈥淲e will also have common space just for the hostel with couches, lockers, three bathrooms and a kitchenette,鈥� he said.

Siegel gave a tour of the building last week, stepping around scores of workers as they nailed up drywall and took other final steps to bring the building to completion.

鈥淲e are in the finishing phase,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e’re finishing the drywall, with the carpenters and painters soon to follow.鈥�

The hotel was originally three stories, but in 1891 the entire structure was raised for the addition of a new bottom floor that featured cast iron exterior detailing, Siegel said.

PRESERVING DETAILS

According to the Oregon Historical Society, the was originally a seamen’s bethel (chapel), kitchen, reading room and chaplain’s quarters in 1879 run by the Portland Seamen’s Friends Society to help improve the lot of sailors. In 1882, the society built the three-story building that became the Mariners’ Home, designed by prominent Portland architect Justus Krumbein. The society sold the structure in 1903.

Many historical artifacts were found in the hotel, which will be on display, and historic details will be preserved, Siegel said. Those details include cherry wood staircase banisters, door trim and wainscoting, and original stair treads. Old doors will be used as wall panels behind the reception desk, and the brick and stucco exterior will be fully preserved.

But the finished hotel also will have every modern convenience, including a newly installed elevator that goes all the way to the roof, Siegel said.

鈥淭he elevator shaft is a major part of the seismic upgrade and we have new concrete walls up to the roof,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e even made the concrete look old, using board forms, like they would have done 100 years ago.

The building uses 鈥渁 ton of hardware鈥� to pull it all the structural elements together, Siegel said.

鈥淭hat allowed us to group the bathrooms around the center of the building and the rooms around the perimeter,鈥� he said.

The smallest 鈥渟tandard鈥� rooms are only about 10 by 12 feet, but have ceilings at least 10 feet high. Each will have custom-built queen size beds with under-bed storage and vintage-style lighting fixtures and communal bathrooms. The largest rooms, or suites, will have king-size beds, pull-out sofa beds and private bathrooms. All the rooms will feature original 8-foot-tall windows.

鈥淭he d茅cor of the rooms is sparse and clean and very efficient,鈥� Siegel said.

The ground floor of the building will have two entrances, one for the front desk and another for a caf茅. The caf茅, which will be open to the public, will serve coffee, tea and snacks during daytime hours and wine and beer at night.

The spacious lounging area between the front desk and the caf茅 will have a gas fireplace and leather couches, Siegel said.

鈥淲e want all our spaces to be comfortable at all times,鈥� he said.

That extends to the roof, which has been reinforced to support any activity, Siegel said.

鈥淲e rebuilt the entire roof to support whatever we want to do,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e will put in a wooden deck, lots of plants, shaded areas, bench sheets and tables.鈥�

Future activities on the roof could include movie nights, he said, and possibly music events. The roof will also support a large solar array and will have green roof elements.

鈥淲e are personally and emotionally invested, and will be on site quite a bit,鈥� he said. 鈥淧eople will be able to start making reservations in about a month and a half.鈥�