91视频

When the Ancient Order of United Workmen Temple was demolished last fall, many preservationists lamented the loss of the building that had stood in downtown Portland since 1892.

Formerly located at 915 S.W. Second Ave., the six-story Temple building was the first of two unreinforced masonry structures to come down to accommodate the ambitious : a 20-story hotel and a 10-story office tower. The second structure, the 112-year-old Hotel Albion, has now been razed. It previously housed the Lotus Cardroom and Caf茅 from 1924 until its closure two years ago.

Neither building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Also, both were removed from the city of Portland’s Historic Resource Inventory at the request of the property owner in November 2015.

Initially, plans called for preservation of the Temple building and integration of it into the office tower portion of the project. But an extensive engineering study carried out by Ankrom Moisan Architects, KPFF Consulting Engineers and Turner Construction found that the cost of a retrofit would be greater than demolition and new construction.

While workers demolish the old and build the new, preservationists hope history won’t repeat itself.

鈥淚 could criticize what’s replacing those buildings,鈥� Restore Oregon Executive Director Peggy Moretti said. 鈥淏ut the bottom line is the system here in Oregon for designating and protecting and incentivizing the restoration of important historic buildings is woefully lacking. We have a system that we could definitely be fixing.鈥�

The good news for preservationists is that the Auditorium building, which is under separate ownership, will remain on the block. What that building opened in 1894, it featured a dance hall on its second level and a concert space with a balcony on the third. The building was converted into office space in the 1980s.

Next door, the Lotus Cardroom and Caf茅 had a long and colorful history as a local night spot. It apparently was the site of a 1927 bootlegging bust, and rumors are that there once was an upstairs brothel. The building regained popularity as a nightspot in the 1990s, when throngs of young people came to party and dance.

Moretti is eager to see changes that prevent losses of such spaces in the future.

鈥淚 think it requires careful planning and community engagement,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou can’t freeze a city in time, and we would not propose that. But we need to be able to make thoughtful decisions. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t recognize that Portland is special because of the historic fabric it has maintained.鈥�

But strong demand for new office space in the central city has opened the door for this redevelopment effort. The project team includes Third and Taylor Development 鈥� a partnership between Arthur Mutal and Onder Development 鈥� as well as Ankrom Moisan Architects and general contractor Turner Construction.

Excavation and other below-grade work is taking place on the downtown block’s north half, where a 10-story office tower will rise. It will also have ground-floor retail space.

Developers even have the luxury of knowing the building will be fully occupied when it opens in 2020. According to several media reports, NW Natural has already signed a lease to occupy all 183,500 square feet of available office space.

Turner Construction crews are preparing to start pouring concrete for the foundation and the two below-grade stories of parking for the office building. A break in the site’s water supply led to a delay in demolition, but that was merely a hiccup, project manager Len Anderson told the 91视频.

Once demolition of the ex-Hotel Albion wraps up, excavation work for the 20-story hotel will be able to start on the south half of the block. The hotel will have a rooftop pool and bar along with a pair of restaurants.

The big question for many observers is whether similar redevelopment projects will follow. In the future, developers may have more options when working with historic buildings, said Brandon Spencer-Hartle, historic resources program manager for the city of Portland.

鈥淲e are looking to increase the incentives that would encourage a property owner to seek a (historic) designation,鈥� he said.

Portland’s new 2035 Comprehensive Plan took effect last week. It includes new rules that allow for transfers of floor area ratio involving buildings on the city’s Historic Resource Inventory, which has not been updated since 1984.

Property owners of designated historic buildings could also sell that development capacity.

鈥淭he new regulations that went into effect Monday we hope will be more used by owners of existing landmarks and those who are looking at their development options,鈥� Spencer-Hartle said.

Separately, a draft of a proposed city effort to update city code surrounding historic resource designations will be released to the public in September. Feedback will be sought.