Prosper Portland is asking for help as it seeks to redevelop a fire station built in 1913.

The agency sees the 6,692-square-foot building at the foot of the Steel Bridge as a future home for creative offices. But the unreinforced masonry structure has deteriorated badly and is uninhabitable.

Prosper Portland has issued two requests for proposals: one for a historic preservation and tax credit consultant, and another for a general contractor to evaluate the scope of work needed. A pre-project meeting, including a tour of the building, is scheduled for Thursday at 9 a.m.

“We’re hoping we have interest from contractors to participate in this project,” Prosper Portland spokesman Shawn Uhlman said.

The RFP for a historic preservation and tax credit consultant closes Sept. 26. The RFP for a general contractor closes Oct. 10.

Lift Development was selected as development partner after a 2015 request for interest, and the firm remains on board.

Any rehabilitation of the 104-year-old building would be substantial. The firehouse has large cracks, deteriorated mortar, missing and broken bricks, spalled concrete and water damage, according to a Prosper Portland staff report.

The firehouse is built atop unstable soil that is prone to liquefaction in an earthquake.

In 1987, Prosper Portland, then known as the Portland Development Commission, acquired the property at 510 N.W. Third Ave. as part of the Union Station acquisition. The parcel is bounded by Glisan Street, Third Avenue, railroad tracks and Naito Parkway.

To further complicate matters, two fires have occurred in the building this summer; one was sparked and quickly extinguished Thursday. But with a thorough renovation planned, interior fire damage is a minor concern.

“It doesn’t sound like there was significant additional damage,” Prosper Portland senior project manager Eric Jacobson said.

“There’s very little inside that could be used,” he added.

Investigators after the fire last week found evidence of habitation, Jacobson said. That suggests someone had been squatting in the condemned building.

The building was secured against intrusion, Uhlman said.

“It wasn’t like the building was open,” he said. “If anyone got in, they forced their way in.”

The agency will work to make the building more secure, Uhlman said.

Despite many challenges, Prosper Portland officials continue to believe the building is worth saving.

“It’s a local historic landmark, and as owners of that building, we feel in order to be good stewards of it, we should make a good effort to renovate the building and put it into productive use,” Jacobson said.

Prosper Portland plans to turn the building into creative offices. Portland has had one of the nation’s hottest office markets this year.

“We feel there is a path to success,” Jacobson said. “It’s long and complicated and expensive.”

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The Portland Development Commission and Lift Development are working to rehabilitate a rapidly deteriorating 104-year-old former fire station in Old Town Chinatown into a creative-office building.

Lift Development principal Rahim Abbasi was selected as development partner after a 2015 request for interest. Now, the PDC is preparing to issue a request for proposals for a construction manager-general contractor to grapple with unstable soils and the crumbling brick building.

The project is an extensive renovation of the two-story, 6,692-square-foot firehouse built in 1913 at the western end of the Steel Bridge. The building at Northwest Third Avenue and Glisan Street served as Portland Fire Department’s Engine House No. 2.

The PDC acquired the property in 1987 as part of the Union Station acquisition. The 0.77-acre parcel at 510 N.W. Third Ave. is bounded by Glisan Street, Third Avenue, railroad tracks and Naito Parkway.

The PDC’s selection of a CM-GC will be exempt from the regular low-bid process because of the expertise required for the project, according to agency staff. A public hearing on designating the project as exempt from state low-bid rules drew no attendees and no written comments.

PDC Chairman Tom Kelly said the exemption from low-bid selection makes sense for the project.

“This is the best example of why this shouldn’t be low bid that I’ve ever seen,” he said.

The PDC board, acting as the local contract review board, on Wednesday unanimously approved the project’s exemption from low-bid rules.

Kelly said the building is “one of the coolest unrenovated buildings in the city.”

“I hope we can save it,” he said.

The building most recently was used for offices, but has sat unoccupied since 2009, said Eric Jacobson, senior project manager for the PDC.

The building is in need of seismic, structural, roofing, masonry, electrical, plumbing and other repairs, according to the agency.

The property is “generally in poor condition, including large settlement cracks, deterioration of mortar, missing/broken bricks, spalled concrete and water damage,” according to a PDC staff report. The building also sits on top of fill that is vulnerable to liquefaction during an earthquake.

Lift Development and the PDC plan to pursue a National Register of Historic Places listing to be able to use historic tax credits, along with a PDC expenditure to be determined, to finance the project.

If the project proves to be financially feasible, the PDC would seek to sell the property, most likely to Lift Development and an investor. The ownership entity would be required to keep the property for at least five years.

Abbasi could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Lift Development has expressed interest in occupying a portion of the building, Jacobson said. The creative office space could be shared or used by an owner-occupier.

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The Portland Development Commission is seeking a developer to give a new lease on life to a long-vacant historic building at the foot of the Steel Bridge in Old Town Chinatown. The nearly 7,000-square foot brick structure was built as a fire station in 1913, and was used most recently as office space in 2000 before being vacated due to structural and code issues.

The commission acquired the property in 1987 and in its acquisition and redevelopment last month. Evaluations completed last year by the PDC found that the building needs repairs totaling more than $6 million – nearly $1 million in seismic and MEP upgrades, and up to $5.5 million for either a new mat foundation or drilled piers to mitigate settlement and lateral movement in the event of seismic activity. Proposals are due this Friday at 5 p.m.

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Got an extra $6 million? A 102-year-old historic former fire station in Northwest Portland is right on the MAX line, was built in the 20^th Century Italian Renaissance style and needs several million in structural and seismic upgrades before it’s fit for habitation, but it’s up for grabs.

The Portland Development Commission on Thursday issued a request for interest for the acquisition and redevelopment of a property at 510 N.W. 3rd Ave. in Old Town Chinatown. The two-story brick building constructed in 1913 was originally used as the Portland Fire Department’s Engine House No. 2, according to city records. The mostly brick structure features a decorative cornice, a round arched opening with French doors that open onto a wrought iron balcony above two bay doors.

It’s a classic building that needs a lot of work, said PDC spokesman Shawn Uhlman.

“We tried to make it very clear in the proposal that if someone wants to come in and renovate this property it’s going to take a substantial amount of money,” he said.

PDC acquired the property in 1987. It was last used as office space, but has been vacant since 2000 due to structural and code issues. In 2010, Portland Fire and Rescue placed the structure on the city’s unsafe building list.

According to evaluations completed in 2014 by PDC, redevelopment would include about $500,000 in seismic upgrades; nearly $400,000 in mechanical, electrical and plumbing upgrades; and between $5.3 million and $5.5 million to address concerns with possible differential settlement and liquefaction during an earthquake by construction of either a mat foundation or drilled piers, according to the RFI.

“What? That seems really high,” said Jill Sherman, vice president of Gerding Edlen. “That just seems like a huge amount.”

If that sounds like a big chunk of cash, don’t worry: PDC is here to help.

“PDC recognizes the financial challenges with renovation and adaptive reuse of the Old Fire Station building and anticipates some level of public investment will be required to preserve and restore this historic resource,” according to the RFI. “Although PDC’s strong preference is for the existing building to be renovated and returned to active use, this may not be financially feasible due to the existing building and subsurface conditions.”

PDC, in the district’s five-year action plan, identified $19 million in the current fiscal year and $57 million over five years for job creation, district livability and built environment. The commission is also committed to helping the selected developer access alternate sources of funding and will reimburse the developer for environmental remediation costs, as the property is part of a former rail yard and contains contaminated soils.

Then-Portland Mayor Harry Lane in 1906 used his political influence to get the deed for the fire station from the railroad company that owned it, according to records from the city’s Historic Resource Inventory.  Lane learned that the owner – Northern Pacific Terminal Co. – had laid tracks near Northwest Irving and Kearney streets without first obtaining a franchise to do so and was running its trains illegally to the Steel Bridge. Lane called the company’s manager and said the city would dig up the tracks if the company refused to deed the land for the fire station to the city. By September of the same year, according to records, Lane had the deed and the railroad had its franchise.

The 33,580-square-foot, wedge-shaped property is sandwiched between the railroad and MAX light-rail lines and is zoned as Central Commercial. The unreinforced masonry engine house is 6,692 square feet with a 945-square-foot basement.

“The bottom line is that it’s a challenging site. That’s why it’s been sitting boarded up for so long,” Sherman said. “If PDC provides financial help, that may be a way to make redevelopment pencil out.”

Interested developers must attend a pre-submission site tour – two are scheduled for 9 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 23 and Tuesday, Feb. 24 – before submitting a statement of interest. To schedule a tour or ask questions, contact Eric Jacobson at 503-823-3306 or at jacobsone@pdc.us.

Proposals are due by 5 p.m. on Friday, March 20 and may be submitted via USPS or email. PDC expects completion of submission evaluations by the end of April and plans to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the selected developer by June 2015.

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An old, funky, brick building sits at the corner of Northwest Third Avenue and Glisan Street, near the west end of the Steel Bridge in Portland. Green trim surrounds boarded windows and a “U” sign – the fire department’s mark that the structure is unsafe for firefighters – hangs on the building’s red garage doors.

The small, two-story building has faded over the years, since it was born more than 100 years ago via a bit of blackmail.

In 1906, according to the city’s Historic Resource Inventory, Portland Mayor Harry Lane was targeting the site for a firehouse. The problem was that the land was owned by the Northern Pacific Terminal Co. and Lane did not want the city to lease it for the project.

But Lane discovered that Northern Pacific was occupying Northwest Irving and Kearney streets without the necessary franchise license. Lane called the company’s manager and threatened to dig up the tracks that the company was running its trains over illegally, unless it deeded the proposed firehouse site to the city.

Lane received the deed by September 1906, Northern Pacific got its license and by 1913 Portland Fire Department Engine House No. 2 was built.

However, during construction the entire building cracked in half during a flood, which is why the east end tilts slightly downhill. Its architect was former fire chief Lee Holden, who built numerous fire stations around Portland in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Today, the Portland Development Commission owns the unreinforced masonry building, at 510 N.W. Third Ave. If it were renovated, it would likely need a seismic upgrade.

Shawn Uhlman, a PDC spokesman, said redevelopment projects in the area – including the Blanchet House of Hospitality – might help spur activity at the firehouse.

“We do not currently have plans to sell the property to anyone and we’re currently not marketing it as a property for sale; however, we would certainly be interested in exploring opportunities if they present themselves,” Uhlman said.

Block by Block is a weekly look at commercial real estate around Portland. Send suggestions for properties to BlockxBlock@djcOregon.com.

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