Demolition might not be in the cards for a vacant 95-year-old building in Northwest Portland.

Earlier this year, Portland-based Gerding Edlen announced plans to tear down the Buck-Prager Building at 1727 N.W. Hoyt St. and construct in its place a six-story, 82-unit apartment building with below-grade parking. However, the existing building – empty since a law firm vacated in 2007 – is a contributing structure in the Alphabet Historic District.

On Monday, the Portland Historic Landmarks Commission heard testimony from the developer and stakeholders before deciding to write a letter to the Portland City Council agreeing with and expanding upon the Bureau of Development Services staff report stating that the proposal to demolish the Buck-Prager Building doesn’t meet approval criteria, according to Hillary Adam with the Bureau of Development Services.

The next step will be for the City Council on Dec. 10 to hear testimony for and against demolition of the brick building at the intersection of Northwest 18th Avenue and Hoyt Street. The decision affecting the structure’s fate ultimately belongs to the council.

John Tess, president of Heritage Consulting Group, a real estate redevelopment consulting firm representing building owners Tim Ramis and Mark O’Donnell, said at Monday’s hearing that the decision to apply for a demolition review was made after all other options were exhausted.

“We did not arrive at the decision lightly,” Tess said. “Portland has always been a good steward of its historic properties, and we truly believe that, in this case, the city’s goals will be better met through demolition.”

Rob Mawson, vice president of Heritage Consulting Group, reminded the commissioners to focus only on the issue of demolition rather than the proposed site development.

“There are those that say if you approve this, the whole world will come to an end, but if we as a team truly believed that this was an important historic building, none of us would be here,” he said. “We know if we’re allowed to demolish the building, the project design must come back to you.”

More than a dozen citizens testified against demolition at the hearing. No one spoke in favor of demolition. Some voiced opinions that the proposed building would not fit in with the surrounding landscape, but others questioned Tess’ and Mawson’s assertion that the building lacks historic significance.

John Czarnecki, a principal at New Traditional Architecture and a former landmarks commission chairman, testified in opposition to the demolition, stating that the commission should consider how the historic district would be impacted if it were to lose a contributing structure.

“The demolition of this building will work to destroy the integrity of the district as a whole,” he said. “We’re making the building blocks for the future development of the city and this decision will be used as a precedent to go forward.”

Only one contributing structure in a historic district – the Kiernan Building, also known as the Dirty Duck pub – gained approval for demolition; the site was redeveloped to hold the Blanchet House of Hospitality. That decision in 2010 was controversial, but the commission approved demolition in part because of the civic-minded nature of the proposed replacement – and citizens noted Monday that Gerding Edlen’s project would not be of the same nature.

Others who testified Monday pointed out that the Buck-Prager Building, when it opened in 1919, was home to the Women’s Hospital of Portland. It was managed by Alta B.Y. Spaulding, who also was a superintendent of the Multnomah County Hospital and is credited with opening the Multnomah Training School, a precursor of the Oregon Health and Science University’s School of Nursing. OHSU has since created the A.B. Youmans Spaulding Endowed Professorship in her honor.

In addition to the testimonies given Monday, several Alphabet Historic District residents submitted letters. Some were in favor of demolition, though most were in favor of preservation.

Earlier this month, Gustavo Cruz and John Bradley, as representatives of the Northwest District Association, submitted a letter of opposition to demolition. “Demolishing historic commercial resources in favor of more large-scale luxury apartment buildings proliferating throughout the city sets a dangerous precedent and compromises our neighborhood’s character and the rich diversity of historic buildings within it,” they wrote. The letter also contained a position statement signed by 50 district residents.

Two other residents submitted letters of opposition to the project, stating that demolition would detract from the historic theme of the area and citing fears that a building of that size would block views of downtown.

Two district residents submitted letters in support of demolition, stating that the Buck-Prager Building does not use the site as well as an apartment building would. One of the two letters did include a request that the developer be required to preserve nine existing trees if it were allowed to move forward with the project.

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The 95-year-old building at 1727 N.W. Hoyt St. is a contributing structure in the nationally registered Alphabet Historic District. But in recent years, it has contributed only vacant space.

The problem is two parts zoning, one part structural. After the owners of the 13,000-square-foot building disbanded their law firm and moved out around 2007, the structure sat empty during the recession and lost its grandfathered status for conditional commercial use. Today, the property is zoned for high-density residential use, which would require a costly seismic upgrade.

“We’ve looked at multiple scenarios for developing the property, including renovating and developing next to it,” said Jill Sherman, Gerding Edlen vice president of development. “It’s just not feasible economically and I don’t think it’s a better project.”

Gerding Edlen and the property’s owners are working on plans to redevelop the half-block site on the east side of Northwest 18th Avenue, between Hoyt and Irving streets, as an 82-unit apartment building. But before the $14 million-plus development can move forward, the building at 1727 N.W. Hoyt St. must be demolished – and that promises to be a difficult proposition.

Only once in the city’s history has approval been given to demolish a contributing structure in a historic district – in 2010, for the Kiernan Building, aka the Dirty Duck – and it was controversial. Now, some Northwest Portland residents are rallying to save the Hoyt Street building.

Once again, goals for density and preservation are competing.

“When you put 80 units in a giant building in between these two streets of quaint Victorian homes that have been here for 130 years you’re seriously degrading the character of the street,” said Wendy Chung, a neighbor and a Northwest District Neighborhood Association board member.

Chung said the Hoyt Street building may not be on the National Register of Historic Places, but her 130-year-old home (at 1729 N.W. Irving St.) is, and so are many others on the surrounding block. She bought her house in 2007 for $485,000 with an expectation that those historic designations would be honored.

Chung noted that she and her neighbors are not opposed to development, and cited numerous projects nearby as evidence. She even likes Holst Architecture‘s designs – featuring a distressed brick facade, bay windows and a mansard roof – for Gerding Edlen’s proposed project. She just doesn’t think such a development is appropriate for the site.

“We’re all for development and trying to increase density,” Chung said. “We just think on this particular lot there could be ways to preserve (the building) and meet our density needs.”

Sherman has evaluated those options. She said that the cost of construction would not really justify the expense, and that after development of the surrounding property only a sliver of the contributing structure would remain visible. Nevertheless, she understands neighbors’ concerns; about a year ago she began meeting with them to gather input.

Because lack of parking is a big concern in Northwest Portland, Gerding Edlen is proposing 70 below-grade spaces. It is also hoping to include a substantial amount of two-bedroom units (now in short supply) and workforce housing. Sherman pointed to the same nearby multifamily developments that Chung did as evidence that the building would not be out of context, especially from a geographic perspective.

“It’s all about location and proximity to transportation, the proximity to services and the proximity to jobs,” Sherman said. “Basically, I think of that district as a downtown central city district and generally where I think you want to see – and a lot of our public policy says that’s where we want to have – density of housing.”

Part of the conflict stems from the mixed messages touted by the property. Its zoning encourages high-density development, but the historic district designation bestowed later doesn’t.

Notably, a by the National Trust for Historic Preservation found that some of the most thriving communities are those that contain a high diversity of building ages. But for the Hoyt Street building, its fate will be determined via a Type IV historic resource demolition review – a process that can take up to eight months, and ends with a vote by City Council.

“I think you’re asking a question that even preservationists would disagree on,” said Tim Heron, a senior city planner for the Bureau of Development Services. “It’s very subjective, and that’s why we have a process, and that’s why this will go through a process … We’re going to talk those issues out … When you demolish a resource, it’s irreplaceable. You don’t get it back. That’s the bar.”

Meanwhile, Josh Schweitz, a Kidder Mathews senior vice president who marketed the Hoyt Street building for several years during the recession, lamented that it can no longer accommodate commercial use. He came close to a deal in 2008, but nothing panned out.

Schweitz said that wouldn’t happen today.

“I guarantee I could put my sign up and I could have it under contract within a week just because the market right now is so hot,” he said. “… I wish I had 10 of those types of buildings.”

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Northwest Infrastructure is demolishing the Dirty Duck building for general contractor Fortis Construction, who will be building the Blanchet House of Hospitality homeless center on the site.

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Portland City Council on Wednesday tentatively approved a permit for the demolition of the Kiernan Building, also known as the former home of the Dirty Duck Tavern.

A plan is in place to replace the building in the historic Chinatown District with a new three- or four-story facility for the Blanchet House, which provides services to the homeless.

Next week, the demolition permit will come before City Council again before final approval is given.

At the council hearing, preservationists expressed concern that approving the demolition of the Kiernan Building would open the door for smaller historic commercial structures in the area to be demolished.

“This building is part of an already fragile district,” landmarks commissioner Art DeMuro said. “There is so much active planning going on in that area that is designed for more demolition that I fear testimony given today will be used for the next building.”

Despite a report compiled by Bureau of Development Services staff that advised against approving the demolition, all city commissioners, except Amanda Fritz, voted ‘yes.’ The consensus was that the services provided by a new facility for the Blanchet House outweighed the significance of the building, which is in disrepair and has no major ties to Chinese culture.

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The former home of the Dirty Duck is targeted for demolition to clear space for a LEED-certified homeless shelter, though an advisory panel may recommend saving the World War I-era structure.

The Dirty Duck building, located at the corner of Northwest Third Avenue and Northwest Glisan Street, would be torn down as part of a land swap between the Portland Development Commission, which owns the building, and the Blanchet House of Hospitality, a non-profit homeless center next door.

Blanchet officials want to tear down the Dirty Duck and build a three-to-four-story building for the nonprofit. Portland’s Historic Landmarks Commission is scheduled to hold a demolition review on Jan. 11.

At least one landmarks commissioner, Richard Engeman, said he plans to recommend denying the demolition. Engeman said in a phone interview Monday that it’s “unfortunate” public money would be used “to destroy a publicly designated historic resource.”

Built in 1916 or 1917, the Dirty Duck building sits in the city’s Chinatown National Register Historic District

“If that building is demolished, I feel that it truly endangers the entire district,” Engeman said.

The landmarks commission will give advice on the plan to Portland Bureau of Development Services, which will then make a recommendation to the City Council, which has final say on the demolition.

BDS spokesman Ross Caron could not immediately confirm how often the council, in voting on various projects, has agreed with the commission’s recommendations.

Other than Engeman, landmarks commissioners either declined to comment or could not be reached for comment this past week. But at a previous hearing, on Aug. 24, they criticized plans to demolish the one-story, green-and-cream colored structure.

Commissioner Brian Emerick, for instance, said razing the Dirty Duck “erodes that entire corner of the district.”

“People keep saying it’s on the edge of the district, as though that’s, you know, less important,” Commissioner Paul Salimano said during the hearing.

Formally known as the Kiernan Building, the Dirty Duck building got its nickname from its most prominent tenant, Gail’s Dirty Duck Tavern, a gay bar that shut down Aug. 23, after 25 years in business.

The Portland Development Commission bought the property in September 1999, as part of a redevelopment strategy for the entire block, said John Warner, a senior development manager with the agency.

He said the commission in 2002 earmarked $2 million to give the Blanchet House so it could build a new facility somewhere else. In exchange, he said, the group would deed its property, at Northwest Fourth Avenue and Northwest Glisan Street, to the commission.

The deal later changed to include giving Blanchet House the Dirty Duck property next door. Terms of the deal were finalized roughly a year ago, and as part of the swap, Blanchet would still get the $2 million.

Bill Reilly, a Blanchet House board member, said tearing down the Dirty Duck and building a new facility would cost an estimated $9 million to $10 million.

He said construction would last 13 months, and the group would operate from its existing facility while the center is being built. He also said the group wants the building to earn Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design platinum certification.

Founded in 1952, Blanchet House serves up to 800 meals a day, typically to homeless and low-income people. It also offers temporary housing for homeless men.

Reilly and other officials there say a new building is needed to get more ground-floor space, allowing clients to line up for food inside the building, not outside, as they currently do.

It would also give them a bigger kitchen, and if the building is three floors high – the group has an option for a fourth story – up to 48 men could sleep there at any time, compared to the roughly 30 who can now sleep at the existing Blanchet House facility.

Nevertheless, Reilly said he didn’t know what the group would do if its demolition plans are denied. He noted the cost of refurbishing the Dirty Duck “would be way beyond what our budget is.”

According to a November 2008 report from the Portland Development Commission, the Dirty Duck is “functionally and physically obsolete” and would need heavy investment “to extend its useful life.”

“We don’t have a backup plan at this point,” Reilly said.

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