When Jonathan Cohen and his development partners tour their property at 203 N.W. Third Ave., they don’t see an old, dusty, abandoned building. They see a time capsule waiting to be opened.

“This building was built by the Seamen’s (Friend) Society, and their goal was kind of a YMCA of sorts for sailors,” said Cohen, the owner of Portland-based Imagine Energy. “So this was specifically intended to be like a safe haven for sailors from the vices of gambling and drinking and prostitution that otherwise plagued the area.”

That was in the 1880s, but Old Town Chinatown remains a gritty area. However, Cohen’s group, with its $3 million building renovation, isn’t looking to transform the neighborhood, but rather celebrate it.

“I don’t think anybody wants to turn this area into the Pearl District,” he said. “I don’t think anybody wants to turn it into an extension of downtown. We want it to be unique, and everybody that’s here that I’ve talked to loves the gritty nature and history of this area. It’s always been gritty, and we kind of want it to stay that way to an extent.”

The group plans to soon begin converting its building into a hotel-hostel hybrid called the Society Hotel. It will feature a lobby and café on the ground floor, with a room set aside for bunking backpackers, and 36 private rooms on the upper floors.

Development partner Matt Siegel, the owner of local design-build company Building Blocks LLC, the project’s general contractor, in spring 2013 encountered a kind of hotel-hostel business in Chicago. He liked the concept. With a penchant for historic preservation, he set his sights on Old Town Chinatown, where many underused buildings stand.

“It is the heart of the city – the original heart of the city,” Siegel said. “It’s still an amazing location as far as proximity to everything that travelers need … and it’s also the last remaining ungentrified space.”

A few successes – such as the renovation of the White Stag Building for the University of Oregon, and the rehabilitation of the Globe Hotel for the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine – stand out. But those projects haven’t catalyzed development on surrounding blocks.

That could change. Gerding Edlen has plans for a new mixed-use development near OCOM, and Mayor Charlie Hales recently announced his intention to redirect approximately $57 million in urban renewal money toward the neighborhood.

Meanwhile, Society Hotel development partner Jessie Burke – Cohen’s wife and the owner of Posies Bakery & CafĂ© in the Kenton neighborhood – sees opportunity.

“When we were looking at this property,” Burke recalled, “people were (saying), ‘Chinatown’s dead. There’s nothing going to happen here.’ And I was (saying), ‘That’s not how things work. If it’s at the bottom, things are going to get better.’ ”

The Kenton neighborhood is one example. It’s now considered by real estate agents as one of Portland’s up-and-coming neighborhoods, but when Burke and Cohen moved there in 2004 it was rough.

Burke decided to make some improvements. She rebooted an off-line business association, began campaigning for neighborhood improvement grants (more than $64,000 in the past four years), and started a local street fair. She opened Posies on North Denver Avenue in 2009.

Old Town Chinatown’s lack of activity doesn’t deter her.

“Kenton was the same way,” she said. “We had a lot of homelessness and drug use and dealing and prostitution, but once you get activity in the core area, then that type of character feels uncomfortable with everyone else around witnessing their activities. So I think the same is present here. We just need to work on the ratios.”

Burke joined the Old Town Chinatown Community Association, and is now working to create a subcommittee of businesses. Burke, whose mother is Chinese, grew up seeing the decline of Chinatown in Washington, D.C. As was the case there, she believes the older generations of Portland’s Chinese community have written Chinatown off.

Burke, 33, believes it’s up to her generation to reinvent a more culturally appropriate version. She looks at the presence of the Davis Street Tavern and the recent arrival of Airbnb as evidence of the area’s appetite for business.

She does, however, question how great it is for hospitality. She noted that three of the five development proposals being considered for the Grove Hotel nearby involve hostel concepts. The Society Hotel group – Cohen, Siegel, Burke and Gabe Genauer, owner of Groundswell Development in Portland – is concerned that such a project may not complement its own.

The group purchased its building this past October for $700,000, and is paying for improvements with a $700,000 loan from the Portland Development Commission, a commercial bank loan and historic tax credits.

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The last week received its certificate of occupancy for the 100-year-old Globe Hotel Building, marking the completion of a $15.2 million renovation in Portland’s Old Town/Chinatown neighborhood.

“As the old saying goes, she sure cleaned up nice,” said Michael Gaeta, OCOM president.

OCOM presently operates out of a clinic in the Hollywood District and another in Southeast Portland. Those clinics will remain open, but on June 30 the college will begin moving its operations into the renovated building at 75 N.W. Couch St.

, , and partnered with OCOM on the project.

The relocation will double the school’s classroom space, expand its clinical services and add a community room to its campus. But because the renovation does not include additional parking, some are concerned the influx of 400 students, faculty and staff to the neighborhood will overstretch the available parking in the area.

OCOM held a series of “relocation forums” for the campus community, culminating in a recent meeting with Tri-Met and local bike organizations in order to discuss transportation options. Gaeta says the college has done its best to prepare those planning to commute to the new campus by laying out available parking options, but the college plans to emphasize opportunities to take mass transit.

The move is expected to be mostly complete by the end of August.

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The $15.2 million renovation of the 100-year-old former Globe Hotel in Portland’s Old Town Chinatown neighborhood is more than 50 percent done, but three challenging and sometimes conflicting goals continue to require extensive consulting work. And the last big hurdle may be availability of parking.

The building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has required significant brick work and off-site refurbishment of original windows. Also, pursuit of a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design gold rating has generated energy efficiency and material-use concerns. Plus, out of respect for the Chinese traditions that inform the practices of the incoming tenant, the , a feng shui master was hired.

“LEED stuff is getting to be pretty standard practice now – you recycle materials and use local suppliers; but in this case you’re limited by the historic guidelines,” said Jeff Hamilton, principal-in-charge of the project for . “It’s a bit of a challenge to meet city, state and federal expectations. Usually they have common goals, but sometimes they can differ from each other.”

OCOM presently operates out of a clinic in the Hollywood District and another in Southeast Portland. The college plans to keep its clinics open, but move college operations into the renovated building. The relocation will double the school’s classroom space, expand its clinical services and add a community space to its campus.

“We’re really excited because the move really is in many respects going to strategically position the college for the future – it was extremely important for us to have a presence in the metropolitan area,” OCOM President Michael Gaeta said. “And we’re doing something really interesting – the feng shui analysis of the site enables us to maximize characteristics of the building that are important to Chinese philosophy.”

Feng shui consultant Alex Stark joined the project during the initial assessment and cleansing ceremony of the building before construction began. Quartz crystals were placed in the building at designated areas, and Stark worked with Ankrom Moisan to orient the treatment rooms in a way that will maximize their healing potential, according to the ancient design philosophy.

“(Chinatown) is going through a renaissance, and we are very excited about coming into the neighborhood on the heels of the University of Oregon and Mercy Corps,” Gaeta said.

The one major issue still being discussed is parking. The school is expected to bring 400 students, staffers and instructors into the historic neighborhood. However, no parking facilities are planned to accommodate the influx.

Gaeta believes parking will always be a point of contention.

“No matter what size the college campus is – 30,000 (students) or 300 – in surveys, parking is always listed in the top five major concerns,” he said. “We feel strongly about the importance of emphasizing a decreased carbon footprint and emphasizing mass transit as much as possible.”

But with realization that some students and college personnel will choose to drive, Gaeta said the school is discussing options with the city and owners of area parking spaces. A SmartPark public parking garage exists nearby, but spaces there are limited.

“There is some difficulty there – even when I was going in for construction meetings there were days when it was full,” Hamilton said.

OCOM has an advisory committee still examining options for downtown parking, but Gaeta said he is confident that transportation concerns will be addressed by the time the school opens next fall.

Crews from LCG Pence Construction this week are working at a fever pitch to finish framing and roofing the fifth floor, which is an addition to the original structure. The original roof had to be torn out in order to create a more seismically stable frame for the top floor, which will include executive offices, board rooms, a wooden deck and a Chinese herb garden.

“I remember when we were just talking about this as an idea,” Gaeta said. “Now it’s starting to manifest on a physical level, and it’s a pretty powerful feeling.”

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The Oregon College of Oriental Medicine has officially closed on a complex financing package to convert the 1911-built Globe Hotel building into the new home of the school.

While preliminary renovation work started last week, the college was waiting on the purchase of its new market tax credits to finalize the last piece financing. Through the help of the Portland Development Commission and the National Development Council, the college has sold $14.25 million, nearly half the project cost, worth of tax credits to US Bancorp Community Development Corporation.

New market tax credits are offered to projects that help with job-creation in low-income and distressed census tracts. The renovation of the Globe Hotel is expected to create 110 construction jobs as well as 10 permanent full-time positions at OCOM.

The project also received funding from historic tax credits as well as $6.2 million in low interest loans from the PDC.

The project is being led by Portland-based Beam Development. Local firms Ankrom Moisan Associated Architects and LCG Pence Construction are also working on the renovation.

A public groundbreaking ceremony is being held on Tuesday, June 28, adjacent to the building on the corner of Northwest Davis Street and Northwest 1^st Avenue from 11:15 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Once complete, the four-story building will have 39,580 square feet of usable space, including a 4,300-square-foot penthouse space that is being added to the top of the building. The project will mark the eight sustainable historic rehabilitation project to take place in the Skidmore Old Town Historic District, and the second new market/historic tax credit collaboration to take place between PDC, NDC and US Bank.

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The board of commissioners for the Portland Development Commission today gave a fresh push to a project that would move the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine to Portland’s Old Town neighborhood.

The board authorized a Development and Disposition Agreement with the college that allows Beam Development to complete a $16.1 million renovation of the 1911-built Globe Hotel building. The college would move into the building once the renovation is complete.

The board also approved a $545,000 predevelopment loan to pay for construction documents. The PDC is contributing a total of $6.2 million to the project, including another $200,000 predevelopment loan and other low and no interest loans.

“One of the challenges we’ve faced throughout this project is convincing all the various partners that it’s a good deal,” said Peter Eggspuehler, director of real estate development for Beam. “Getting this crossed off will clear up some of that uncertainty and cross off that challenge.”

Ankrom Moisan Associated Architects designed the renovation of the four-story building, located at 88 N.W. Davis St. Once complete, the building will have 39,580 square feet of usable space, including a 4,300-square-foot penthouse space that is being added to the top of the building. It will be the eighth sustainable historic rehabilitation project to take place in the Skidmore Old Town Historic District.

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