A downtown Portland landmark is finally receiving a new use: Japanese bookstore chain Kinokuniya has taken up residence in the former Guild Theatre space. The store, which opened last month at 829 S.W. Ninth Ave., is the result of a vast renovation in which the space was stripped to its bare bones and then transformed into a blend of modern and historic elements.

Kinokuniya recruited LRS Architects to reimagine the iconic venue as a retail experience, and not just a smattering of shelves and merchandise. Russell Construction served as the general contractor and WDY Inc. was the structural engineer.

“It was just a big, empty void,” LRS interior designer Jena Sinclair said. “You had to try to fill it enough, but not too crazy, like it was forced.”

Kinokuniya and the Guild Theatre both opened for business in 1927. The theater eventually closed in 2006 and remained unused until Kinokuniya moved in.

The downtown Portland location is Kinokuniya’s 13th in the United States, and 32nd outside of Japan, where it has more than 50 stores. Apart from a shop within an Uwajimaya grocery store in Beaverton, the nearest Kinokuniya stores are in San Francisco and Seattle.

Kinokuniya America is dedicated to operating stores that blend with their surroundings. For the downtown Portland store, LRS associate Ingrid Hoffman said the company wanted to create a space with hints of Japanese aesthetics, but also appeal to a wide American audience.

“One of the big priorities we had was to create a bookstore that felt like a Portland bookstore,” Hoffman said. “Portlanders don’t like chains; they like to buy local.”

The store’s aesthetics reflect the design mission. Shelves, counters and displays of clean lines and wood are contrasted by the gritty, industrial texture of the walls and exposed ceiling – the last remnants of original construction.

The building is attached to an adjacent one, with stricter fire codes usually reserved for high-rises. The team didn’t want to build a ceiling, so fireproofing material had to be applied to beams at the top of the room. This strategy was more difficult, but Hoffman said it was important to keep the skylights and overhead windows intact.

“Part of the charm of the space is that it’s such an interesting volume,” Hoffman said. “We needed to figure out a way of actually using the whole volume.”

One of the building’s few remaining structural elements was a concrete staircase that leads to an exit door. That path now leads to a mezzanine, which was built to provide space for restrooms and offices. It’s also a nook for the first-story cafĂ©, which serves Japanese tea and snacks.

The fire codes required the mezzanine be built as a freestanding structure, totally separate from and unsupported by the former theater’s concrete walls. While gaps are hidden by a seamless wooden cover that skirts along the walls, the mezzanine is separated by six inches.

Despite the challenges that come with such an old structure, the design team found opportunities within, as seen in the supporting columns that connect the floor and roof. Instead of letting these pillars interfere with the space, designers hung pegboards on them so they now serve as merchandise displays.

Also, rather than merely set up some shelves with products and call it good, Sinclair said the intention was always to take customers on a sort of journey that leads them through the aisles. The path follows the floor in a counterclockwise motion, based on the angles and placement of the cash wrap and walls, with hope that visitors will then see more sections of products.

At the top of the mezzanine upstairs, manga and comics sit in the open space uninhabited by offices and restrooms. With merchandise catered more to children, it is the one part of the store that is more playful.

And alongside that concrete staircase, the project team built a large, terraced set of wooden step seating, decorated with cushions and plants. There, visitors can relax, look out at the floor and take in the work that went into reviving a downtown landmark.

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The Portland City Council on Wednesday approved an appeal by TMT Development to remove conditions attached to the Design Commission‘s approval of a building rehabilitation.

Though the firm’s plans to renovate the Studio Building and Guild Theatre, at 901-919 S.W. Taylor St. in downtown Portland, were approved by the Design Commission, it added requirements tied to window replacements. But the City Council voted 4-1 to strike down those conditions.

“This has been before (the Design Commission) twice,” Portland Commissioner Dan Saltzman said. “My best judgment is there is a lot of effort on this and it makes me support removing the conditions.”

The project team’s top concern, and a major factor in the council’s decision, was the added cost that the conditions would impose.

The Design Commission wanted developers to use a clearer glass, and add interior muntins and a spacer bar to the aluminum windows that were selected. Those changes would have increased the project cost by $105,000, according to TMT Development President Vanessa Sturgeon.

“There is virtually no discernible visual difference between what we proposed and what the commission wants us to do,” she said. “That is a budget buster.”

The glass requested by the Design Commission has approximately 4 percent less tint and is brighter than the glass planned by the project team. The replacement of 192 windows is part of an $8 million restoration effort. Other changes requested by the commission that were not appealed added more than $70,000 to the cost, according to Sturgeon.

On top of economic arguments, the project team argued that changes to the spacers and muntins would not be seen from the outside. Therefore, it stated, the Design Commission lacked authority to make that requirement.

A big concern of councilors was adding cost to what they see as a relatively minor improvement.

“The building, though grand she is, is an old dump,” Mayor Ted Wheeler said. “We have someone that is willing to (rehabilitate) it and we are quibbling over 4 percent?”

Originally, the Design Commission had urged the building’s owners to rehabilitate the building’s existing steel windows. Once it became clear that could not be accomplished and still meet energy code, the commission’s goal became to ensure that replacement windows resemble the original ones as closely as possible.

“Generally there is a lot of movement toward the clearest glass possible on historic buildings,” Design Commissioner Julie Livingston said. “We thought that the muntins and clear glass were OK with the owner. Had we known, we would have had more conversations.”

Overall plans to renovate the building include replacing the windows, performing cosmetic improvements, making changes to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and installing new climate control systems.

Portland Commissioner Amanda Fritz, who cast the lone dissenting vote, said she felt unqualified to overturn a Design Commission decision on an issue that would largely affect the essence of the structure.

“I don’t want us to become the default design review commission,” she said. “I feel I don’t have information to vote against the Design Commission.”

One area of broad agreement was that projects like the Studio Building and Guild Theatre rehabilitation should go before the Historic Landmarks Commission instead of the Design Commission. The Studio Building and Guild Theatre are listed on Portland’s Historic Resource Inventory (HRI), but not on the National Register of Historic Places. Currently, a building listed on the HRI does not go before the Historic Landmarks Commission unless it has other historic designations.

“Buildings on the HRI should be reviewed by Landmarks – I agree with that,” Livingston said. “This building should be looked at by Landmarks. They bring a level of authority that Design Commission may not.”

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The Portland Design Commission approved a plan by Peter Meijer Architect for alterations to the Studio Building and Guild Theatre at 901-919 S.W. Taylor St. with four votes in favor, one against and one abstention. The planned alterations include replacing 192 windows in the Studio Building, installing a new rooftop ventilation system and renovating the Guild Theatre so that it becomes compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The meeting took a somewhat rare turn when city staffers recommended approving alterations different than the preferred plan proposed by designers. The staff report’s top recommendation involved rehabilitating the existing steel windows in the Studio Building rather than replacing them with aluminum windows, as proposed.

“Restoration of the windows was never really on the table,” said Kristen Minor, an associate and preservation planner with Peter Meijer Architect.

The project designers said that the windows’ conditions combined with their age and issues tied to lead paint and asbestos would make any rehabilitation difficult. Also, reaching energy efficiency standards was impossible with the current windows.

“The existing steel windows are not in great condition,” said Halla Hoffer, an associate and project manager with Peter Meijer Architect. “They have lead paint and are leaking for a variety of reasons.”

Despite those concerns, some commissioners were not sold on the idea that the old windows had to go.

“The level of stewardship is in question with this window replacement,” said Commission Chairman David Wark, who cast the lone “no” vote. “It’s a significant building. We want to be careful and thoughtful with the process here.”

Wark also expressed concern that the chosen replacement windows could need to be replaced sooner than the current windows if they were rehabilitated.

“How many times will these be cycled out,” he asked. “It’s tough to support wholesale replacement.”

Wark believes that even if the existing windows couldn’t meet energy efficiency standards, then other alterations such as insulation could compensate adequately. In the end, however, most commissioners supported replacing the windows. The cost to replace them with steel windows ranged from $1.4 million to $2.7 million, so designers looked at other options and eventually chose an aluminum one.

Most commissioners said they believe that replacing the windows could be accomplished without damaging the building’s historic character.

“The building should be on the (National) Register (of Historic Places),” Commissioner Julie Livingston said. “Replacement of the windows seems reasonable.”

That led to the next sticking point: the tint of the windows. Most of the commissioners said they believe that the glass proposed would be far too dark for the building. A condition for the approval was that the glass be changed to a clearer tint.

As for the Guild Theatre, the Design Commission barely took issue with proposed renovations. They are temporary in nature, until a new tenant moves in.

Vanessa Sturgeon, president and CEO of TMT Development, the owner and manager of the building, claimed that the incoming tenant, whom she did not identify, would likely bring further alterations before the commission in the near future.

Also on Thursday:

Park Avenue West sign

A team’s bid for a new sign on the 30-story Park Avenue West tower was sent back to the drawing board. While the Design Commission couldn’t approve the proposal by Ambrosini Design, it did indicate that an altered version could pass muster.

The original plan called for a 92-foot sign for Stoel Rives to be placed on the east facade of the illuminated lantern feature. The commission preferred an alternative: installation under the lantern feature.

The design team plans to bring altered plans before the commission on April 20.

525 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

A proposed six-story building was approved by the Design Commission. The building, designed by Hacker, will stand 85 feet tall, and include five floors of offices, ground-floor retail space and 65 underground parking stalls.

Developer PMC LLC., a joint venture between Beam Development and Urban Development + Partners, will begin the permitting process in May. The schedule calls for construction to begin in November and finish in approximately one year.

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The Guild Theatre, at 829 S.W. Ninth Ave., is finally getting some needed attention. As part of a larger renovation of the adjoining building, the theater and its entrance will be altered to provide compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The Portland Design Commission sent the project back for more study on replacement windows for the adjoining building, but was receptive to the proposed theater changes.

“We are preparing it for a new tenant,” said Eric Li, project architect for TVA Architects.

The largest change in this early stage is to make the pitch leading to the building low enough that an exterior ramp won’t be needed. The biggest changes people might notice will be cosmetic ones to the exterior.

“We are not changing the storefront,” Li said. “Everything is being patched and repaired. The marquee is being brought back to its original condition. We are adding ADA(-compliant) restrooms and a ramp.”

The building was designed by Luther Lee Dougan and built in 1927. It originally operated as the Taylor Street Theatre before becoming the Guild Theatre in 1948 after J.J. Parker purchased the building. It was last renovated in 1956.

The 5,000-square-foot building hasn’t been used since its previous tenant, the Northwest Film Center, vacated in 2007. A new, unnamed tenant has leased the building but plans for use have not been released.

The developers told the Design Commission that plans to restore the building to its original condition were “not in the offing.”

Architects with Peter Meijer Architect, the firm designing work on the adjoining building, told the commission that plans are to keep the theater and storefront unchanged as much as possible and then wait to see what other changes must be made.

They told the commission that the new tenant has “expressed some exciting ideas,” but nothing has been finalized.

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