The Ladd Carriage House, a 129-year-old structure that was built to house the horses and carriages of Portland entrepreneur and banker William Sargent Ladd, is being renovated. is converting the Victorian building into a pub-like restaurant, . Almost all of the work is being performed on the interior, including new walls, floors, ceilings and finishes, as well as two custom-made bars. The project’s designer is , who also designed a 2009 exterior renovation of the building. Work began in late July and is expected to finish by mid-December.

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The Ladd Carriage House, a historic, 129-year-old structure that formerly housed the horses of Portland entrepreneur and banker William Sargent Ladd, soon will be converted into a pub-like restaurant featuring organic fare.

The restaurant, at 1331 S.W. Broadway, is expected to help fill a void in its area of downtown.

“Southwest doesn’t nearly have as many great restaurants as other parts of Portland,” said Lisa Mygrant, who teamed with her parents, Mike and Kathy, last fall to purchase the house for $1 million. “A lot of people are there to work and to live, and I think there’s a real need for a good place to grab a drink and eat dinner.”

In 2009, Opus Northwest invested $2 million in a restoration of the house’s exterior, including full reconstruction of its west wall. Consequently, almost all of the next renovation, which is expected to start late next month, will address the house’s interior.

Mygrant said she could not divulge the cost of the renovation; however, she said it would be millions of dollars.

Paul Falsetto, project manager for , which designed both the exterior and interior renovations, said the project will serve other development in the area.

“It seems like this portion of the city is reviving and changing with (Portland State University) expanding, but this is a little bit of a dead zone in terms of providing a quality place to eat,” Falsetto said. “We have some of the finest quality restaurants in the city – like Higgins – and there’s less expensive places near PSU, but where is the in-between?”

The house will gain new walls, floors, ceilings and finishes, as well as two new, custom-made bars. The first floor will accommodate restaurant seating, while the second floor, where hay for the horses was stored, will be converted into a lounge. Falsetto said that most of the finishes will be made of wood to match the historic appearance of the house, which was designed by celebrated English architect Joseph Sherwin.

“I think it’s one of the great historic spaces in the downtown Portland area,” Falsetto said. “The nice thing is the building is going to be open to the general public; if it was a law office or some other use it wouldn’t have that accessibility.”

Falsetto said that even though the building is 7,000 square feet – a fairly large space for a restaurant – it was difficult to accommodate mechanical systems and retain the house’s open space. He said the goal of the design was to let the house’s volume and historic trusses serve as the main features. To avoid exposing ducts, air-handling units will be put in ceilings’ crawl spaces.

Additionally, Falsetto said it was a challenge to preserve the house’s high-sloped roof because restaurants usually require a large number of exhaust outtakes. Many of the exhaust outtakes will be contained in a new chimney element, which will replicate the house’s original chimney. Other vents and exhausts will be tucked into cracks that line the roof.

Once completed, the restaurant will serve only organic food grown by local farmers – something Mygrant believes is an essential part of Portland’s culinary identity.

“I just love seeing the journey from the farm to the plate and making it as short as possible,” Mygrant said. “I think when people know where their food comes from it makes it more interesting and delicious.”

Paul Mallory, co-owner of Higgins, a high-end restaurant on Broadway nearby, said he often has to turn people away and that a new restaurant could benefit the area.

“I think it’s great; anything that brings people into the neighborhood is a good thing,” he said. “You can’t be hostile to new businesses moving in just because they are looking at the same crowd as you are. I’m happy for them.”

Paul Clendenin, chairman of the advisory committee for , which proposed demolishing the house as part of a block redevelopment plan in 2005, agreed that the restaurant would benefit the area.

“I’m just excited at the prospect of us having neighbors,” he said. “Anything that will make that building useful and productive that puts people in and out of the block is a good thing for the church.”

The renovation is expected to finish in early fall. Mygrant said she wasn’t certain when the restaurant will open for business. Construction for the project will be handled by Bremik Construction.

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An extensive renovation is in the works for the interior of the Ladd Carriage House in downtown Portland. The 129-year-old building, which sold to a California family last fall, will be converted into a pub-like restaurant featuring organic fare.

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The Ladd Carriage House, the historic property that was saved from demolition and refurbished, has sold after being on the market for almost three years.

Mike Mygrant, who owns Mygrant Glass headquartered in Hayward, Calif., purchased the property. He and his wife plan for a restaurant to open on the property, according to Graham Taylor, a broker with CB Richard Ellis who represented the buyer, as well as the seller U.S. Bank.

The building sold for $1 million, short of the $1.5 million asking price. The deed was recorded on Wednesday.

I wrote a Block x Block feature on the property when it was still for sale in January, which included the details of the property’s rescue and renovation:

The house was saved by preservationists in 2007 when the neighboring First Christian Church wanted to tear it down. Instead, it was moved from the block temporarily so that church parking could be built underneath and the 23-story Ladd Tower could be built next door.

The house was then moved back to the block and renovated for $2.8 million. Opus Northwest, which developed the Ladd Tower, partnered with the church for the house’s rehabilitation. But Opus, unable to recoup its investment on Ladd Tower, deeded the house and the tower back to U.S. Bank.

The buyers haven’t yet responded to requests for comment.

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Preservationists were frenzied to preserve a piece of Portland’s history, but now no one seems especially eager to buy it.

The Ladd Carriage House, at 1331 S.W. Broadway, was built in 1883 as a stable for William Sargent Ladd’s larger estate. It was rehabbed recently and has been available for purchase for more than two years. The asking price is $1.5 million.

The house was saved by preservationists in 2007 when the neighboring First Christian Church wanted to tear it down. Instead, it was moved from the block temporarily so that church parking could be built underneath and the 23-story Ladd Tower could be built next door.

The house was then moved back to the block and renovated for $2.8 million. Opus Northwest, which developed the Ladd Tower, partnered with the church for the house’s rehabilitation. But Opus, unable to recoup its investment on Ladd Tower, deeded the house and the tower back to U.S. Bank.

The bank dropped the asking price by $1 million from Opus’ listing and dropped the option for lease. The house still sits unoccupied on Southwest Broadway between the church and the tower, a stark contrast to both buildings with its Victorian-esque architecture and dollhouse finish.

“We’ve had prospects look at occupying a portion of the building,” said Graham Taylor, broker with CB Richard Ellis, noting that the building was originally used as a sort of live-work space for animal caretakers. “The caretakers lived upstairs and worked in the stables downstairs.

“We’ve looked at converting it back into residential use and leasing the ground floor to retail or office users.”

The building has 7,061 square feet, two stories and a mezzanine.

For more information about the Ladd Carriage House, contact Taylor at 503-221-4830 or graham.taylor@cbre.com.

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