The roof deck at the 250 Taylor project site in downtown Portland is a swarm of activity right now.

The 10-story office tower is being built by general contractor Turner Construction on a half-block parcel fronting Southwest Taylor Street between Second and Third avenues. Ground was broken in March 2018 following demolition of a pair of buildings, and completion is expected this fall.

Currently, Turner Construction carpenters as well as R2M2 Rebar & Stressing and Bergelectric crews and others are busy laying rebar, installing in-slab conduit and plumbing lines, and constructing formwork so the final deck slab can be poured in the coming weeks.

On the lower floors, glaziers are installing a sophisticated curtain wall system that features terra-cotta strips on the exterior that will give the building a darker, earthy appearance.

The majority of roughly 150 tradespeople on site are piecing together the building’s interior. Crews from Fred Shearer & Sons are performing metal interior framing on the building’s first six floors, with American Heating and Cooling crews installing ductwork for HVAC systems. Bergelectric crews are also busy wiring newly framed spaces as they are constructed.

250 Taylor will have approximately 183,500 square feet of space when completed. NW Natural will occupy all 10 floors as the building’s sole tenant.

Ankrom Moisan Architects designed the project for Third & Taylor Development. The team also includes: KPFF Consulting Engineers (structural and civil engineering), Glumac (mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering), GeoDesign Inc. (geotechnical engineering) and Lango Hansen Landscape Architects.

The office building is part of a nearly full-block development that will include a 20-story hotel. It also was designed by Ankrom Moisan Architects and will be built by Turner Construction.

The post More new office space on the way appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

When the Ancient Order of United Workmen Temple was demolished last fall, many preservationists lamented the loss of the building that had stood in downtown Portland since 1892.

Formerly located at 915 S.W. Second Ave., the six-story Temple building was the first of two unreinforced masonry structures to come down to accommodate the ambitious : a 20-story hotel and a 10-story office tower. The second structure, the 112-year-old Hotel Albion, has now been razed. It previously housed the Lotus Cardroom and Caf茅 from 1924 until its closure two years ago.

Neither building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Also, both were removed from the city of Portland’s Historic Resource Inventory at the request of the property owner in November 2015.

Initially, plans called for preservation of the Temple building and integration of it into the office tower portion of the project. But an extensive engineering study carried out by Ankrom Moisan Architects, KPFF Consulting Engineers and Turner Construction found that the cost of a retrofit would be greater than demolition and new construction.

While workers demolish the old and build the new, preservationists hope history won’t repeat itself.

鈥淚 could criticize what’s replacing those buildings,鈥� Restore Oregon Executive Director Peggy Moretti said. 鈥淏ut the bottom line is the system here in Oregon for designating and protecting and incentivizing the restoration of important historic buildings is woefully lacking. We have a system that we could definitely be fixing.鈥�

The good news for preservationists is that the Auditorium building, which is under separate ownership, will remain on the block. What that building opened in 1894, it featured a dance hall on its second level and a concert space with a balcony on the third. The building was converted into office space in the 1980s.

Next door, the Lotus Cardroom and Caf茅 had a long and colorful history as a local night spot. It apparently was the site of a 1927 bootlegging bust, and rumors are that there once was an upstairs brothel. The building regained popularity as a nightspot in the 1990s, when throngs of young people came to party and dance.

Moretti is eager to see changes that prevent losses of such spaces in the future.

鈥淚 think it requires careful planning and community engagement,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou can’t freeze a city in time, and we would not propose that. But we need to be able to make thoughtful decisions. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t recognize that Portland is special because of the historic fabric it has maintained.鈥�

But strong demand for new office space in the central city has opened the door for this redevelopment effort. The project team includes Third and Taylor Development 鈥� a partnership between Arthur Mutal and Onder Development 鈥� as well as Ankrom Moisan Architects and general contractor Turner Construction.

Excavation and other below-grade work is taking place on the downtown block’s north half, where a 10-story office tower will rise. It will also have ground-floor retail space.

Developers even have the luxury of knowing the building will be fully occupied when it opens in 2020. According to several media reports, NW Natural has already signed a lease to occupy all 183,500 square feet of available office space.

Turner Construction crews are preparing to start pouring concrete for the foundation and the two below-grade stories of parking for the office building. A break in the site’s water supply led to a delay in demolition, but that was merely a hiccup, project manager Len Anderson told the 91视频.

Once demolition of the ex-Hotel Albion wraps up, excavation work for the 20-story hotel will be able to start on the south half of the block. The hotel will have a rooftop pool and bar along with a pair of restaurants.

The big question for many observers is whether similar redevelopment projects will follow. In the future, developers may have more options when working with historic buildings, said Brandon Spencer-Hartle, historic resources program manager for the city of Portland.

鈥淲e are looking to increase the incentives that would encourage a property owner to seek a (historic) designation,鈥� he said.

Portland’s new 2035 Comprehensive Plan took effect last week. It includes new rules that allow for transfers of floor area ratio involving buildings on the city’s Historic Resource Inventory, which has not been updated since 1984.

Property owners of designated historic buildings could also sell that development capacity.

鈥淭he new regulations that went into effect Monday we hope will be more used by owners of existing landmarks and those who are looking at their development options,鈥� Spencer-Hartle said.

Separately, a draft of a proposed city effort to update city code surrounding historic resource designations will be released to the public in September. Feedback will be sought.

The post When historic buildings couldn’t be saved appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

When the historic United Workmen Temple was demolished last fall, many in Portland were upset by the loss of the 1892 vintage building.

Formerly located at the corner of Southwest 2^nd and Taylor, it is one of two historic unreinforced masonry structures torn down to make way for the ambitious Third and Taylor project, which will see a 20-story hotel and 10-story office tower emerge from the rubble.

The second to fall is the old Lotus Hotel building, home to one of Portland’s most famous nightspots, the Lotus Cardroom and Caf茅, from 1924 until its closure two years ago. The 1906 structure currently is being demolished as general contractor Turner Construction ramps up work on the two new high-rise projects planned for the site.

Check out a photo gallery below of the demolition during its early stages, and don’t forget to check back in a few days for the full story.

The post Photos: Historic Lotus Hotel building comes down appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

Excavation and foundation work is under way on 250 Taylor, a 10-story office building spanning a half block on Southwest Taylor Street between Second and Third avenues. Turner Construction Co. is the general contractor for the project, which was designed by Ankrom Moisan Architects for Third & Taylor Development.

Work at the site began last summer with demolition of a single-story commercial building and the six-story Ancient Order of United Workmen Temple building. Demolition work was completed in early November 2017, and Turner Construction crews returned to the site in March. Currently, DeWitt Construction crews are busy installing soldier pile and tie-backs, and removing dirt from the site to accommodate a two-level parking garage. The project should be fully excavated within two weeks.

Pours of the foundation, a mat footing three to six feet thick consisting of about 5,000 cubic yards of concrete, will be completed over the course of three Saturdays next month. A luffing crane will be installed in June as well. The parking garage and electrical vault will be poured over the course of the summer, and the structure will be back at street grade around September. All ten stories above grade will consist of post-tensioned concrete self-performed by Turner Construction. The project is slated for completion by fall 2019.

Because the site’s southwest portion abuts the 124-year-old Auditorium Building, extra care has been taken in excavating and shoring along that portion of the property. Excavation that would normally be done in five-foot lifts was instead done in three-foot lifts, and crews were limited to cutting only what could be lagged and backfilled before end of day.

Construction crews also had to take extra precaution to not disturb an 18-inch cast-iron water line that was built in the early 1900s and runs through the site. Temporary shoring was built to retain the dirt around the pipe and ensure that it didn’t move, and the project team worked closely with the city during permitting to ensure that tie-backs are all set at proper depth and angle in order to avoid the pipe.

The project team also includes KPFF Consulting Engineers (structural and civil engineering), Glumac (mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering), GeoDesign Inc. (geotechnical engineering) and Lango Hansen Landscape Architects.

The office building is part of a nearly full-block development that will also include a 20-story hotel, also designed by Ankrom Moisan Architects and to be built by Turner Construction. That project is in the permitting phase.

The post Photos: Digging downtown for new office development appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

A new 10-story office building planned in downtown now has the Portland Design Commission‘s approval, but not without regrets that the existing building on the site cannot be saved.

Demolition is looming for the 124-year-old Ancient Order of United Workmen Temple at Southwest Third Avenue and Taylor Street. The building formerly was on the city’s Historic Resource Inventory, but was removed to allow development of the new tower designed by Ankrom Moisan Architects. The Design Commission approved the project with a 3-0 vote on Thursday.

Commissioner Tad Savinar stated before the vote that he intended to abstain and wished he had done more to save the old building.

鈥淭his is a hard job, and I failed when the project came in the first time,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think I could have done more in the interest of saving the Temple Building. If I had known then what I know now, I think we would have pushed harder. I feel that I let folks down.鈥�

Commission Chairman David Wark hinted that he had regrets as well.

鈥淚 don’t mean to admonish, but I hope in the future in the same situation we can find a new path 鈥� it’s a very good building,鈥� he said.

Ankrom Moisan Executive Vice President Murray Jenkins said he too was sad that the historic building couldn’t be saved, but explained that demolition is as much about risk of collapse as about the cost of a retrofit. The six-story structure is one of the tallest unreinforced masonry buildings in the city. It has multiple floor structures 鈥� some made of wood and some of steel.

鈥淭here’s a risk of actually doing construction to save it,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e’ve tried for a year to save it. We wanted to make sure it wouldn’t bring down the adjacent development.鈥�

The Temple Building was designed in the Richardsonian Romanesque Revival style by Justus F. Krumbein, who was the architect of Oregon’s second state capitol building. Restore Oregon, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving historic places, led the charge to save the Temple Building.

Peggy Moretti, Restore Oregon’s executive director, testified before the Design Commission in August that the building is a 鈥減rominent resource鈥� and that the design of its replacement 鈥渄oes not accomplish the goal of creating a new landmark.鈥� Restore Oregon board member Matthew Davis repeated that message to the commission on Thursday.

鈥淚t is supposed to be replaced by a landmark, but I’m not seeing a future landmark in these latest designs,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e are asking you to deny the project.鈥�

Downtown Neighborhood Association board member Grant Higginson agreed. He cited the restoration of the Brewery Blocks as an example of retaining historic character, and said the new office building design doesn’t meet that standard.

鈥淐ity guidelines say to preserve, and the current proposal preserves nothing,鈥� he said.

Although demolition of the Temple Building was a foregone conclusion, according to Jenkins, the design team plans to contact the Bosco-Milligan Foundation to determine which items can be salvaged. The plan is to create an inventory of reusable pieces.

Once discussion turned to the new building, it became clear that commissioners were pleased with the way the design team had responded to their suggestions.

Michael Great, managing principal at Ankrom Moisan, told commissioners he agreed with their previous comments that the first design had 鈥渢oo much architecture for a half-block.鈥� So, the team moved the loading zone and garage entrance from Southwest Third Avenue to Second Avenue, and recessed the northeast corner to direct more attention to the historic Auditorium Building next door.

鈥淲e want to let it be the star of Third Avenue,鈥� he said.

Frameless glass retail entries at the ground level will give emphasis to what’s happening on the inside, Great said. Instead of being offset, the two-story glazed main entrance will be centered in the middle of the block of Taylor Street, with a secondary entrance nearby leading to 100 bike spaces.

The new design also pushed back the 10th floor to make room for a rooftop terrace at the ninth level at the southeast corner.

Commissioners praised the updated design.

鈥淚 like the way it defers to the Auditorium Building, and the notch at the northeast corner is a nice move, and I like the way you moved the entrance,鈥� Commissioner Don Vallaster said.

Commissioner Andrew Clarke agreed and said he was glad the new design moved the loading docks.

鈥淭he (loss of) the Temple is a little disappointing, but I like the (new) building,鈥� he said.

Commissioner Julie Livingston said she liked the way terra cotta accents were pulled down to grade, and Commissioner Jessica Molinar said she appreciated that the new design now has canopies all the way around for pedestrians.

鈥淭hat’s great and I don’t find any issues that don’t comply with (city design) guidelines,鈥� Molinar said.

Clarke, Livingston and Molinar voted to approve the design, while Savinar and Wark abstained.

Also on Thursday, the Design Commission reviewed:

Headquarters hotel

The first request for design advice for a new, massive hotel near the Oregon Convention Center was issued two years ago. As such, Thursday’s hearing was expected to be 鈥渕ore like a design advice request hearing,鈥� city planner Tim Heron said in his report on the project.

Now, the design should have a better chance of gaining approval when it comes back before the commission in a few weeks, Heron said.

鈥淲e hope to have a really successful Oct. 20 hearing,鈥� he said.

The 14-story, 600-room hotel will be on a superblock, Heron said. On the block next to it, a six-story garage will hold more than 400 parking spaces.

Design commissioners and the applicant, ESG Architects of Minneapolis, spent two hours discussing staff concerns. Among them were unresolved issues involving architectural coherency in respect to the Lloyd District as well as activation of ground floors and corners.

Southwest 11th Avenue and Alder Street hotel

A 15-story, 220-room hotel is proposed for the corner of Southwest Alder and 11th Avenue in Portland’s West End. A design advice hearing had not been requested for this project, city planner Grace Jeffreys said, and Thursday’s hearing was its first design review.

The building is designed by SERA Architects to reach a height of 150 feet. City staffers have several concerns, Jeffreys said, about the design and quantity of canopies, the quantity of columns, other details such as ground-floor setbacks and accessibility of the hotel restaurant’s entrance to disabled individuals.

The project is scheduled to return for a second design review on Nov. 17.

The post Farewell, Temple building; hello, office tower appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

A 20-story hotel proposed for downtown Portland was criticized for being 鈥渢oo dark鈥� at a recent Portland Design Commission hearing, drawing comparisons to the Yard, a 21-story building close to completion at the east end of the Burnside Bridge.

It’s not the biggest controversy the project has faced. Designed by Ankrom Moisan Architects, the new hotel drew criticism from preservationists late last year because the project will require demolition of the three-story, 110-year-old Albion Hotel that houses the Lotus Cardroom and Caf茅.

Ankrom Moisan principal Murray Jenkins said at the time that his firm, serving as project architect, tried its best to save the Hotel Albion. However, the challenges were too great because the building had not been maintained. Jenkins said 3-D scans showed both internal and external unreinforced masonry walls in the old building were load-bearing and made reconstruction unfeasible.

The pending demolition was not mentioned at the June 16 design hearing. Instead, discussion referenced the fact that the Yard came under fire for not adhering to the design the commission approved, appearing much darker because of reduced glazing on its upper floors.

As a result, commissioners were hesitant to approve the new hotel until they had further evidence that it would not be a gloomy addition to Portland’s skyline.

Ankrom Moisan Architects’ Michael Great said the design team decided to go from light gray to burgundy for the color of the building’s brick 鈥� a change that drew Commission Chairman David Wark’s objection.

鈥淭he biggest challenge I see is color,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hat made you go to the dark side?鈥�

Great said that after walking the neighborhood where the hotel will be located, he observed there were many light-colored buildings, leading him to believe a darker building would be complementary and relate well to the historic Auditorium Building next to the site.

鈥淲e will make sure we get the glass right and then we can avoid the dark monolith buildings people are talking about,鈥� Great said.

But Commissioner Tad Savinar said the building was still 鈥渢oo dark,鈥� and Wark suggested it might be more interesting to have a grouping of light-colored buildings.

鈥淲e have lessons learned from the bridgehead project,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e’re much more reticent to approve dark buildings. The city doesn’t need another 20-story dark building.鈥�

Commissioner Jeff Simpson noted that reflective glass might not add a lot.

鈥淚’m not anti-dark buildings and you might have reflectivity, but we have a lot of gray days,鈥� he said.

Commissioner Julie Livingston said she liked the color of the previous design and suggested the design team come back with a light gray color for the brick, even if the color of bronze accents had to be adjusted.

City planner Hillary Adam also asked Great to come back with more detailed renderings that accurately reflect the color.

鈥淲e want it to be right rather than just making it through the day,鈥� she said.

In addition to new renderings and a lighter color, Savinar asked Great to include surrounding buildings in renderings for the project’s next hearing.

The current design calls for a 20-story, 225-room hotel attached to a three-story building with restaurants and retail space. The three-story building will have a green roof that slopes at an angle to become a green wall extending two floors down to an all-glass primary entrance on Southwest Salmon Street. A secondary entrance on Southwest Second Avenue will lead to a rooftop bar with terraces and a shallow pool.

Wark asked about maintenance of the green wall, which will extend down into the lobby area.

Kurt Lango of Lango Hansen Landscape Architects said the green wall will use a hydroponic felt system that comes in large sheets. He said the green roof will be planted with sedums and other low growing plants and the green wall will be mostly ferns.

Commissioners also discussed the composition of the building. Savinar said the design is 鈥渏ust not there,鈥� but Commissioner Jessica Molinar disagreed.

鈥淭he composition, for me, meets the guidelines,鈥� she said.

Livingston and Simpson also indicated that they would approve the design, and the project appears to be on track to pass when it comes back for review on July 7.

鈥淚t’s a grand improvement from the previous version,鈥� Simpson said.

Two apartment projects approved

Also on Thursday, the Design Commission took only about 20 minutes to approve the design of a 14-story apartment building at 1133 S.W. Market St. designed by SERA Architects and developed by M.A. Mortensen Development.

The 150-foot building will sit on a quarter-block and provide 146 residential units, 21 parking spaces with mechanical stacking, ground-floor office space and a fitness center that can be converted to retail. A rooftop amenity deck will include an eco-roof, fitness and common rooms, two stair enclosures, an elevator overrun and screened enclosure for mechanical units.

Commissioners also approved, with minor conditions, the design for a new four-story mixed-use building on a partial-block site fronting Northwest 23rd Avenue and Savier Street. Four small wood-framed buildings on the site will be demolished.

The project, designed by GBD Architects and developed by C.E. John Co., will have a second-floor roof deck for residents and provide 51 residential units over ground-floor retail with interior mechanical vehicle parking.

During the citizen comment period, Greg Tyson of the Northwest District Association complained about the 鈥渓ack of an attempt鈥� to save an old oak tree on the property that had been cut back for power lines over the years.

After considerable discussion, Simpson, a landscape architect, said since the city arborist rated the tree as only 鈥渇air鈥� and the tree had damaged the sidewalk that it should come down.

鈥淭he problem is that we have a project with a 100-year life with a tree that could come down in 15 years,鈥� he said.

The post Design Commission: planned hotel ‘too dark’ appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

In a last-ditch attempt to save the Ancient Order of United Workmen Temple building, planner and historian Matt Davis of Architectural Resources Group and historian Eric Wheeler appealed to the state. They submitted a report to the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and sought to learn whether the building is eligible for placement on the National Register of Historic Places.

鈥淲e can’t nominate it without owner consent, but we can check with SHPO and get their opinion,鈥� Davis said.

The reply came Feb. 23, in a letter from SHPO architectural historian Diana Painter. She wrote that she believes the 124-year-old building is eligible for the national listing, 鈥渇or its association with the AOUW, a rapidly growing fraternal order popular throughout the United States and the Northwest at the time. It may also be eligible 鈥� as the oldest extant fraternal building in Portland that was built specifically for this purpose.鈥�

Painter stated that the building is also 鈥渁n excellent and unusual example of the Romanesque Revival style in Portland. It may also be eligible as the work of a master.鈥�

She was referring to architect Justus Krumbein, who designed the Marquam Grand Opera House and Oregon’s state capitol.

鈥淲hile some credit is likely due Lionel Deane, who worked on the project while employed by Krumbein, it is also reminiscent of other buildings by Krumbein, such as the Marquam Opera House, in its exuberance and detailing 鈥�,鈥� Painter wrote. 鈥淎lterations to the building do not detract from its overall form and detailing, and the materials, workmanship and feeling displayed by this building.鈥�

Davis said he and Wheeler will discuss their report and SHPO’s response at the next Historic Landmarks Commission meeting on March 7. The report describes the building’s history, alterations and current appearance, Davis said.

鈥淲e are not under the illusion that suddenly the building will be magically saved,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t’s about giving the building its due. There’s been a lot of attention, but it deserves more.鈥�

The United Workmen Temple was designated as a local landmark in 1973, Davis said, but was taken off the list a few months later because the Historic Landmarks Commission objected to a partial paint job.

鈥淭hat would never happen today,鈥� he said.

Davis said he and Wheeler have two goals: to persuade Third & Taylor Development to reconsider its deconstruction plan and to underscore that many downtown buildings eligible for listing on the national register face the same danger.

鈥淭his won’t be the only time it will come up that a building as large and significant as the Workmen Temple can be completely demolished,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淚t leaves you wondering what other buildings in downtown Portland are at risk.鈥�

According to Peggy Moretti, executive director of Restore Oregon, only 2 percent of Portland’s eligible historic buildings are listed on the national register.

If T & T Development chooses not to keep the United Workmen Temple, Wheeler said he hopes that at least some history will be preserved.

鈥淥ur hope is that the design review process for the proposed new structures on the site would preserve/incorporate the historic fabric into the design for the new construction,鈥� he said.

The post Building doesn’t have ‘historic’ tag, but it could appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

Jeff Arthur is disappointed that deconstruction apparently is imminent for the 124-year-old Ancient Order of United Workmen Temple in downtown Portland. Arthur, a principal with Third & Taylor Development, said restoring the six-story building simply isn’t financially feasible.

鈥淭he intention was always to keep it, and we looked at a combination of adding onto it or building around it and keeping the fa莽ade,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut because of the height of the walls it was more difficult than some options and we finally came to the determination we may have to look at disassembling it.鈥�

Yet if the state and city offered financial incentives for historic restoration, Arthur believes that such assistance would allow a different fate for the United Workmen Temple.

鈥淭he short answer is yes,鈥� Arthur said when asked whether incentives would enable restoration of the building. He qualified his answer though, and said a restoration always is risky because of hidden costs.

鈥淢ore government incentives and assistance would certainly make (preservation of) more of these (historic) properties more feasible,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd with some 鈥� new codes being talked about we will be more of a conversation.鈥�

That conversation is becoming more prevalent. Portland’s hot real estate market has placed targets on many of its older buildings. And when developers weigh restoration against new construction, they must consider that the former is always more expensive.

Potential loss could be repeated

Both the United Workmen Temple and the 110-year-old Hotel Albion nearby are slated 鈥� but not yet officially scheduled 鈥� for deconstruction. T & T Development’s plans call for replacing the United Workmen Temple with a 10-story creative office building and replacing the Hotel Albion with a 20-story hotel.

Loss of the United Workmen Temple would be tragic for Portland, Restore Oregon Executive Director Peggy Moretti said, because it’s one of those beautiful old buildings that gives the city its special ambiance.

鈥淲e really do believe they create livable places,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t’s about place-making and seeing those places as creating quality of life and walkability and character. And they embody energy. They’re already green; they’re already built.鈥�

But unless financial advantages are provided for historic restoration efforts, more buildings like the United Workmen Temple are at risk of demolition, Architectural Resources Group principal Matt Davis said. Something must be done, he said, or Portland will lose its character.

鈥淭his is the first among many,鈥� he said. 鈥淎s more money is coming in, driven by the boom and profits, it’s made everyone sit up and take notice.鈥�

More governmental support sought

More conversations at the local level are in the works as the city places a greater emphasis on historic preservation. Brandon Spencer-Hartle, former programs manager for Restore Oregon, recently was hired as historic resources program manager for the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability.

Joe Zehnder, chief planner with BPS, said the city’s historic preservation staff had been cut in recent years.

鈥淒ue to years of budget cuts we were down to one staff person who maintained our basic functions,鈥� he said. 鈥淲ith hiring Brandon we are trying to rebuild this as a more complete program, and we had the mayor’s office support.鈥�

Moretti is eager to see action taken by Portland officials. Although the city does provide historic restoration projects some advantages through its zoning code, the lack of financial incentives discourages developers from putting those benefits to work to leverage federal preservation dollars, she said.

Also, Portland’s Historic Resources Inventory hasn’t been updated in decades, Moretti noted.

鈥淲e can’t protect what we can’t measure,鈥� she said.

An update of the Historic Resources Inventory is indeed planned by the city, Zehnder said. But first, the 20-year Comprehensive Plan must be updated.

鈥淭hen we can build more incentives into the code for historic preservation,鈥� he said.

Meanwhile, at the state level, Moretti said Restore Oregon in the next legislative session will push for a state rehabilitation tax credit. She said a bid to create such a tax credit (available in 35 other states) failed in the previous session because of belt-tightening measures taken by lawmakers.

Moretti also wants to see Oregon’s unique owner consent law repealed. The law states that a structure can’t be placed on a historic register without the owner’s permission. Owners can also summarily remove their property from the Historic Resources Inventory, which is what happened with the United Workmen Temple and the Hotel Albion. Only buildings listed on the national register are protected from owners’ decisions.

Market-driven projects pose threats

Historic buildings don’t just remind us of our past, but also help ensure our future, according to Moretti. Those properties provide a sense of place, and when they are dismantled a city can lose its reputation as one that cherishes its past, she said. Portland also will lose money if historic structures are taken down, she added.

鈥淲e see them as economic assets and one of the reasons that Portland is so popular, because it’s so hip and attractive,鈥� she said.

Arthur said he and Jack Onder, another T & T Development principal, want to save the United Workmen Temple. But restoration is not possible because of issues tied to seismic deficiencies and a lack of maintenance over the years.

However, T & T Development has delayed deconstruction plans 鈥� and Moretti hasn’t given up hope that the United Workmen Temple can be preserved.

鈥淚 think we are at this pivotal moment because of all the activity in the market and the decisions we’re making now are going to change the entire character of the city for better or worse,鈥� she said.

Architect Brian Emerick, former chairman of Portland’s Historic Landmarks Commission, said the pressure to develop in the current boom has had some good outcomes, such as renovations of historic properties in Old Town and Chinatown.

Unfortunately, he said, tearing down the United Workmen Temple makes financial sense.

鈥淲hen you look at the Workmen Temple 鈥� it’s probably 75 feet tall and the site will probably allow 150 feet or more 鈥� no matter how awesome that building is, it’s a small footprint,鈥� he said. 鈥淣o matter how nice it is it doesn’t make financial sense because they could build something twice as tall.鈥�

But Emerick still doesn’t want to see it go.

鈥淲e’re not going to save every single old building 鈥� that’s not practical for a lot of reasons,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut we should not be losing the Workmen Temple. It’s an irreplaceable asset and (losing it is) way beyond what we should accept as a community.鈥�

The post Green line divides restoration and demolition appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

Restore Oregon has dropped its appeal challenging plans for a major downtown hotel project, but the historic preservation group hasn’t given up its bid to save two century-plus-old buildings.

Developers Jack Onder and Jeff Arthur of T & T Development want to build a 20-story, 175,000-square-foot hotel on Southwest Salmon Street between Second and Third avenues.

The site includes the Ancient Order of United Workmen Temple at 915 S.W. Second Ave. The 124-year-old building has strong historic and architectural merit, preservationists say. The 110-year-old Hotel Albion 鈥� home of the Lotus Cardroom and Caf茅 鈥� also sits on the property.

But after the developers agreed to delay for 120 days their planned demolition of the buildings, Restore Oregon aborted its appeal to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals.

Peggy Moretti, executive director of Restore Oregon, said the group opted to drop its appeal to 鈥渆xplore (with the developers) alternative ideas to demolition.鈥� She said the developers could take advantage of tax credits to rehabilitate the Ancient Order of United Workmen Temple.

鈥淩estore Oregon is not of the mindset that thinks every single old building has to be saved,鈥� she said 鈥淲e know there has to be accommodation for growth.鈥�

But the Ancient Order of United Workmen Temple is 鈥渜uite significant,鈥� Moretti said.

鈥淥ur feeling is if this building comes down, it would be the most significant loss for Portland in over a decade,鈥� she said.

Neither building targeted for demolition is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Restore Oregon protested the removal of the buildings from the city’s Historic Resources Inventory.

T & T Development is moving ahead with its project, which also calls for 175,000 square feet of office space. The company on Monday applied for design review of plans for the project’s hotel portion.

T & T Development said in a statement that it appreciates Restore Oregon’s withdrawal of its legal appeal. The company also said that it hopes to preserve old bars and other Lotus Cardroom and Caf茅 features by incorporating them into the hotel.

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Two old buildings in downtown Portland have sat mostly vacant for decades, but a proposal to replace them with new structures is getting plenty of pushback.

The design for redevelopment of 7/8 of the block between Southwest Second and Third avenues, and Taylor and Salmon streets originally called for preservation of the 123-year-old Ancient Order of United Workmen Temple and the 109-year-old Hotel Albion. But at a recent design advice hearing before the Portland Design Commission, representatives of Ankrom Moisan Architects presented a new proposal wherein the two buildings would be demolished and replaced with a 20-story hotel and a 10-story office building.

Restore Oregon, a nonprofit, recently filed with the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals an appeal of the city’s decision to allow removal of the two existing buildings from its Historic Resource Inventory. That action was performed by the Bureau of Development Services, at the owner’s request, according to Restore Oregon Executive Director Peggy Moretti.

鈥淲e would love to see those buildings not come down,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd we would like to understand why in the world they can’t be integrated.鈥�

Restore Oregon also sent a letter to Portland City Council urging it to close a 鈥渓oophole鈥� in city code that allows owners to circumvent a 120-day delay for demolitions of historic buildings.

鈥淭he intent is to allow time for public input and exploration of alternatives to demolition,鈥� Moretti said. 鈥淭he fact that someone could just go and the same day they apply get a property removed is a direct contradiction (to city code) and is also counter to state code.鈥�

The Portland Historic Landmarks Commission also sent a letter to the Design Commission, calling the Temple building 鈥渙ne of the most architecturally-significant downtown buildings鈥� remaining from the 1890s.

鈥淔rankly, we have not seen the demolition of a historic resource of this caliber in our near-decade of tenure on the Landmarks Commission,鈥� the letter states. 鈥淚t is unprecedented and unthinkable that this would be allowed.鈥�

Murray Jenkins, a principal with Ankrom Moisan, told the Design Commission that as the firm evaluated possible preservation of the buildings, 鈥渃hallenges were great.鈥� He recounted some of the buildings’ problems.

鈥淭he Temple building is one of the tallest unreinforced masonry buildings in the city, and while it was under separate ownership, it had not been maintained or upgraded over the years and is in a bad state of repair,鈥� he said. 鈥淔loors three through six are still being used for storage, since the 1920s, and it’s also currently on the city’s dangerous building list.鈥�

Jenkins said that 3-D scans of buildings were performed and found that the Temple building was 鈥渂earing point loads versus spread footings.鈥� The Hotel Albion, referred to throughout the meeting as the Lotus building because the Lotus Cardroom and Caf茅 operates on the first floor, also showed structural limitations, he said.

鈥淚n the Lotus building we learned that there were load-bearing masonry walls internal to the building footprint,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o not only external walls were load-bearing, but we also had internal load-bearing masonry walls. This unfortunately led us to the conclusion that reusing the existing Lotus (building) was not feasible.鈥�

But Jenkins made clear that he and others from his firm were looking for direction as to how to proceed because of both buildings’ structural problems.

鈥淭he challenges we face with these buildings are as tough as it gets,鈥� he said.

Michael Great, also a principal with Ankrom Moisan, told the commissioners that his firm’s preference would be to save the two buildings. However, he added that the new design, although 鈥渘ot fully vetted,鈥� would provide much more flexibility.

鈥淲hat we’re asking you today is for your feedback on design direction,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e want to listen to what you have to say and further evaluate our choices. We understand there is great value in trying to retain the Temple (building).鈥�

Commissioner Jeff Simpson said he would support any attempt to save the two buildings, but understood their lack of structural integrity. He asked if some of the Temple building’s original features 鈥� such as skin and materials 鈥� could be retained.

Great replied that would be difficult because of the six-story, unreinforced masonry structure’s substantial height.

鈥淚t would be a very complicated solution to maintain the facades,鈥� he said.

Commissioner Tad Savinar asked if the Hotel Albion had any current uses.

鈥淣o, everything is empty above the first floor,鈥� Great said. 鈥淚t is an unserviceable and unusable building from an occupant comfort standpoint. The current owner has not found a use for it that’s appropriate, and the upper floors have not been used for at least 50 years.鈥�

Commissioner Don Vallaster said he would rather see the Hotel Albion saved because it is only three stories and would be simpler to work with.

鈥淚 don’t think the Temple building is going to be a big loss,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t’s kind of like Centennial Mills. It’s old (and) it’s there, but what are you going to do with it? Maybe it’s time to move on.鈥�

Commission Chairman David Wark and Savinar both favored saving the buildings. Wark said he would 鈥渁bsolutely 100 percent prefer restoration over demolition.鈥�

Savinar criticized the lack of detail in the proposal for the new buildings and said that he would have high expectations for any design calling for replacement.

鈥淚f you’re going to tear down a historic building, you’d better come back with something great,鈥� he said.

The project is still in the design advice stage and no date has been set for its next appearance before the Design Commission, city planner Hillary Adam said.

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