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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 13, 2015)
10A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015 Photos by Joshua Bessex — The Daily Astorian Waiting on the river The Daily Astorian More than 10 ships were waiting to go upriver Thursday, likely because of port shutdowns during the labor dispute with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. According to Ship Finder at www.dailyastorian.com/da/ship-watch this morning, there were more than 40 cargo vessels moored be- tween Portland and the Mouth of the Columbia, with nine (in- cluding the Bunun Fortune) in front of Astoria. 3DFL¿F0DULWLPH$VVRFLDWLRQPHPEHUVDQQRXQFHG:HGQHV- day they were shutting down vessel operations Thursday, Sat- urday, Sunday and Monday to avoid paying longshoremen with holiday or weekend pay. Waldorf:%XLOGLQJZDVEXLOWDIWHUGHYDVWDWLQJ¿UHRI Continued from Page 1A footprint to Taylor’s Organiz- ing for Astoria page — quiet- ly popped up late last year. Intrigued, preservationists led separate tours of the Wal- dorf with a prominent local developer and an architect who each saw potential in rehabili- tating the derelict building. The Lower Columbia Preservation Society and oth- ers have appealed to the City Council not to raze the Wal- dorf. In conversations, on so- cial media and in letters to the editor, the momentum appears to have shifted over the past few months toward the belief that the hotel should be spared as a slice of the city’s historic downtown. “Over the last 30 years, this town has done amazing things. And I don’t see that we’re done with our work,” said John Goodenberger, a historic build- ings consultant. “There have been buildings that have been rehabilitated that we never thought would happen.” Goodenberger said the li- brary renovation does not have to be linked to the Waldorf’s demolition. He said the library could expand into its basement, its parking lot, the Elks building next door, or another location. The library could also move LQWR WKH ¿UVW ÀRRU RI WKH :DO- GRUIDQGOHWWKHXSSHUÀRRUVRI the hotel remain. “When I look at the Mer- wyn, I think about the fact that it has this potential that I’m not giving up on,” he said. “I’m not giving up on Astoria. I’m not giving up on Astoria’s revital- ization.” Goodenberger said the Waldorf has had a reputation of being “unsavable, whether that’s accurate or not. “So as long at that repu- tation is there, you’re scaring away potential private develop- ment.” Photo by Jeff Daly This is the view from a room on the third floor. The library roof is in the foreground. Almost all of the rooms on the west side of the hotel have a view of the river and the Astoria Bridge. detailing in the downtown his- toric district. Long past its prime, the ho- From the ashes tel was renamed the Waldorf Built in 1926 during Asto- in 1980 and used for low-cost ria’s rebirth after the devastat- housing until it tumbled into LQJ¿UHRIWKHIRXUVWRU\ disrepair and was closed for Merwyn is considered one of code violations in 1989. the best examples of Late Com- Over the past 25 years, the mercial style with Renaissance WURXEOHG1RUWK%HQGQRQSUR¿W A’Toll Inc., the city through the Community Action Team, and the Clatsop County Housing Authority looked at different scenarios for the Waldorf that never penciled out. The options included low-income housing, student housing, a senior center with senior housing, and a condo- minium or boutique hotel with RI¿FHVSDFH During the same time frame, private developers restored the Hotel Elliott, the Commodore Hotel and the Norblad Hotel and Hostel, yet no private de- veloper has taken a chance on the Waldorf. Renovation costs for the Waldorf, now owned by Groat Brothers Inc., a transportation DQG GHPROLWLRQ ¿UP LQ :DVK- ington state, are estimated at $4 million to $5 million. A California family that had owned the Waldorf wanted the Groat Brothers to tear down the hotel in 2012 — and the city was interested in acquiring the leftover property — but the Historic Landmarks Commis- sion rejected the demolition request. Architects and engineers who have inspected the Waldorf over the years have found that the structural frame is sound but the building is in a severely deteriorating condition. Portions of the hotel’s west wall have rotted and there are UHSRUWV RI VLJQL¿FDQW DVEHVWRV in the basement and walls near steam heating pipes. Jay Raskin, a Portland ar- chitect who has examined the Waldorf and who argued against demolition in 2012, said KLV¿UVWFKRLFHZRXOGVWLOOEHWR preserve the building. The downtown historic dis- trict, he said, is “all the build- ings together, working together. “So if you tear something down, it’s a tooth missing. It doesn’t look right. It ruins the historic character of the down- town.” Preservation, many who have looked at the Waldorf be- lieve, could mean that the hotel might sit vacant and languish for several more years until a public-sector solution is found, the real estate values downtown improve enough to lure private interests, or a wealthy benefac- tor with imagination steps for- ward. “It’s hard to do a building like that. I think that’s what people need to understand,” said Jim Tierney, the executive director of the Community Ac- tion Team. 1605 SE Ensign Lane • Warrenton, OR 503-861-1144 • www.lumstoyota.com $ 1 ,00 00 $1 0 0 P r re e s si i de d e nt n ts We W e ek Week e k en e n nd d Bo B onu o nu n u s Su S u bv Subv b v e en n tit i on bven o n Cas sh f fr r o om m T oyot o y ot oy o t a Mo M o t to o r Sa S a lee s (T Sale ( T MS (TMS M S ), ) n o ot t a p pp p li lica caa bl b l e fo f r c ca a s sh h b a ac c k o of f fers fee rs a nd n d m us u s t q qu u a al l iffy f foo r ca a sh s h t hr h r ou u g gh h T oy y o ott a F Fi i n na a n nc c iaal S Se e rv r ic i c e es s ( TF T F S) TFS) S ) ; ca c a nnot n n o ott b e coo m nn mb b in i n ed e d w i it t h Co o l ll l eg C e ge or o r M il i l i it t a ar r y R Re eba e ba b a te t e s. s . 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