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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2015
$VWRU ‘I want this building to
offer housing to whoever needs it’
&RQWLQXHGIURP3DJH$
Caruana said he envisions a
mix of hotel rooms and apart-
ments, all with access to the
lobby. In New York City, he
said, there are lots of coffee
shops and bars attached to ho-
tel spaces, a feel he would like
to bring to Astoria.
Astoria had a good sum-
mer, he said, but he wants
to see if the upward trend in
tourism has staying power be-
fore abandoning the building’s
current model for something
Àeeting. +e said the process
could start in ¿ve years and be
completed in seven.
Housing
After sitting vacant for
about years, the Astor +o-
tel opened in 1984 with 66
one-bedroom and studio units
subsidized by the Northwest
2regon +ousing Authority.
Seven of the units have be-
come market-rate since Caru-
ana and business partner Brian
Faherty bought the building in
2008.
When he was buying out Fa-
herty over the summer, Carua-
na also approached the Astoria
City Council for $150,000 in
urban renewal funds to help
restore the facade. The City
Council gave him the money,
with the caveat that 50 percent
of the apartment units remain
low-income.
“It doesn’t matter to me
where the money comes
from,” Caruana said. “I just
want good tenants.”
Artist’s rendering
Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian
Paul Caruana, who became sole owner of the Astor Hotel over the summer, has been
waterproofing and repainting, with the help of Pioneer Waterproofing Co. Inc.
Caruana said the housing
authority doesn’t have to pay
for empty units, adding he has
had up to 11 vacant units at a
time. Some of the units stayed
vacant for up to six months,
he added, while he turned
away prospective market-rate
tenants on a weekly basis.
Caruana and Faherty came
before the council in June
2011. They said the low-in-
come housing idea was hem-
orrhaging money, especially
after about $500,000 in water
damage from a resident fall-
ing asleep with a lit cigarette,
sparking a ¿re and activating
the sprinkler system. Carua-
na said he and Faherty paid
more than $100,000 of the
damage.
“I want this building to of-
fer housing to whoever needs
it,” Caruana said of the current
use of the building, adding he is
still working to improve his res-
idents’ quality of life, regardless
of how their rent is paid.
1RWWKH¿UVW
Caruana isn’t the only
person to have grand visions
for the Astor +otel building,
which opened as the +otel
Astoria Jan. 1, 1924, the tall-
est building in Oregon outside
of Portland. The restaurant,
150 guest rooms and 10 apart-
ments on top were initially
a big draw. But between the
construction of 8.S. +ighway
26, the stoppage of passenger
rail service to Astoria and the
rising popularity of motels
and other factors all led to the
operation becoming a money
pit.
The building changed
hands several times over, expe-
rienced a small revival during
World War II and was eventu-
ally declared off limits by the
military. In 1953, the owners
Paul Caruana imagines the dilapidated yet grandiose lob-
by of the Astor Hotel becoming a public gathering spot
with a coffee shop and bar. Caruana hired interior design
consultant Gabriela Helesicova to illustrate his vision,
down to the furniture he would like.
‘This building has been
plagued since the beginning.
I’m hoping not to be another
victim of it.’
Paul Caruana
sole owner of the Astor Hotel
painted the building pink and
renamed it the John Jacob As-
tor +otel, honoring the city’s
namesake. But by 1968, the
building was condemned as a
¿re and safety hazard.
“This building has been
plagued since the beginning,”
Caruana said. “I’m hoping not
to be another victim of it.”
+RRGWR&RDVW ‘If you don’t want us here, just tell us’
&RQWLQXHGIURP3DJH$
the City Council, petitioning
the city to change the date, pos-
sibly to June or September.
“Nobody argues the bene-
¿ts of +ood to Coast, and the
amount of money that teams
raise for charity. We appreci-
ate that,” Seaside City Coun-
cilor Randy Frank said. “The
only thing we’re asking is,
instead of creating a hardship
during this time year, why not
consider June?”
Organizers said they would
like to continue partnering
with Seaside, Floyd added,
but if there are irreconcilable
differences over which date
is best, it might bene¿t both
+ood to Coast and Seaside to
go their separate ways to pro-
tect their individual interests.
Floyd asked if council-
ors had an alternative date in
mind.
“That’s what we’re asking
you,” Frank said.
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Local business owner Dave
Posalski, whose restaurants
bene¿t from the event, said
there seems to be “an adver-
sarial relationship” between
the city of Seaside and the
organizers of +ood to Coast,
which is a wasted opportunity
for a fruitful partnership.
“You’re telling us: either
hold it that date or you’re go-
ing to go somewhere else,”
Posalski said.
“There’s a perfect oppor-
tunity to be able to say, ‘You
know what, we’re going to
partner with Seaside because
they’re so important to our
event. We know you’re hav-
ing a hardship, we’ll help you
through that.’ I think it’s a
R.J. Marx/The Daily Astorian
Seaside Mayor Don Larson speaks at the Hood to Coast workshop Monday night. Hood
to Coast Chief Executive Officer Jude Hubber, far left, and Chief Operating Officer Dan
Floyd, seated next to him, heard from some of the 87 community members in attendance.
perfect opportunity to be able
to say, ‘You know what, you
guys are telling me it’s the
best day for your event, make
it the best day for Seaside to
have the event, too,’” Posalski
said.
The chance of +ood to
Coast moving the race date is
slim, Floyd said, as the near-
ly 200-mile relay from Tim-
berline Lodge near Mount
+ood to Seaside involves 36
exchange points and multiple
jurisdictions. Fifty states, 35
countries and 20,000 people
would be affected, Floyd said,
including 3,600 volunteers.
“There are a lot of rea-
sons that we chose that date,”
Floyd said. “There are things
that we can change, but the
date needs to be consistent.
Led by you, this is the only
town that asked for a change.”
“The date change waxes
and wanes as a topic, so I’m
a little surprised you haven’t
gone back to see how it might
affect other jurisdictions,”
Councilor Tita Montero said.
Seaside is the only town
along the race path that has
asked for a date change, so
the organizers have not re-
searched what dates might
work for other groups and
communities, +ood to Coast
Chief (xecutive Of¿cer Jude
+ubber said.
Councilors and audience
members realized the dia-
logue may be at an impasse.
“If we go into discussions
for the next two years,” Mon-
tero said, “we have to go with
the expectation the date will
not change.”
“We’re giving you a two-
year notice to move the race
to somewhere else,” Council-
or Jay Barber said.
6XEFRPPLWWHHSODQ
Councilor Jay Barber sug-
gested creating a subcommit-
tee of representatives from
the city of Seaside, civic or-
ganizations, +ood to Coast
and other communities and
organizations affected by or
involved with the event. The
partners could work togeth-
er to come up with thoughts
about changing the date or ad-
dressing other issues.
Since Seaside is the one
seeking a change, not +ood
to Coast, the city should head
up the subcommittee and re-
search what other towns want,
Councilors Don Johnson and
Montero said.
Some audience members
questioned the point of a sub-
committee if +ood to Coast
organizers aren’t willing to
change the date.
Montero said the group
could improve communica-
tion and resolve issues with-
out the expectation +ood to
Coast will move the event.
While a date change is
highly unlikely, Floyd said
event organizers are willing
to help address citizens’ oth-
er concerns — such as trash,
noise levels, traf¿c congestion
and others brought to their
attention. During the event,
organizers provide a hotline
people can use if there is a
problem related to the event.
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Where would organizers
put the ¿nish line, if Seaside
no longer is an option, asked
John Chapman of radio sta-
tion KSWB.
“I’m not sharing that,”
Floyd said, adding they have
an alternative or back-up plan
for each exchange point on
the route.
Barber suggested an on-
going dialogue on the date
change. “Why don’t we sit
down and explore options
over a long haul?” he asked.
Frank said the conversa-
tion has been going on since
2009. +e said the city has met
with organizers about a date
change, without result.
“It’s not been two years,
not three years, but 15 years of
continuous debate,” Chapman
added. “I encourage you to lis-
ten to our business people.”
“The date, most likely,
we can’t change,” +ubber
said. “If we can’t come to
an agreement, I completely
understand. Just tell us. We
won’t be bad people, we’re
not going to come take this
place over. If you don’t want
us here, just tell us.”
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INMAN HOME
90516 Youngs River Rd., Astoria
Home sponsor: Dr. and Mrs. Miller
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