143RD YEAR, NO. 210
DailyAstorian.com // WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27, 2016
ONE DOLLAR
SPORTS: AREA BATS IN FULL SWING PAGES 5A & 7A
Tiny lodges may land in Hammond
Camping resort
is in early stages
near marina
By ERICK BENGEL
The Daily Astorian
AMMOND — A grassy fi eld overlook-
ing the Hammond Marina could become
the site of a proposed vacation resort —
not a garish condo-style behemoth but a
quaint, quirky enterprise called Harborview
Resort.
Last month, the fi rst piece of the resort —
a traditional two-story structure called Har-
borview Lodge — opened to guests on Jetty
Street.
The rest would comprise a set of three yurts
and three mini- lodges — arranged east-to-west
in alternating sequence — plus another small
lodge converted from an antique tugboat.
“At fi rst, I was going to do all mini- lodges,
then I got to thinking: A couple other alter-
natives would be appealing to people,” said
Marlin Larsen, the sole developer who lives
in Roseburg and has owned property in Ham-
mond since the 1980s.
Larsen’s mini- lodges — classifi ed in Ore-
gon as “park models” — are designed as cab-
ins that sit on trailer frames. Once built, they
would come in different sizes, styles and price
ranges, and sleep four to six people.
A mini- lodge already fi nished includes a
toilet, shower and kitchenette, wood paneling,
cobble -wood fl ooring and a table made of old-
growth myrtle wood that folds up against the
wall.
Anyone who frequents Fort Stevens State
Park should have a pretty good idea of what
the yurts will look like: circular dwellings for
four to six vacationers seeking an experience
“half a step above camping,” Larsen said.
Each structure will incorporate natural
design features. Larsen plans to put in parking
and a central restroom, but the vast majority
of the almost-acre property will remain open
space.
“I don’t want to have something that’s
super crowded,” he said. “I want people to
enjoy the kind of openness and ambiance that
exists here.”
Company seeks to
terminate sublease deal
H
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian
Marlin Larsen stands inside one of the mini -lodges on his Hammond property near the
mooring basin.
Oregon LNG sent a notice to the Port of
Astoria last week seeking to terminate its
sublease of land on the Skipanon Peninsula.
The Port leases more than 90 acres of
fi lled and submerged
lands on the peninsula
from the Department
of State Lands, sub-
leasing it to Oregon
LNG . The company
was trying to build a
highly controversial
liquefi ed natural gas
export terminal, but
nixed the project ear-
Jim
lier this month.
Knight
“With this notice,
neither the Port nor
Oregon LNG has any further obligations
under the s ublease a greement,” wrote Rich-
ard Glick, an attorney for LNG Develop-
ment Co., doing business as Oregon LNG, in
a letter dated Thursday. He asked the Port’s
Executive Director Jim Knight to sign an
agreement acknowledging the termination of
the sublease.
See LNG, Page 10A
Photos by Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian
ABOVE: A view of the inside of one of the mini -lodges. The lodge features a bunk bed,
kitchen, full bathroom, and fold out dining room table. BELOW: One of the mini-lodges
sits on Marlin Larsen’s property near the Hammond Mooring Basin.
‘I want people to enjoy the kind of
openness and ambiance that exists here.’
Early stages
A retired medical lab director and con-
sultant, Larsen got the idea for Harborview
Resort from Caravan, the tiny house hotel in
Portland’s Alberta Arts District.
Oregon
LNG asks
Port to let
them go
Marlin Larsen
sole developer who lives in Roseburg and has owned property in Hammond since the 1980s
College
singles out
Breitmeyer
for president
Contract talks begin soon
See HAMMOND, Page 10A
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
The Clatsop Community College Board
of Directors unanimously voted to offer
Christopher
Breit-
meyer the president’s
position
Tuesday
night.
Breitmeyer, 49, has
been the vice presi-
dent for academic and
student affairs at St.
Charles Community
College northwest of
St. Louis since 2012,
and the college’s dean
Christopher
of math, science and
Breitmeyer
health since 2008.
The college board chose him over fi nal-
ist Glenn Smith, the executive vice pro-
vost for student services and enrollment
management at Concordia University in
Portland.
See CCC, Page 10A
A nod to whimsy is coming soon to Banker’s Suite
New museum to open
downtown in June
By DERRICK DePLEDGE
The Daily Astorian
Blending luxury with whimsy, the
Banker’s Suite will get rebranded in June
as a museum with curios dating back to
the 1850s.
Trish Bright, who owns the stylish
property on 12th and Duane streets with
her husband, Walter, said the space will
have beadwork, wooden masks, vin-
tage clothing, classic souvenirs and an
old -fashioned candy counter.
“A lot of odd things,” Bright said.
“There’s going to be some things that a
lot of people have seen before, but a lot of
things that no one has ever seen before.”
The Museum of Whimsy is the latest
incarnation of an American Renaissance
building with roots in the 1920s. The for-
mer Bank of Astoria has been a day spa, a
luxury apartment and a grand ballroom, but
has mostly stood as an architectural relic.
Bright said she plans to charge admis-
sion to the museum and offer the prop-
erty for rent for parties. The couple had
previously advertised the apartment and
ballroom for overnight stays, private par-
ties, wedding receptions, rehearsal din-
ners and corporate events.
“The building itself is part of the tour,
because it is such a beautiful building,”
Bright said. “So many people have been
in it when it was bank in the ’70s. We
want to have the whole renovation project
described.”
Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian
See BANKER’S SUITE, Page 10A
The Banker’s Suite downtown will become the Museum of Whimsy.