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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2018)
STORMY WEATHER ARTS FESTIVAL COAST WEEKEND ‘Afterwards,’ a linocut monoprint artist Stirling Gorsuch will feature at Stormy Weather Arts Festival. 146TH YEAR, NO. 89 ONE DOLLAR DailyAstorian.com // ON HALLOWEEN, A MONSTER MASH Warrenton rehab project preserves affordable housing Apartments for seniors and the disabled By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Jazmyn Foster, center, and Clayton Murray, left, visit the Astoria 911 Dispatch Halloween Bag Handout in front of the Liberty Theatre on Wednesday. See more photos of the Halloween festivities online at DailyAstorian.com ABOVE: Adelia Lippold and Maevri Bergerson admire Hal- loween decorations at a home in Astoria designed by Ran- dy Harris and Lisa Morley. RIGHT: Zack Jamieson picks out some candy from Samuel McDaniel’s basket in front of his downtown storefront. WARRENTON — Some of the units in the Alder Court Apartments, a 40-unit complex in Warrenton man- aged by the Northwest Ore- gon Housing Authority, were close to uninhabitable. Forty years of weather had left many units slowly rotting away on the inside and out, endangering one of the region’s largest federally subsidized housing options for people over 55 and with disabilities. Contractors are now about a week away from fin- ishing a $13 million rehab and weatherization of the Alder Court, Canim and Wapiti apartments totaling 52 units in Warrenton, about half the city’s federally des- ignated low-income housing. The four buildings of Alder Court, built in a flood plain like much of Warren- ton, are elevated on a foun- dation of pilings digging 30 feet into the ground. “Two and a half years ago, there were certain areas in such disrepair of rot, just from the elements at the coast, that we did some tem- porary supports just so they made it until the normal proj- ects started,” said Spencer Bradley, a project manager with Bremik Construction. With an entire apartment building on top, the pilings could not simply be replaced. Bremik installed new steel pilings just outside the foot- print, with new crossbeams running underneath to help hold the buildings up. Contractors tore the out- side of the buildings down to the frames and installed new siding with a drainage plane underneath to let intrud- ing water flow out instead of pooling. Rotting outdoor wood features were replaced with pressure-treated boards and steel. A community garden was landscaped at the complex for a partnership with Ore- gon State University’s Exten- sion Service. The parking lot was repaved, and drainage basins replaced. The com- plex’s community center was upgraded with new furniture and computers to allow resi- dents nearby internet access. Inside, the apartments were gutted down to the frames and floorboards, with new insulation sprayed into the walls, floors and ceil- ings to better hold heat. Rotting drywall and floors were replaced. Contractors installed energy efficient appliances and LED lighting, while improving ventilation and replacing carpets with vinyl. High-contrast walls were painted to help seniors aging in place navigate. Bremik went through one building at a time to mini- mize the impact on residents, who were relocated to hotels, vacation rentals and with family during construction. See HOUSING, Page 8A NW Natural moving to Warrenton Influenced by tsunami concerns By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian NW Natural Gas Co., a local natural gas provider, is joining the migration of busi- nesses and essential services to higher ground out of the tsunami inundation zone in Warrenton. The utility, located along Marine Drive in Uniontown, recently closed with Warren- ton Fiber on 5.3 acres along Dolphin Avenue just north of the regional Oregon State Police headquarters. Con- struction is scheduled to begin in 2020. The utility has been located in Astoria since the mid-1960s and has about 11,000 customers in the region. Daphne Mathew, a spokeswoman for NW Nat- ural, said the move is about getting to higher ground and a more efficient space. “We used to need more space because customers used to physically come in to pay their bills, and we used to have a gas appliance show- room area,” Mathew said. “So the newer space we’re moving to will be smaller and better accommodate our eight employees, vehicles and equipment.” NW Natural’s move fol- lows the state Department of Transportation, the Ore- gon State Police, the Clat- sop County Sheriff’s Office, Medix Ambulance Service and Clatsop Care Health Dis- trict’s memory care center to Dolphin Avenue. Wa r r e n t o n - H a m m o n d School District will pur- chase a new master campus from Warrenton Fiber along the roadway if a $38.5 mil- lion property tax bond passes Tuesday. See NW NATURAL, Page 8A Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian NW Natural Gas Co. is buying a 5.3 acre parcel of land north of the regional headquarters for the Oregon State Police along Dolphin Avenue in Warrenton.
