A6
THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, JANUARY 20, 2022
Heritage Square: Construction could start in August 2023
Continued from Page A1
as some aff ordable housing
needs.”
The mayor said the project
will fi nally address a pressing
community need by also tak-
ing some homeless people off
the streets and into permanent
supportive housing.
The City Council will con-
sider entering into the agree-
ment with Edlen & Co. during
a meeting on Feb. 7, as well as
code changes to enable devel-
opment at Heritage Square.
To apply for the state’s
aff ordable housing funds this
year, the developer must have
“property control,” such as an
option to purchase or a pur-
chase sale agreement, by time
of the application deadline in
the spring. If the city signs
the agreement and the team
secures state funding this year,
construction could start in
August 2023.
Scenarios
Edlen & Co.’s team part-
nered with several local
interests , including Clatsop
Behavioral Healthcare, to
design two scenarios for the
block between 11th and 12th
streets bordered by Duane and
Exchange streets.
The fi rst scenario involves
53 to 75 workforce housing
units, depending on whether
the building is three or four
stories tall, along with 55
parking spaces and a ground
fl oor devoted to a mix of res-
idential uses and common
rooms.
The second scenario
involves 44 to 66 workforce
housing units with common
areas on the ground fl oor,
retail concentrated near the
corner of 12th and Duane and
a possible child care facility at
12th and Exchange.
Both scenarios would
target households earn-
ing between 60% to 80% of
the county’s median family
income, which for a house-
hold of one would be some-
one who earns between
$14.74 and $19.65 an hour.
Two-thirds of the units in
both scenarios would be stu-
Lydia Ely/The Astorian
Signs announcing a public hearing on Feb. 7 to review potential code changes are posted at
Heritage Square.
dios or one-bedroom apart-
ments. The rest would be two-
or three-bedroom units.
Both scenarios include
a separate four-story build-
ing on the smaller lot at 11th
and Exchange in partner-
ship with Clatsop Behavioral
Healthcare, Clatsop County’s
mental health and substance
abuse-treatment provider.
Amy Baker, the agency’s
executive director, said the
building would house clients
who are part of the Open Door
program, which provides the
most intensive wraparound
services. She said between 70
and 80 people participate in
the program at a given time.
Offi ces for the Open Door
program are planned for the
ground fl oor, with 33 micro
units on the upper fl oors.
Baker said housing has
been the biggest barrier in sup-
porting these clients. She said
the offi ce for the program was
located at 12th and Exchange
for more than a year and most
people did not know it was
there, so she expects the pro-
posed location will also be
quiet.
“If we do our job right,
you’ve got a bunch of folks
there who feel like they are
responsible to one another, and
that they’re responsible for the
quality of the living arrange-
ment and the building itself,”
Baker said. “There’s a lot of
models that have done this
in other regions, and they’ve
done it very successfully.”
The building would not
include parking, since the
agency’s clients typically do
not drive. The micro units
would be priced very low, at
about 30% of area median
family income, using proj-
ect-based housing choice
vouchers.
City Councilor Tom Hil-
ton, who voted against mov-
ing forward with the Edlen &
Co. concept, asked why the
Clatsop Behavioral Health-
care piece has to be part of the
project. He asked if housing
for the agency can go some-
where else so market-rate
housing can be built on the
site instead.
Income range
Jill Sherman, of Edlen &
Co., said the team proposed
using income averaging to
make the project more aff ord-
able while serving a broader
range of incomes.
With income averaging,
she said, you can receive tax
credit equity for all the units
if the average aff ordability is
at or below 60% area median
income. Because the project
would include Clatsop Behav-
ioral Healthcare units at 30%
area median income, the proj-
ect can have units for people
earning wages up to 80%, she
said.
However, several leaders
in the business community
took issue with the income
range, arguing that the proj-
ect should address workforce
housing for people earning
higher wages.
David Reid, the exec-
utive director of the Asto-
ria-Warrenton Area Cham-
ber of Commerce, and Walt
Postlewait, a developer and
the executive vice president
for nonprofi t lender Craft3,
were on the panel that recom-
mended the Edlen & Co. pro-
posal to city councilors.
While both are support-
ive of the project, they believe
the income range misses the
mark.
Reid said people work-
ing for many of the major
employers downtown earn
too much to qualify for hous-
ing with a cap of 80% area
median income.
“Even though time is of
the essence on the front end,
Tide gate: ‘This is a long-standing problem’
Continued from Page A1
Nearly two decades
ago, the Port teamed with
the Columbia River Estu-
ary Study Taskforce to make
improvements to the Vera
Slough tide gate, includ-
ing raising the water level to
add acres of wetlands. How-
ever, the raised water tables
are now “dangerously high,”
Matt McGrath, the Port’s
deputy director, said.
McGrath, who presented
a picture of signifi cant fl ood-
ing near the Airport Industrial
Park to the Port Commission
on Tuesday, said that while
the problem is not new, the
recent fl ooding is indicative
of the challenge .
“In our mind, what is hap-
pening is the Vera Slough tide
gate, because it raised the
water table so much at the air-
port, it’s causing the erosion
of a lot of the infrastructure
– you’re talking runaways,
all of those types of things,”
McGrath said in an interview.
“Especially if we’re looking
at development land … that’s
really not good for the indus-
trial park, especially when
people are putting millions of
dollars into their infrastruc-
ture out there.”
Scoular is midway through
the construction of a fi shmeal
processing plant at the Air-
port Industrial Park. The Port
hopes to bring in more busi-
nesses in the near future.
Port Commissioner Dirk
Rohne said during Tuesday’s
meeting that he spoke to the
installer of the tide gate, who
has made improvements to
the concept in regard to evac-
uating water more effi ciently.
McGrath is unsure about
the solution or cost to fi x
the tide gate , but expects the
grant and ensuing study to
answer those questions.
“This is a long-standing
problem that hopefully the
Port will make progress on
through this grant,” Shane
Jensen, the Port’s grant con-
sultant, said .
A t Tuesday’s meeting, the
Port Commission also raised
several base rates at the air-
port that hadn’t been adjusted
for about three decades.
The landing fee for aircraft
will be raised to $2 per 1,000
pounds over 10,000 pounds.
The original fee was set at 50
cents.
The callout fee for retriev-
ing Port staff to fuel after
hours will also be raised to
$50 per hour, with a two-hour
minimum. The fee was origi-
nally $50 per callout, regard-
less of the time span.
The new fees were
approved unanimously .
Port c ommissioners also
voted to raise the overnight
parking fee for aircraft from
$5 to $10 . The motion was
approved 4 to 1, with Com-
missioner Robert Stevens
voting against it.
that’s not a good reason to
rush into this,” Reid said. “I’m
afraid it’s going to turn into a
trap for City Council in that
you were looking for a hous-
ing project, you sought work-
force housing, you’re not get-
ting that.”
Postlewait advocated for
capping the cost of rent, not
income, so the housing is
accessible to more downtown
workers.
He suggested the city
search for another partner that
can design a project for work-
ers earning higher wages.
Others, including Kevin
Leahy, the executive direc-
tor of Clatsop Economic
Development Resources, and
Chris Nemlowill, the owner
of Fort George Brewery, also
advocated for an option that
includes workers earning
higher wages.
Leahy said businesses like
Fort George and Buoy Beer
Co. are part of the Clatsop
Enterprise Zone, which off ers
tax breaks on new investment
in return for creating new jobs
that pay at least 150% of the
average county wage. Their
workers would not qualify
for the housing at Heritage
Square, he said.
Jessamyn Grace West, the
executive director of the Asto-
ria Downtown Historic Dis-
trict Association, also served
on the panel that selected
Edlen & Co. She said the
county’s 2019 housing study
showed that housing for the
proposed income range is the
greatest need.
Determining the greatest
need is one consideration, she
said.
“The other half of that is
how this can get funded,”
West added. “So if either of
these proposals were to serve
higher incomes, the fund-
ing from the state and fed-
eral levels is not going to be
available.”
Jones echoed West’s point,
adding that while the proj-
ect is not full spectrum work-
force housing, it does serve
the workforce.
“You’re not going to have
police offi cers, for the most
part, or experienced fi refi ght-
ers or school administrators
or radiologists that are going
to qualify for this housing,
but it will cover a segment of
the workforce that does need
housing,” the mayor said.
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Columbian: ‘Has a clientele that we hope to maintain and grow’
Continued from Page A1
Back then, Hulsey said
the cafe was unique because
it had an espresso machine,
didn’t allow smoking and
served fresh fi sh — rather
than deep fried — bought
directly from boats and local
canneries.
“Because we built this,
I’m sorry to see it go of
course,” he said. “But no one
lasts forever.”
Hulsey hadn’t listed the
sale, and instead approached
several local business own-
ers directly about buying the
property .
He said the Allens were
the fi rst to respond, and he
is glad they asked him to
leave the decor. Hulsey has
removed some personal
items, but will be sorry to part
ways with some others , like
the Ouija b oard table, which
he thinks belongs in the Voo-
doo Room.
He said he’s happy that the
staff , who he sees as family,
will be staying on.
Hulsey will continue to
make the jellies that have
been served with each meal
at the cafe, and plans on trav-
eling more with Fairchild, his
Lydia Ely/The Astorian
The Riviera Building includes the Columbian Theater, the
Voodoo Room and the Columbian Cafe.
wife.
Stephen Allen said he
hopes to carry on the previous
owners’ legacy, and has been
getting ideas and recommen-
dations from employees for
adjustments to the business.
T he theater plays sec-
ond-run movies three days
a week. Allen is considering
expanding to movies both
historic and newer, but said
there’s still a lot to plan.
“We’re trying to have
more movies that the com-
munity will be excited to
come and see,” he said. “We
want to expand on what he’s
been doing there, but we need
to fi gure it all out.”
One plan is certain,
though: they’ll be selling
Astoria Brewing’s beer. They
are looking into the potential
for a doorway to the brewery,
too.
“We’re very excited about
owning it. We want to carry
on what Uriah has created
over the years and not make
major changes,” Allen said.
“It certainly has a clientele
that we hope to maintain and
grow.”
Marco Davis, a massage
therapist and lifelong Astoria
resident, worked for Hulsey
in the cafe for more than 20
years. With the Riviera Build-
ing businesses, Hulsey and
Fairchild created a space that
felt like it accepted every-
body, he said.
“It was a safe haven for
a lot of us,” he said. “It was
the central heartbeat for
downtown Astoria for local
misfi ts.”
The Columbian Theater
stage was where Davis and
his friends found a home for
their performances — where
Davis hosted what became
the annual “Dragalution”
drag shows that drew large
crowds from many corners of
Astoria.
The Allens are known for
doing a good job at fi xing up
the buildings they own — and
certainly the Riviera Building
will need a lot of work.
But Davis and others hope
the Allens retain more than
just the eclectic aesthetics
that helped defi ne the Voo-
doo Room and the Colum-
bian Cafe spaces in particu-
lar. They hope the building
remains a space where people
can be themselves. A place
for the misfi ts.
Katie Frankowicz of
KMUN contributed to this
report.
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