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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 23, 2012)
Village Market Success New Columbia grocery strives fo r good health Rose Festival Time Holiday weekend to open waterfront fo r CityFair See story, page 3 See Metro, page 13 if Jfarilanir ® hserlier 43 Read back issues of the Portland Observer at www.portlandobserver.com ‘City 0 /Roses’ Volume XXXXI, Number 19 Wednesday • May 23, 2012 Established ¡fl 1970 i /yri* < ci Committed to Cultural Diversity ^ ^ rM itv s e w ic e Landmark /o r JJrJyan Liyiflg Developer buys Washington High for housing L ee P erlman T he P ortland O bserver by The former Washington High School in southeast Portland is on course to come alive once more, but this time as a center for urban living. A local company known for pre serving historic buildings has pur chased the abandoned school from the Portland School District and plans to keep the four- story build ing standing by renovating the structure into housing. Exact plans for the remodel will take months of study, but some th in g s are now clear: one o f Portland’s largest and oldest school buildings, vacant since 1982, is now in the hands of someone who wants to keep it standing. The School Board last month unanimously agreed to sell the build ing for $2 million to developer Art DeMuro, owner of Venerable Prop erties, on the condition that he can preserve the 112,000 square foot structure and use it for housing. Venerable will have nine months to pursue “due diligence,” which will include pursuing ways to make the project work financially. While DeMuro said he is commit ted to the housing conversion, “What form that will take, I don’t know,” he told the Portland Ob server. He said the pool of possibilities includes rental versus ownership suites, single rooms or larger family units, market rate or subsidized hous ing, or a mix of housing types. DeMuro said he will adhere to the wishes of the school district and neighborhood advocates who want to see the building nominated for national historic designation, either photo by M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver Art DeMuro of Portland and his company Venerable Properties has purchased the abandoned Washington High School in southeast Portland from the Portland School District and plans to renovate the four-story building into a housing complex. One o f our mandates with Portland Public Schools is that we nominate the building fo r national historic designation, either as a landmark or as a contributing structure. - Art DeMuro, owner of Venerable Properties as a landmark or as a contributing current use,” DeMuro said. structure to a future Buckman His Washington High School was toric District. combined with the defunct Monroe This means, in effect, that the High School and renamed Wash school ’ s 600 seat auditorium will be ington-Monroe before both schools preserved. “It is a character-defin closed in 1982. Since then, the build ing feature, but not necessarily in its ing at Southeast 14th and Stark and has been used for a variety of other purposes. In 2003, it was declared surplus, and the following year a citizen task force examined the 7.5 acre property and developed a mas ter plan for its use. Part of the site was set aside for a future commu nity center, part as public open space, and the rest, including the old build ing, was designated for sale for housing development. The city of Portland purchased the community center site, but does not have the funds to build a center, with an estimated cost of $40 to $60 million. At one point Brad Malsin and his Beam Development bid to acquire the housing portion, but the deal fell through. DeMuro and his Venerable Prop erties have specialized in restora tion of historic properties. He has served as chair of the Portland His- continued on page 7
