Portland observer., May 23, 2012, Page 7, Image 7

I I I
May 23.2012_______________________________
®l?» ^ortlauh (Ob SCWer______________________
Landmark^ Urban Living
c o n t i n u e d f r o m front
toric L andm arks C om m ission. He
has been seeking to develop the
property since 2008. A t one tim e he
proposed to use the low er floors o f
the building for com m unity center-
related functions; he says that this
is no lo nger an option. A t one point
the school district w as forced to
and its A rchitectural H eritage C en ­
ter, told the P ortland O bserver, “ I
think it’s great. Public agencies have
p roven to be p o o r stew ards o f h is­
toric reso u rces.”
B uckm an C om m unity A sso cia­
tion ch air S usan L indsay, w ho also
chaired the 2003 m aster plan p ro ­
cess, agreed.
for-profit venture.
“W e tried diligently to get part o f
the com m unity center into this build­
ing, and w e co u ld n ’t do it,” Lindsay
said. “The alternative is for the build­
ing to sit vacant for years until it
eith er b u m s dow n o r is to m d o w n .”
She noted that there have been
tw o arson fires at the school site in
the last few years.
“T h is is o u r best hope fo r the
building staying up, and even this
w ill be a difficult pro ject,” she said.
Indeed, D eM uro has repeatedly
com plained about the difficulty o f
finding a con stru ctio n schem e that
is both te ch n ically feasib le and
w orks financially.
“T his is a beautiful building w ith
Page 7
D u rin g an e a rlie r d is c u s s io n
about the property, he said, “the
gap betw een the cost o f this project,
and the realistic return on in v est­
m ent, is w ider than any project I ’ve
ev er been involved w ith.”
D eM uro hopes to narrow the gap
through, am ong other things, tax cred­
its for historic renovation and per­
haps affordable housing subsidies.
“T h ere’s been a lot o f deterioration,”
he said. “This is a very im portant
property, but it needs a lot o f love as
soon as possible. I’m enthusiastic
about finally getting started.”
« r
'■"’*****,
VoliHW
f
rQ^rns
'"’»’vtl'.j
Cenain
■ r tv t,
photo by M ark
4
W ashincton /T he P ortland O bserver
Exact plans for the remodel of Washington High School into
housing will take months of study, but Art DeMuro of Venerable
Properties is optimistic for finding a scheme that is both techni­
cally and financially feasible.
w alk aw ay from any possible deal
because o f its district-w ide p ro p ­
erty and financial issues.
“I appreciate V en erab le’s w ill­
ingness to w ork through a c h allen g ­
ing p ro c e ss,” said school board
m em ber G ary B elisle. “ W e ’re h o n ­
oring w hat the com m unity asked
for.”
A nother board m em ber B obbie
R egan added, “For years w e ’ve been
asked about this. It’s exciting that
w e have an outcom e that includes
h o u sin g .”
N ew s o f the Sale w as greeted
enthusiastically by cham pions o f
the o ld b u ild in g ’s p re serv a tio n .
C athy G albraith, executive directo r
o f the B osco-M ulligan Foundation
w onderful features, but w ith core
system s in serious need o f rep air,”
Lindsay said. “ W e ’ve been trying
to get a positive developm ent at this
site for m ore than a decade. A rt is
not only a quality developer, but he
has a passion for saving historic
structures that have fallen into d is­
repair.”
A sked h er preference for a d ev el­
opm ent schem e, she said, “It’s al­
w ays been that p art o f the housing
units w ork fo r fam ilies. T his is six
blocks from a grade school, tw o
blocks from a park, and next to a
future co m m u n ity c en ter.”
E ven so, there m ay be people
unhappy that a public resource is
being sold to a private party fo r a
ers°nstudcn
'e l‘ght on
'^ " y le a J c ,
h ,
Commited to Cultural Diversity
1 A
ly
I
V
4747 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Email-, ads@portlandobserver.com
1 Web: www.portlandobserver.com
■ Phone: 503.288.0033 Fax: 503 288-0015