2003 News

August, 2003: Restoring the Telegram: Firms team to bring new life to downtown building. (Daily Journal of Commerce Magazine)
The historic Telegram Building is about to awaken from a deep lull. With its stately presence at the Southwest corner of 11th Avenue and Washington Street, the building has long attracted the attention of passersby but not many tenants over its lifetime.
"The building's been frozen in time to a certain extent," said Art DeMuro, president of Venerable Properties, the project's developer. "Our historic research shows that the building has spent more time vacant than it's been occupied."
Constructed in 1922 to house the Portland Evening Telegram newspaper, the 33,000-square-foot structure served the publication for eight years before the paper folded. A sporadic tenant history and multiple owners followed. Full article...

July 25, 2003: Reed College turns its back on historic preservation. (Opinion by Art DeMuro) (Portland Business Journal)
Reed College's decision to demolish the Sellwood Trolley Barns, instead of preserve them as neighbors wished is the prototypical example of historic property owners turning their backs on the public good. Reed had the option to preserve the property and sell for a handsome profit. Instead, the community will lose a treasure eligible for the National Register of Historic Places--five brick buildings with 400-foot-long spaces that soar over 30 feet high. According to the State Historic Preservation Office, the Barns are "one of only a few, and the most intact example of this building type in the state." Full article...

July, 2003: Rehabs: A sold Niche in a Shaky Market. (National Real Estate Investor)
Renovating historic buildings for re-use has never been easy. Everything about these projects, from acquiring properties to securing financing, can be more frustrating than putting up a new building. But, at a time when returns on other commercial properties are falling, historic rehabs are proving to be a healthy niche. There's strong demand for architecturally interesting urban spaces for retail, apartments and office. And, thanks to tax incentives, the returns can beat those of other commercial properties. Full article...

July 9, 2003: Telegram taking shape, seeking office tenants. (Daily Journal of Commerce)
It didn't take Art DeMuro of Venerable Properties long to decide he should get involved with the redevelopment of Portland's historic Telegram building. For DeMuro, who's passion, as well as his company's business, is revitalizing historic buildings, the Telegram represents a unique opportunity. The building, located at 1101 SW Washington St., was built to house the Portland Evening Telegram newspaper in the mid-1920s. It was named a National Historic Landmark in 1993. DeMuro said he couldn't explain the Telegram's "underutilized past."
"It's probably been vacant more than it's been occupied," he said. "I don't know why. The building has wonderful character elements." Full article...

June 11, 2003: Reed's attitude is more appalling than its decision. (Oregonian)
Reed College had the opportunity to endear itself to its Southeast Portland neighbors. But the wealthy institution, which prides itself on spitting out intellectually creative types, is acting like a scaredy-pants.
Despite months of reassurances otherwise, Reed recently decided to let the state's last remaining streetcar garage be demolished. The 92-year-old landmark, on the southern edge of the Sellwood neighborhood, is a rare legacy of the original streetcar system that was critical to Portland's early development. Full article...

June 4, 2003: Streetcar garage reaches end of line: Reed College decides the building must go to clean up contamination on the property; sold last week. (Oregonian)
A landmark 92-year-old former streetcar garage in the Sellwood neighborhood will be demolished, despite strong neighborhood opposition. Demolition will allow soil at the site to be cleaned of contaminants. It will also pave way for the development of up to 81 town house on the property, which Reed College sold last week for $2.5 million to developers Jim Morton and Drew Prell.... The college upset Sellwood leadership and some residents by negotiating with Morton and Prell, who planned to build new town houses at the expense of the approximately 90,000-square-foot garage. Neighborhood leaders earlier this spring pressed the college to sell the 2.5-acre site to Venerable Properties. That company also offered $2.5 million and pledged to save the former garage as part of a larger redevelopment. Full article...

May, 2003: 17,500-SF Lease Jumpstarts Telegram Building Renovation. (GlobeSt.com)
Venerable Properties has pre-leased 52% of the Telegram Building, kick-starting a multi-million renovation of the landmark property at Southwest 11th and Washington Street in Downtown Portland. Topped by a clock tower and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Georgian Revival-style, three-story brick building was built in 1922 for lease to the Portland Telegram, the City's evening daily newspaper at the time. The building and the rest of the block are owned by the Nathan Family, which hired Portland-based Venerable Properties in early 2001 to execute the renovation and lease up. Full article...

April, 2003: Historical Value: Government agencies work on changes to encourage renovation of old buildings. (Daily Journal of Commerce Magazine)
It takes a certain talent to walk through a dilapidated building and see its value. In a society that equates "new" with clean, shiny and efficient, old buildings often don't survive. But the Portland City Council is trying to improve the outlook for historic buildings and make them a vital part of the city's future. Building demolition has a significant impact on streets, neighborhoods and communities. Sparked by an interest in maintaining Portland's historical resources, City Council recently directed the Bureau of Planning to work with the Bureau of Development Services and Portland Development Commission. The agencies are to prepare a guide for building code regulations that govern historic resources with the intent to facilitate the redevelopment of older buildings.
President of Venerable Properties, Art DeMuro, participated in the recommendations as a member of the Mayor's Advisory Committee and member of the Portland Historic Landmarks Commission. DeMuro has studied national examples of urban renewal through demolition as well as looked into Portland's past. Full article...

March 23, 2003: Mill Pond Village utilizes brownfield site. (Daily Journal of Commerce)
Leave it to a resourceful city economic development department and an imaginative developer to come up with a scheme that transforms a vacant and contaminated mill site into a ritzy, upscale neighborhood.What began at the turn of the 20th century as the Clatsop Mill in Astoria will soon be Mill Pond Village, a 16-acre master-planned community. Full article...

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