2004 News

October 1, 2004: Landmark will get new lease on life: Two companies bid to revamp 103-year-old U.S. Custom House (Portland Business Tribune)
The government’s search for a developer to restore and reuse the U.S. Custom House seems likely to yield a bonus for the public — greatly increased access to the grand four-story brick and stone building on the North Park Blocks. The General Services Administration, which owns the 103-year-old Italian Renaissance Revival building at 220 N.W. Eighth Ave., will recommend a developer for the “adaptive reuse” project in about a month. Two finalists — Portland developer Venerable Group Inc., which specializes in restoring historic buildings, and the Pochter Group Ltd. of Northbrook, Ill. — will submit detailed rehabilitation proposals to the GSA by today’s deadline. Full article...

September 13, 2004: Saving Portland's Architectural Past: Proposed rules may preserve history but rankle owners. (Oregonian)
City planners are proposing new regulations to protect Portland's historic architectural gems from the wrecking balls of change. The regulations would allow the city to stop the demolition of buildings on the National Register of Historic Places and some structures in historic districts listed on the national register. Also proposed are incentives to help property owners find ways to preserve these historically significant buildings. Full article...

September 7, 2004: Developers view for shot at historic Custom House (Daily Journal of Commerce)
Local developer Art DeMuro of Venerable Properties and Keith Pochter of the Northbrook, Ill.-based The Pochter Group Limited have very different ideas about the best use for the historic Custom House, located in downtown Portland. DeMuro is contemplating a mix of uses, including space for the University of Oregon School of Architecture and Allied Arts, a community center, an art gallery and a ground-floor restaurant. Pochter, on the other hand, envisions an 82-room boutique hotel.
Located at 220 NW Eighth Avenue, the four-story, H-shaped, granite building was constructed more than a century ago. The U.S. Army Corps of engineers has occupied the building since the late 1960s. Full article...

September, 2004: The Brownfields Equation: Making projects add up (Public Management Magazine, International City/County Management Association)
Most local government managers would agree that economic growth and housing development are worthy of their time and resource investments. The ways in which these local government and community priorities are achieved, however, vary dramatically depending on available and competing demands for resources, past practices, creativity and cooperation among stakeholders, and other factors. Full article...

July 30, 2004: Evolving Pearl casts wider net: Urban jewel gleams and glitters, and there's more to come (Portland Tribune)
Standing in Jamison Square, the unofficial hub of Northwest Portland’s Pearl District, you can see at least four projects going up in all directions. And that area, around Northwest 11th Avenue and Kearney Street, is not the only fast-growing region of the Pearl District. In other words, the Pearl District beat goes on. In a few short years, a neighborhood that was once an industrial ghost town has transitioned into a thriving mix of upscale condos, high-end galleries and trendy restaurants. Full article...

June 6, 2004: Extreme makeovers: Residential projects renew industrial sites (Oregonian)
Stroll along Northeast 23rd Street in Astoria, and you may find yourself daydreaming that you’ve stumbled across a fishing village at the turn of the 20th century. Some homes are built on pilings over a pond; others have views of the Columbia River that also include the Astoria Bridge and the Washington shore. But the scene wasn't always so picturesque. Astoria’s 16-acre Mill Pond Village was developed on a former industrial site and —like residential communities Tualatin Commons in Tualatin and Tidewater Cove in Vancouver—is an example of what vision, funding and a commitment to environmentally responsible building can produce. Full article...

March 24, 2004: Venerable Properties to Renovate Fifteenth Avenue Market (Daily Journal of Commerce)
Venerable Properties has entered into a lease-purchase agreement with George LoPiparo Jr. of Platinum Properties for the Fifteenth Avenue Market building in Northeast Portland’s Irvington neighborhood. The company plans to gut and renovate the 6,800-square-foot building—located on the corner of Northeast 15th Avenue and Brazee Street— and rename the property Irvington Corner. Full article...

March 23, 2004: Ups-and-downs: Telegram Building boasts new generation of elevator technology (Daily Journal of Commerce)
It’s a one-of-a-kind building with a first-of-its-kind elevator.
The recently renovated Telegram Building at 1101 SW Washington Street in downtown Portland will sport the Gen2, a super-compact elevator system developed by the Otis Elevator Co. And it’s a first in the Pacific Northwest. Full article...

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