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February 3, 2006
A
conversation with Art DeMuro
Preserving the past
By
Kennedy Smith
The Venerable Group developer feels a loss when historic buildings
are razed.
Art DeMuro is a real estate man, but more importantly, he's a history buff. The combination of the two, says the president of Venerable Group, Inc., is perfect for Portland--a city that appreciates the connection between old and new development, a city that likes to show off its preservation efforts.
DeMuro, whose education was in history and whose profession is real estate, says it didn't take long before he combined the two areas of expertise. His company now is one of the top development firms dedicated to historic preservation in the state. Venerable Group is responsible for preserving and renovating the Skidmore Fountain Building at Southwest First Avenue, the Minnesota Hotel at Northwest Fifth Avenue and a host of others in and around the Portland metro area.
Most recently, DeMuro and his team have been ensconced in renovation efforts for the White Stag block at the west end of the Burnside Bridge. The Portland Development Commission recently gave DeMuro the go-ahead to begin transforming the three dilapidated buildings into what will likely become the University of Oregon's Portland extension.
DJC: How did Venerable Properties come into being?
Art DeMuro: I was head of a real estate company in Phoenix during the 1980s, and the last project I did there was a historic redevelopment in downtown Phoenix, converting an automobile showroom into artist studios. That's when I realized what I wanted to specialize in.
Because my two degrees are in history, it's always been the field that I enjoy, and I got occupationally channeled into real estate. So, here was this opportunity to merge both interests into one location.
When I decided to concentrate on historic preservation, I needed to move from a town which didn't have many historic buildings to one that did, so I picked Portland.
DJC: Was there a time in history when cities started looking a preservation as an asset to their cities?
DeMuro: Certainly, some cities are ahead of the curve, but there has been resurgence in historic preservation, I would say within the last 20 years, maybe 25.
The 1950s saw a lot of demotion that took place under the banner of urban renewal, in which old buildings were equated with dirty buildings and inefficient buildings. Modern was seen as good, so there were a lot of buildings that were taken down at that time and the erection of a lot of glass and steel office building, high-rises.
But the tax incentive programs that were instituted 20-plus years ago, as well as a cultural renaissance in the appreciation of preservation, have reversed that trend.
DJC: So it was more of a cultural change?
DeMuro: There are trends just like there are in fashion. There are trends in real estate.
The home that I live in, which was built in 1910, has some wonderful Douglas fir woodwork. When I bought it, it was painted because there was as trend, probably back in the '50s, that white is clean and bright. Who wants those dark, old wood walls and doors? Nowadays, people aren't painting those; they're removing the paint at great expense to restore that feel. So, it's a bit of a cycle.
DJC: Do you think the cycle will ever come back around to wanting to demolish, or is historic preservation here to stay?
DeMuro: Only a fool predicts that cycles have no end. I'm sure that this cycle will turn around at some point, but right now I can tell you that we're in a high period of marketing to people who appreciate historic space, and when we show space that has exposed brick walls or exposed ducting or fully exposed 10-foot ceilings, there's a lot of people who appreciate that.
DJC: When you're taking on a project, you're thinking about preservation and restoration, but also about bringing in modern aspects of a building, like sustainability features and other building codes. What are some of the challenges that go along with that?
DeMuro: There are modernizations which conflict with historic designs, and in some areas compromises have to be made. For example, (the Americans with Disabilities Act) requirements may say that a historic entry that has steps might have to be ramped, and that will change the exterior appearance of a building. Or, fire code requirements could say that a grand, open stairway will have to have some sort of fire-rated Sheetrock walls surrounding it. Corridors that have tracks and windows above the doors and single-panel wood doors might be required to have some sort of design adaption to them.
As preservationists, we try to overlay as much modern convenience as we need to meet code and to make the space marketable without destroying the basic fabric.
DJC: Is there a most important thing when taking on a project? Is there a mantra for preservationists?
DeMuro: Well, I'll speak for me rather than for the entire field. I will tell you that my mantra is to preserve as much fabric and as much original feel to the properties that I possibly can. So, I guess it's a goal of minimizing destruction, and that can be done. There are almost always alternatives that impact a property less.
DJC: Are there any buildings in the city, not necessarily that you're involved with, that you're keeping your eye on wondering what's going to happen to them?
DeMuro: Out of fear that they might get demolished?
DJC: Right.
DeMuro: Yes. Buildings that I'm frightened for include Centennial Mills. Portland had a working waterfront; that's part of its history. It had multiple mills on the riverfront, and I know that the mill is in decrepit condition, as many historic buildings are, but it would be a terrible loss to lose a structure of that stature. That's number one on my list.
The Globe Hotel is a recent one that has been thrown into the pot that might have to be sacrificed in order to make the Fire Station One feasible. So I fear for it.
Blanchet House is another; there's a proposal out for redevelopment there that would remove that building.
I also have some concerns for some of the mid-park blocks building like the Cornelius Hotel. There's been a proposal to connect the North Park Blocks and the South Park Blocks, and there were about 10 buildings, national-registered buildings, that were slated to be demolished to implement that plan. The plan seems to be dead, but I think I still would put them on the watch list.
DJC: So when a building is on the National Historic Register, it still has the possibility of being demolished?
DeMuro: Yes. That's a misconception that most people have. You can remove buildings from the National Register and demolish it.
Portland has taken a step to strengthen its preservation laws by passing the Historic Resource Code Amendment, which now gives the city the right to withhold demolition permits for a building which is on the National Register or within a historic district.
DJC: You used the word "frightened." Does it feel like a loss to you when something is demolished? Do you feel it emotionally, or is it more a feeling of disappointment?
DeMuro: Well, I don't have to go to therapy over it, but yes, it feels like a loss. Preservationists say all the time, and it's very true, that the loss of a historic district occurs one building at a time. People will says, "It's just one building in a district," to try to minimize its impact, but that's the way it is now.
I'm not talking about the urban renewal of the '50s, like in Detroit, where they identified nine blocks at a time and they bulldozed them all down. What happens now is that people demolish one building this year, and one two years from now, and pretty soon you've created this gap in the historic district, so it loses its feel and it starts to affect the value of the remaining historic buildings.
There are lots of concessions being made by people who demolish. They take pictures, they might remove pieces of the architecture to retain it, they might add a plaque, but it's an irreplaceable loss. So I do, in a professional way, I guess, mourn the loss.
It's a detraction to the city. It's also an affront to what I do. My career is dedicated to saving these buildings and emphasizing Portland's history, so I hate to see the tide wash the other way.
DJC: Do you have any insights on historic preservation outside of structures, like preserving roads, bridges, things like that?
DeMuro: I'm vice chairman of the Portland Historic Landmarks Commission, so we get briefed frequently by the PDOT (Portland Department of Transportation) or ODOT (Oregon Department of Transportation) regarding improvements that they're going to make that impact historic districts, so we were involved in improvements that are out there. We were involved in giving an opinion on the reservoirs at Mount Tabor and Washington Park, even the Paul Bunyan Statue when it was moved in North Portland, how it would be sited compared to the roadways.
As far as professionally, the only time where that's been an issue is a project we did in Astoria called Mill Pond. Part of the site was a historic roundhouse. Pieces of it were left, and we had a public roadway which we had to put through where the roundhouse used to be. To memorialize it, we designed the roadway to extrapolate the roundhouse through this public/private way and we created a park which had a roundhouse theme and a plaque with a picture of the old roundhouse and history.
DJC: The Portland Development Commission recently gave you the go-ahead to renovate buildings in the White Stag block for the University of Oregon. What are the next steps?
DeMuro: We have to still sign a lease with the University of Oregon, and they have a draft which they're reviewing. That needs to be done within the next month. We have to finalize the financing for the project and the New Markets Tax Credit investment. We have programming that we have to do for the university, to assure all the participants that the building will accommodate their desired uses. I guess that's the February to-do list.
DJC: In a broader sense, it must be pretty daunting to look at an old, rundown building and wonder, "How are we going to do this?" What are the natural steps from the original product to what you envision?
DeMuro: As you might have guessed, there are multiple processes going on simultaneously. One is the design process, which involves the architect doing conceptual drawings to determine how the building will be laid out, what style of renovation will be done. The architect will probably take six months to do all of the drawings, and each successive phase of drawings will be in greater detail, which will lead to construction drawings that will have the complete detail.
Simultaneously, you have a contractor who is doing in-process estimates all along, so you're always updated as to what the project is going to cost. Then, financing is usually an intense stage, so you're finalizing all your financial commitments, getting letters of commitment from a whole layer of lenders and equity investors. Early on, there are reviews that you have to take to the city to make sure you're in compliance and find out what the parameters are and keep the city informed through periodic reviews and inspections.
I'm the guy who tries to coordinate that. In some ways, the construction is the easy part, because you have a set of agreed-upon plans and the contractor becomes the lead act, and everybody is looking over his shoulder to make sure it's being built right. It's easier to manage at this point.
DJC: What do you think, development-wise, would be the most detrimental thing to happen to the city?
DeMuro: Well, not just preservation-wise but development-wise, I think I'd probably say the loss of the urban growth boundary. I think the UGB has been the single most effective planning tool to shape the development direction of this city. It not only prevented sprawl but has been a boon to historic preservation because it places greater value on properties within that core.
DJC: Is Portland pretty open to preservation efforts?
DeMuro: One of the reasons that I moved here was because Portland's population relishes historic buildings. I live in Irvington, and every spring we have a home tour, and 1,000 or 1,200 people pay $10 or $15 to walk through these homes. You have businesses like Rejuvenation or Schoolhouse Lighting that thrive on providing house supplies for these homes. There are lectures all the time about how to restore your historic rooms. You wouldn't see that in Phoenix or Houston or Los Angeles, I suspect. It's wonderful that it's part of our culture, our appreciation of the past. It's one of the things that makes Portland a soulful city.