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March 24, 2004
By Aimee L. Curl
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.
The project is an unusual one for Venerable Properties, known for its
historic redevelopment work on downtown landmarks like the Telegram Building
and the Skidmore Fountain Building.
While the original building on the 15,000-square-foot Irvington lot was
constructed before 1924, the structure that’s currently standing
there was completed in the late 1950s and has housed various grocery stores
ever since.
“This historic building is buried in non-historic skin,” said
Venerable Properties President Art DeMuro. “This is not classic
historic renovation but a redevelopment project.”
DeMuro said Venerable Properties plans an extensive remodel of the building
that will include tearing off the roof and replacing two of the walls.
The space will be gutted to house up to four tenants between 1,200 and
2,500 square feet in size.
DeMuro, who lives just three blocks from the market, has a personal stake
in bringing the corner back to life. He said the property has long lagged
behind the redevelopment of the surrounding area.
“This is one of the only commercial properties in the neighborhood,”
he said. “The residential stock has been improving and increasing
in value at a regular pace, but not this. This has been the laggard of
the neighborhood.”
Richard Levy, chairman of Irvington Community Association Land Use Committee,
speculated that the opening of Nature’s Northwest on nearby Northeast
Fremont Street and the remodel of the Lloyd District Safeway probably
contributed to the small grocery store’s recent struggles.
“The rows of shelves are practically empty. The meat case is empty.
I still remember when there was a butcher in the store,” he said.
Levy, a broker at Windermere Commercial who also lives just blocks from
the market, said it was one of the reasons he purchased his home more
than 30 years ago.
“You could walk to the grocery store and meet your neighbors there,”
he said.
Levy said increasing the number and kinds of services available on the
corner is a good idea.
I could see there is a really good future there for maybe some other kind
of professional services like dry cleaning drop off, a barbershop, a neighborhood
coffee shop,” he said. “It’s right on the bus route.
You could get coffee on the way to work and pick up milk on the way home.”
Levy said it’s important to the neighborhood for the development
to retain some sort of convenience store element.
“It’s nice to have a place to walk to, especially at a busy
bus stop,” he said. “The nice thing about the convenience
store that’s been operating there is that it’s open on all
of the holidays, so you can pick up cranberry sauce on Thanksgiving or
Christmas. It’s real convenient.”
Venerable Properties Vice President Craig Kelly said owners of the existing
grocery store have expressed interest in staying as part of the new development.
“We’re looking for a combination of tenants that would likely
include a grocery story element,” he said. “We want friendly
neighborhood businesses that can serve the neighborhood, like a coffee
shop, a café, a pizza place or a hair salon.”
The Fifteenth Avenue Market will close next month. DeMuro said they hope
to begin construction on the property July 1, with completion schedule
for early fall.
While Venerable Properties has spoken to some potential tenants, DeMuro
said it’s tough to sell the building right now.
“What it is today is not what it will be,” he said.