Back to News Index

Thursday, March 13, 2003

By Aimee L. Curl

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.

Located on the banks of the Columbia River on the eastern edge of Astoria, the development is designed to re-create the feel of an old fishing village. All 86 homes will be built on pilings, with the majority of them either fronting the Columbia River or lining the 3-acre pond.

Leading the project is Art DeMuro, president of Venerable Properties in Portland. The company purchased the property from the city about five years ago.

"Astoria is one of the most historically intact communities in the state," he said. "It was important to us to create a style, to evoke feelings of a turn-of-the-century fishing village. This isn't supposed to be Cannon Beach and it's not Beaverton. It needed to have a bygone-era feeling to it."

The project is a bit of a stretch for DeMuro's company, which specializes in redeveloping historic buildings, mostly in the Portland area. This is the largest residential project ever undertaken by Venerable Properties.

Construction on the infrastructure of phases 1 and 2, which makes up about two-thirds of the property, was recently completed. all but two of the 16 residential lots in phase 1 have been sold. Five homes have been completed and three are under construction.

The lots are for sale for between $32,000 and $90,000. The homes have a wide price range, from $150,000 up to $400,000.

DeMuro said construction wouldn't begin on phase 3 until the bulk of the lots in the other phases have sold.

DeMuro is optimistic despite the fact that sales have been slow going.

"This many lots are not going to be absorbed overnight in Astoria," he said. "The community has been plagued with stagnant growth for decades."

There are signs, though, that this trend is turning around.

The recent addition of a six-screen movie theater, improvements to Marine Drive, plans for a 58,000-square-foot Safeway shopping center and a major expansion at the Columbia River Maritime Museum are all good indications, DeMuro said.

The new Safeway will be located about four blocks from the village.

"Everything's turning around down there because of Mill Pond. I think it's becoming an anchor for people who want to invest," said Jennie Hillard of Area Properties, the listing agent for the development. "It's the only residential riverfront development on the Columbia River in Clatsop County."

Hillard said, as with any new subdivision, momentum tends to pick up as homes start going up and things start looking more like a neighborhood.

DeMuro said one of the challenges in marketing Mill Pond has been convincing people the property is safe.

"Some long-time residents have an image of the site they can't be exorcised of," he said.

The brownfield status means there's use restrictions on the pond, including no swimming, boating or fishing.

DeMuro said half of the people who have purchased home lots are from Portland or Seattle. The other half have been local, he said. Many are empty-nesters.

The development will also have a commercial element, with construction of a three-story, 21,000-square-foot Wauna Federal Credit Union slated to begin later this year.

"This will be a key year in the project," DeMuro said.

A senior housing structure is also proposed, as well as a medical office building.

There's one more commercial lot that has yet to have any bites, DeMuro said. He envisions a mixed-use facility on the site, with ground-floor retail and a residential component on top.

Hillard said this development is the first of its kind in the area.

"For new urbanism to be in Astoria is a bit forward thinking for this town, a place that's very pedestrian friendly and a design that encourages neighbors to interact," she said. "It's neat to see it coming together in Phase 1.

Aimee Curl covers commercial real estate and development for the Daily Journal of Commerce. She can be reached by e-mail at aimeec@djc-or.com or by phone at 503-221-3314.

Current Daily Journal of Commerce website

Go to Mill Pond Village page or www.millpondvillage.com

Back to top