Barring a seemingly impossible miracle, Portland State University
this fall will start demolishing an attractive 5-story building that has been a
compatible neighbor to the South Park Blocks for 90 years.
While loss of the Parkway Manor is sad in itself, the fact
that PDSU has no immediate plans or funding for a replacement building compounds the wound. The site could sit vacant behind security
fencing as an urban puncture for several years to come.
“I wish I didn’t have to present this,” Jason Franklin, PSU’s
vice president for planning, construction and property management, told a Downtown Neighborhood Association
committee as started detailing problems with the now-vacant building. The 54-unit apartment has served as student
housing since 1969, but has been vacant for over a year.
Franklin said renovation for continued student housing would
cost $25 million, and operations would lose $13 million over the next 20 years. “Everything (inside) would have to be removed
and put back.” It is clear that the
building has suffered from managerial neglect, with a leaking roof, broken
elevator and inadequate plumbing.
It wasn’t clear from his presentation whether PSU had
considered any other potential uses for a renovated building, but he ruled out
potential office space. He said the
university has plenty of office space already, and many employees like working
from home. Switching the building’s use
would be “a big lift for us to do that.”
Peggy Moretti, a longstanding preservation advocate, questioned
the validity of Franklin’s gruesome financial picture. “You can make numbers say anything you want,”
she said. Saving the building, she
added, “Depends on whether there is a will to do so.” She said demolition “feels morally
irresponsible to me.”
The building was designed by the prominent Portland firm of
Bennes and Herzog. John Virginius Bennes
designed several buildings on the Oregon State University campus that are now a
part of a National Historic District. He
and Harry Herzog also designed the prominent Hollywood Theatre in Northeast
Portland.
The Parkway Manor’s two public facades show a rather subdued
Art Moderne Zig-Zag motif crafted with bricks.
There is nothing like it anywhere downtown.
Franklin said PSU is “very cognizant of its location and the
importance of its location,” and agreed that demolition creates a “hole” on the
South Park Blocks. But he said allowing
the building to stand empty while PSU decides what should replace it “is a
safety issue for us at this point.” He
said the empty building would be a threat for vandalism, graffiti and trespassing
squatters.
So just think of how much money is being saved while the
vacant site scars what used to be one of the most pleasant urban environments on the PSU campus -- and in downtown Portland. PSU has no current plans for the site, and when it does, it will have to await funding from the Oregon Legislature, which meets every two years.. And then any proposal will have to go through Portland's design review, taking most of another year.
Meanwhile, enjoy the view.
----Fred Leeson
Join Building on History's mailing list by writing "add me" to fredleeson@hotmail.com
The University appears to have made a "straight line" decision that went directly from "old building is a problem" to "demolish it" without any effort to address less destructive and more cost effective solutions, given the fact that they have no idea what to do with the space. They project tens of millions of dollars for a full-scale re-furbishment for commercial uses (residential or something?) but provide no indication of what the minimum repair investment would be to make it functional viable if not a deluxe property for the next 5-8 years which is likely the time before they will have some reasonable alternative use for it. Roofing can be repaired. Elevators can be fixed. Leaky windows can be repaired, etc.
ReplyDeleteAlso he appears to have given no thought to the possibilities of Federal Historic Rehab tax credits coupled with low income housing tax credits that combined have make it possible to rehab numerous historic downtown structures.
Bottom line, is a thoroughly irresponsible approach by a PSU leadership that is likely absorbed by the challenge of how to deal with plunging enrollment and state financial support in the face of ever increasing operational costs. Demolishing a building must seem easy by comparison.
Excellent observations. I live a few blocks away, so I live in this environment, and know what a complex issue it is. But maybe with a little more time and thought, there could have been a better outcome. I've got a view of SIX tents directly below my 4th floor window of my condo unit, and I wish there was something that could be done, both for the residents of this building, and for the residents of the tents.
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