A Great Save for Northwest Portland?

 

1819 NW Everett St. (Hartshorne-Plunkard Architects)

New life for the landmark old First Church of Christ Scientist in Northwest Portland will be as a venue for food, drink, exercise and public events as a companion to a new five-story hotel behind it.

 The Portland Historic Landmarks Commission got its first look at the preliminary plans and spoke highly of the proposed effort to restore the beaux-arts church dating to 1909.  However, the panel expressed some reservations about design of the hotel to be erected on the adjoining quarter-block parking lot.

Andrew Becker, a Chicago-based architect for new owners of the church and vacant lot, promised “thoughtful and minimal exterior changes” to the former church, which has been known most recently as the Northwest Community Cultural Center.

One visual change would be a glass guard rail at the second story of the church, allowing for public access to the roof and its views of Northwest Portland and downtown.  The sloping floor if the second-floor former sanctuary would be levelled for use by events.

 The church’s basement, according to the plans, would contain a restaurant, fitness center and spa, and the main floor would contain a restaurant and lounge, in addition to the main entry.   

 Becker said the building’s stone façade “is believed to be in fairly good condition” but the windows are deteriorated.  He proposed removing the opalescent glass in favor of clear glass to improve interior lighting, but the landmarks commission suggested that perhaps one large window could be restored showing the historic glazing.  Becker said the historic size and design of the window casings and frames would be retained on the three most visible facades.

Becker said the old church would be upgraded seismically to current earthquake standards without affecting exterior facades.  However, he said the full engineering details are not yet complete.  

 The architect also said it is too early to tell how much of the church’s interior details, such as woodwork and light fixtures, can be reused.  “Where we can integrate those features, that is something we live to do,” he said. 

Steve Pinger, representing the Northwest District Association, called the church restoration “a great project,” but he said a rendering  the new hotel was “kind of going backwards” from an earlier version shown in a pre-application report.  Landmarks commissioners also felt that the first rendering appeared more coherent as a design.  The building would sit at  NW 19th Ave. and Flanders St. 

First design, left, versus revised version (Hartshorne-Plunkard Architects)

The commission will hold another hearing at an undetermined future date when more information will be available about window restoration and, presumably, some design changes on the new hotel.

 Under the preliminary plan, the hotel and the old church would be linked only by a short uncovered walkway.  Becker said it is possible that someday the church and hotel would be held under separate ownership.  The current owner is Founders Development, based in Las Vegas.

For the past 10 years or longer, the old church had fallen victim to maintenance neglect, and the cost of earthquake bracing made sale of the building difficult.  It now appears that new and interesting use is on the horizon.

 “I’m just thrilled it can be saved,” said Commissioner Kimberly Moreland.  “I really like the way this is progressing.”

 ----Fred Leeson

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