Surface Parking Lot Magnate Eyes Historic Downtown Building For Demolition

Greg Goodman, whose City Center Parking company owns several undeveloped surface parking lots in the downtown area, has made a request to the Historic Landmarks Commission for permission to demolish a building he owns listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Built in 1917, the Auto Rest building at Southwest 10th Avenue and Salmon Street is owned by another of Goodman's companies Pegg Properties. It's the little brick building with Bee Cleaners across from the Bike Gallery and the new Northwest Film Center headquarters.

According to the report I read by Nathalie Weinstein in the Daily Journal of Commerce, the Historic Landmarks Commission was to have considered the request yesterday, March 10. Does anyone know if there was a decision made?

Regardless of the decision, though, it's disappointing that Goodman would target a historic building for development -- according to the DJC, he wants to build an office, condos or a hotel -- when he already owns several surface parking lots downtown. Naturally, a surface parking lot would constitute a better candidate for development than a nearly century-old building. I'm sure Goodman's company has its reasons, such as location being more preferable at the 10th & Salmon site, or whatever. But if you follow architecture in Portland, it seems pretty clear that Goodman is not acting with the best interest of our built environment in mind.

I don't want to vilify the guy or speak of his last name being an oxymoron, but how is it supposed to seem when there are these eyesores all over town in the form of surface parking lots you own, and you want to build something only where there's a historic building in the way?

The 10th & Salmon building isn't any architectural masterpiece, but it's a nice little piece of Portland's urban fabric. Obviously this is an era when the skyline is growing rapidly with big condos and offices. That makes little structures like this one all the more important as foothills to the mountains.

It was an encouraging move a year or two ago when Goodman announced that his company would begin developing their downtown surface lots. Their partnership with Gerding Edlen Development and Zimmer Gunsul Frasca on the 12th & Washington tower is seemingly going to result in a very nice building. It would be a shame for that to be undermined by Goodman's effort to demolish Portland's architectural history when there are numerous undeveloped downtown properties already in his portfolio.

The Historic Landmarks Commission has been subject to mounting criticism over the last couple years as it takes on more development projects, many of which have been modern buildings that the commission took issue with. This time around, though, the design community may be looking toward the HLC to take action, not to withhold it. But does the Landmarks Commission have the teeth (or, perhaps more appropriately, the dentures) and the will to stop one of the city's most quietly powerful landowners?

And even if the Auto Rest building gets saved, or Goodman backs off, what does this say about his company's attitude toward historic buidings?

Comments

[SKM]

I think "several" parking lots is an understatement. It's more like a few zillion.

[goose]

brian, you just made me sick to my stomach. i hate hearing about these things. i absolutely love this building. i used to buy cigarettes at that liquor store all the time. the color of the brick and the upper story windows are absolutely beautiful.

[joe]

It's hard to care without a picture to understand what building you are talking about.

[Richard]

Thanks for bringing attention to this, Brian. I hope the Landmarks Commission and, if necessary, the City Council does the right thing and acts to save that fine little building. This situation could be a perfect opportunity to articulate and enact a citywide policy that steers development to where it would do the most good and cause the least damage. Since Goodman owns many properties, as you pointed out, he has pleanty of alternatives to wrecking a historic landmark.

I suspect that surface parking lots generate more revenue and require much less effort than small downtown retail buildings, so Goodman would prefer to develop land now containing small buildings before doing anything with the asphalt-covered lots.

[Bob R.]

Here's an image of the building, from a link in the DJC article:
http://www.emporis.com/en/il/im/?id=595298

Here's Google Street View:
SW 10th & SW Salmon, Portland, OR

[Stephen]

Yeah, I'm real sorry about this. It is still a real sweet building whether it is deemed a valuable historical structure or not. I don't understand the reasoning demolishing this structure while the surface parking lot north of the galleria sits.

[Robert]

I guess you could say "at least it's not being demolished for a surface parking lot", given Goodman's reputation.

Somehow that still doesn't cheer me up. This building would be a great renovation project!

[vcb]

What is really troubling is the fact that the same organization that worked on the National Register nomination in the 1990s, is the same organization helping Goodman to have the property removed from the list. If the building is essentially the same as it was a decade ago, and it was deemed historically important them, how can you say it isn't important now?

[DC]

FYI, the public notice posted on the building says the next public hearing is April 9.

[Flaneur]

On Monday, the Landmarks Commission postponed consideration of the Auto Rest demolition proposal. According to the Bureau of Development Services, new dates haven't been set yet for the Landmarks Commission and Council hearings. Check portlandonline for updates.

[goose]

if anyone could go to the next landmarks commission meeting and report on how the heritage consulting group rationalizes de-designating the building i would greatly appreciate it. seems like enough for me to cross them off the list of potential employers.

[ws]

A new, modern tower could easily be built using this building's exterior as the new tower's street level facade. The building is a virtual shell as it is, waiting to have just something like that done. Doing this would conserve a significant part of this building's contribution to downtown's architectural character. Yet, I will be very, very surprised if any such thing ever happens.

Goodman is fairly young, what I would call, 'very wealthy', and he has a lot of power in and over downtown. More likely, we'll be seeing a knock-it-down for more modern quick build junk. The future building, if it does turn out to be a 20+ story tower, is likely to have a negative effect in reducing the afternoon sunlight that reaches into the new park being built on Taylor between Park and 9th: PB5. Of course, that sort of thing seems to be inevitable where high value properties downtown are concerned.

[peter]

This is another loss for portland. It's absolutely true: this little building would make a good counterpoint to a tower goodman could build on the sw corner of the lot. Peaks and valleys, and buildings from multiple eras, and perhaps most of all, an opportunity to give value to an historic building that was never an elite one, but simply a garage.

I'd argue, too, that while zgf's new building at 12th & washington might turn out to be striking and good, it also will accelerate the gentrification of that part of downtown (and we can be pretty sure, more demolitions of the homely buildings around it in the near future.) Not to mention it will mean the end of the pleasing if accidental sightline all the way up NW 13th to the Presbyterian Church tower. ZGF could have done something very cool on a lot down near its present office on 3rd or 4th, and boosted that area nicely.

[ben]

i believe zgf originally intended to redevelop another goodman lot on naito and stark across from the waterfront and next to the max stop, but couldn't get the deal together. if i remember correctly the height limits played a role in that decision.