PORTLAND, Ore. – A 115-year-old building in Portland’s Old Town district will be demolished after it was removed from the city’s historic resources inventory.
Located at 323 NW 6th Ave., the 1906 building has over its 115-year history served as the Cascade Hotel, the Arlington Hotel and more, according to city documents. Most recently, it has served as the Westwind Apartments, providing 70 units of single room occupancy for low-income tenants, according to the city.
Photo credit: Portland Chronicle contributor
The 28,000-square-foot building most recently sold in 2018, when the Portland Housing Bureau and other organizations purchased it for $3 million. The housing bureau announced plans to demolish the 115-year-old building and replace it with new affordable housing units.
“The Westwind is one of the last remaining Single Room Occupancy buildings providing low-barrier unregulated affordable housing in the central city,” Portland Housing Bureau director Shannon Callahan stated in a release. “We’re grateful to have this opportunity to buy it and replace the housing with safe, high-quality, long-lasting homes with support services.”
Photo credit: Portland Chronicle contributor
In December 2020, the city received an application to remove the building from Portland’s Historic Resources Inventory, a listing of buildings with historical interest or significance but that don’t have official historic designation.
The building had been included as an “unranked” structure, which means it is “interesting, but not significant,” according to the city. Property owners can request and receive immediate removal of unranked structures from the historic resources inventory, whereas ranked structures carry a 120-day delay period before removal, with the goal of providing an opportunity to come up with alternatives to demolition.
Photo credit: Portland Historic Resources Inventory, 1984
Photo credit: Portland Chronicle contributor
Following its removal from the historic resources inventory, the building received a demolition permit on Jan. 14. Demolition has not yet begun.
According to its historic resources inventory listing, the building is a “streetcar era commercial” structure, and its “special features” include “brick corner quoining. Single brick string course below cornice with decorative brickwork, string course below. Keystones in decorative lintels above windows. Bracketed wood entrance with carvings.”
A construction permit for the replacement structure describes a 7-story building with 28 residential units, 72 single room occupancy units, offices, community spaces and retail. According to the housing bureau, this is the fifth project to use funds from the 2016 voter-approved housing bond, which generated $258 million for construction of affordable housing.
Photo credit: Portland Chronicle contributor