Wow, I had no idea this was going on... Talk about unsightly architecture. Hope they at least replace the windows.
Lents building unwrapped after years of uncertainty
POSTED: Wednesday, August 1, 2012 at 02:13 PM PT
BY: Reed Jackson
photo by Sam Tenney
After being wrapped tightly for years, the Woodstock Plaza, a mixed-use complex at Southeast Woodstock Boulevard and 93rd Avenue, was unveiled last week.
David Emami, manager of Woodstock Plaza LLC, the project’s developer, wasn’t happy about it.
“It’s like showing off a car without headlights or wheels,” he said. “People like it and don’t like it; they give us credit, discredit. It’s not done yet.”
According to Emami, the wrappings came down early because construction crews could no longer bear hot working conditions. The apartment building, which has retail space on the first floor, won’t be finished and put back on the market for two or three more months, he said.
However, the removal of wrappings is nevertheless important for Lents residents, who have wondered about the building’s status for years, said Nick Christensen, chairman of the neighborhood association.
“We’re really trying to let people know that Lents is a great place to do business and invest in,” he said. “To have a building sitting there for so long, wrapped up and looking empty, doesn’t do us any good. It looks way better; it looked like garbage back then.”
Christensen referred to 2005, when the complex was constructed. The original developer, PSTN LLC, owned by Noman Ahmed, built it with a number of structural defects, according to the Bureau of Development Services. Apparently, windows were installed improperly, pipes weren’t sealed, insufficient fire safety equipment was installed and signage was placed improperly. Additionally, the building garnered a number of trash and debris violations.
When the BDS inquired about the problems, officials discovered that final inspection approval had not been given, according to project records.
As a result, the bureau imposed 11 liens, including illegal occupancy. PSTN LLC, which could not afford the fines, shut the building down. Taxpayers had to pay the costs associated with transferring residents to more appropriate housing.
Since 2009, around the time that the building was vacated, it’s been tightly covered; the wrapping was put there by Clackamas County Bank, which repossessed it. The bank was going to renovate the building itself until it discovered how much it would cost to not only pay for construction but also the liens.
The building sat vacant until September 2011, when Emami and his partners (including his wife, Diana, a real estate agent) agreed to take over the building.
“There’s a lot of controversy,” he said. “This building was not right; it was just falling apart. We have to … redo many things.”
Repairs, which are being tackled by the company and general contractor Bradley Construction, range from siding to many inner systems. Overall, the cost will be around $130,000, according to Emami.
However, help came from the Portland Development Commission, which, because of the building’s location in the Lents neighborhood, allowed participation in its Development Opportunity Services program. It helps gauge financial feasibility of renovation projects, and in this case provided approximately $30,000 for the project, Emami said.
Also, through a lien reduction request, Woodstock Plaza LLC was able to significantly reduce the fines associated with the property. That displeased the bank, Emami said.
“It took the bank and the city two and a half years of bickering (for the project to move forward),” he said. “We went out and paid the fines – of course the bank hated that. The city was happy, because somebody was paying them.”
But those problems are in the past, Emami said. After proper permitting was secured, construction started three months ago. The plan is to build high-end housing, which may or not be market rate, and to fill the retail spaces as soon as possible.
Even though neighborhood residents had to wait years for something to happen with the building, the project is timely, Christensen said.
“It’s kind of a metaphor for what’s happening in Lents right now,” he said. “We’ve got the streetscape project, other buildings coming in… Getting this thing finished will be great for bringing in new businesses.”
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