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Friday, July 29, 2011

PDC Centennial Mills flop gets another thumbs down

It seems the Pearlies don't want an office building, even if it's a company in the "cluster." Oh, it's a "cluster," all right. Go by streetcar!

Comments (3)

As much as I love seeing old, historic buildings preserved and re-used, in this case I think razing the building might be the best option and in the best interests of citizens and taxpayers. Were the building smaller, gutting and renovating it might be more achievable. It's so massive, though, that renovating it will be incredibly expensive. No developer has stepped forward to take it on, even with the promise of massive subsidies. $10 million has already been wasted on the project; tens of millions more would have to be spent to attract a developer and/or renovate the building at the city's own expense.

Save and renovate a small section of the building as a nod to the city's past, but tear down the rest of it and build a park with public access to the river.

The building is certainly reusable; there are many buildings in the other industrial area along 12th, 13th, 14th Avenues (think the Meier & Frank Building) that are similarly sized and have been rehabbed, even as condos.

The real question is why is the City involved; if there's no developer interest then why bother; what is the truly historical nature of the building? A rehab would all but certainly alter the building far beyond its historical significance (as a grain mill - an industrial use). The question of "public access" is a joke; there are numerous other public access points to the Willamette River; I don't see conditions placed on any of the new buildings, including the new townhomes built at the old Terminal One site. There is no imminent public safety issue by just ignoring this building for now, so I say "nothing to see, move along..."

I know how about we turn it into a , ...wait for it , a MILL.
We grow how much grain in eastern Oregon ? , and then spend a bunch of money to ship it away in bulk carriers
[and pollute the Pacific with diesel fumes]. Let's make finished Grain Products right here in the historic mill.

NOT that the Pearlies would want the bother of real people working within sight of their promised land....




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