video: Construction Underway On Old Town’s Society Hotel

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Robby Davis, GolocalPDX Contributor

Society Hotel

Society Hotel Co-Owners Jonathan Cohen and Jessie Burke. Photo by Byron Beck.

Portland's Society Hotel is currently being constructed in the middle of Old Town/Chinatown.

A boutique hotel with a hostel component—the choice of affordable rooms include a 24-bed bunk room and 38 private rooms plus suites with rates as low as $35/night for a bunk, up to $135/night for a suite—The Society Hotel is set to open sometime this summer.

When General Contractor Matt Siegel found this building he immediately knew it was the one that he wanted to construct into a low-cost hotel. Siegel had previously been searching for buildings throughout Portland that could be renovated into a hotel. The architecture and overall potential of this structure was the biggest selling point for Siegel as well as fellow owners Jessie Burke and Jonathan Cohen. Matt Siegel and his wife, Erika met Burke and Cohen in, of all places, a birthing class. That was 2007, and they’ve been friends ever since.

Fast forward to 2013. Matt, a building contractor with a historic-preservation bent, was looking for a “legacy” project. He started visiting potential hotel properties, taking Jessie and Jonathan along for the ride. With Jessie’s vast experience in community building and hospitality (as owner of Posies Bakery and an active participant in urban renewal projects), and Jonathan’s engineering expertise (his company specializes in commercial and residential energy retrofits), the three had a serendipitous set of skills for going into the hotel business together.

Matt, Jessie and Jonathan were drawn to Portland’s Old Town/Chinatown for its central location and diamond-in-the-rough condition. They wanted to create a noticeable, lasting impact, and when they laid eyes on the long-vacant 1881 Mariners Building — one of the few remaining cast-iron front buildings in the city, with regal, recessed pilasters to boot — they knew they’d found the place to do it.

During the financing stage (where they not only borrowed but crowdsourced funds), they met with Gabe Genauer, a trusted colleague of Jonathan’s in the construction field, about consulting on the project. He took a look at the building and the business plan, and while looking over the city from the rooftop, said, “I want in.” And so with his vast experience in commercial real estate development, Gabe became the fourth partner.

What’s going to make this hotel vastly unique is the fact that it is one of the oldest buildings in Portland.

The Seamen’s Friendship Society built it in 1881 in order for it to be a safe haven for fellow sailors and seamen. It has had former lives as a hotel, hospital and Chinese dance hall. When Siegel stumbled across this building most of it had been sitting vacant since World War II. In fact, no one had been upstairs in the building since the 1940s. The entire building has been unoccupied (and untouched) since 1975.

Another goal of Siegel’s with the construction of this hotel is for it to be an epicenter of change throughout the Old Town/Chinatown neighborhoods. He believes that if they can prove to be a successful business in this neighborhood, positive changes will follow. The 360 degree rooftop view is sure to help too.

Although we will all have to wait until later this summer to see how it turns out, here is a video made by filmmaker Kenny Macdonald that provides a behind the scenes peek at the hotel.

Related Slideshow: Portland restaurant insiders react to possible demolition of Veritable Quandary’s patio

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Kurt Huffman

Driving force behind ChefStable

“We’re all at the mercy of the city growing and developing,” the driving force behind ChefStable, says.

Any agreement to lease a space carries the risk that it can at some point be repossessed, he said.

“I had one of the first drinks in my life at the VQ,” he said, noting King was a forerunner in “doing things the right way” by locally sourcing food.

He said the challenges of development are not unique to VQ, and ultimately owner Dennis King had a “sweetheart deal for one of the best patios in town.”

When Huffman was asked for guidance on the issue by VQ insiders, he advised King to “have a hissy fit.”

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Leslie Palmer

Owner- Thirst Bistro

Thirst Bistro owner Leslie Palmer called the board’s decision Thursday “disgusting and despicable.”

“As a fellow restaurateur, if they can do this to Denny, they can do this to me,” she said. “It feels like Multnomah County doesn’t want restaurants in downtown Portland."

Palmer called the VQ a downtown institution, her favorite restaurant aside from her own. Her favorite memory at VQ is eating lunch with her children, served by longtime waiter Dale.

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Lisa Schroeder

Owner - Mother's Bistro and Bar

Mother’s Bistro and Bar owner Lisa Schroeder suggests the county offer VQ owner Dennis King a space on the bottom floor of the new courthouse.

“I would hate to be in the position VQ is in,” said Schroeder. “When you’ve built a business for years, to have it pulled out from under your feet.”

She said although it is public property, she is looking to the county to accommodate VQ, ensure the restaurant continues to exist, and perhaps compensate King.

“Unfortunately, restaurant owners are at the mercy of their landlords,” she said.

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Mark Joseph

Former Veritable Quandary bartender of nine years, current bartender at El Gaucho

“It's a huge disappointment,” said former Veritable Quandary bartender of nine years Mark Joseph. “It feels like you’ve got an institution there that now has to break down half their operation.”

Joseph called the restaurant a staple on the Portland restaurant scene.

“The Quandary has stood the test of time in a non-corporate way,” he said.

Joseph said the county should have worked with VQ owner Dennis King to find a compromise. He said to have an outdoor patio is to have two restaurants, and to lose one is to lose a restaurant.

But he said rather than the patio, the larger issue will be replacing the kitchen.

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Micah Camden

Owner of Blue Star Donuts, Little Big Burger, Sun of a Biscuit, and others

Portland restaurant empresario Micah Camden’s first date was at VQ. He said both the construction process and the layout of a new Multnomah County courthouse would impact the restaurant.

“The patio is magical,” he said. “You start building and it’s going to really change.”

He said despite backlash from the restaurant community, it’s out of owner Dennis King’s hands.

“You can’t stop the government from taking it away.”

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Leather Storrs

Co-owner - Noble Rot

Leather Storrs, co-owner of Noble Rot wine bar, said it was ironic a bar frequented by attorneys would be the bar impacted by a courthouse development.

Storrs said King's restaurant's primary draw is being taken away.

“I feel awful for the restaurant owner,” he said.

Storrs said Noble Rot suffered when traffic patterns changed on E. Burnside.

Aside from VQ, Storrs called the downtown waterfront district “a wasteland” with few gathering places.