Eastern Real Estate LLC bid $4.74 million in a government auction last month to buy the property at 220 N.W. Eighth Ave. The firm made a 10 percent down payment before its announcement Wednesday.
Its plans for the building weren't immediately clear, and the company's representatives didn't return a call seeking comment.
The firm said in a statement that tenants for the project hadn't been determined. It specializes in retail centers and owns two Santa Monica, Calif., hotels. Founders Brian Kelly and Dan Doherty also have experience with major office projects.
A spokesman for Portland-based GBD Architects Inc., which is working with Eastern Real Estate to determine a redevelopment strategy, said the scope of required seismic improvements will likely affect the final use of the building.
Eastern Real Estate is also working with Portland-based Lorentz Bruun Co. and KPFF Consulting Engineers to renovate the building.The Custom House is Eastern Real Estate's first property in Portland. The company says it has developed more than $1 billion worth of retail, office and mixed-use properties.
"We are thrilled and honored to be the new stewards of this important piece of Portland history," Brian Kelly, one of the firm's principals, said in a statement. "It is an absolute gem of the Pearl District and the city, and we look forward to the building's active use on the North Park Blocks."
The building has seemed close to getting a new life several times before.
Negotiations to turn the building into a boutique hotel fell apart in 2008, and an attempt to give it to The International School for free in 2009 failed because of the cost of renovations and seismic upgrades.
Portland property manager PREM Group won a 2010 auction to buy the building for $2.5 million and posted a 10 percent down payment, but the deal fell apart when the firm didn't put up the money to finalize the sale.
The four-story 1901 building has been vacant since 2005, when the Army Corps of Engineers moved out. It has been used in training exercises for federal agents and has appeared in the TV shows "Leverage" and "Grimm" since then.
The building, an example of Renaissance Revival architecture, has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1974. Any use must preserve its historic characteristics.
Bidding started at $250,000 in early December. The auction was scheduled to end Feb 7, but was extended in 24-hour increments each time a new bid was entered.
The auction finally ended Feb. 27, with 10 anonymous participating. Six were willing to pay more than $3 million for the property.
-- Elliot Njus
Source: http://www.oregonlive.com/front-porch/index.ssf/2012/03/us_custom_house_buyer_is_portl.html
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