From Bulldozing to Beloved

C.E. JOHN,
a real estate development
company, came to us with…

journalists nipping
at their heels
Pre-Besaw
history a
rich trove
1892buildingfirstused
asagrocerystore
By Allan Classen
Besaw’s Café has been a part of the
neighborhood since before the 1905
world’s fair, a story continually retold
on the restaurant’s menus and website.
It’s a colorful history, running
through Prohibition and characters
like Clyde Besaw, son of the restau-
rant’s founder,who is still remembered
by some old timers today. Clyde, who
ran the business until 1979 and lived
until 1997, was known to physically
expel liquor commission inspectors
from his premises. He once took an
item off the menu immediately after a
favorable review in the daily newspa-
per; he didn’t want his working class
establishment to become popular with
the social elite.
But the little building at the corner
of Northwest 23rd and Savier had a
life before the Besaws came to town,
and its details and characters are even
more intriguing than those of the later
history.
Clyde himself would have had his
hands full with Johanna Duhrkoop,
the wife of the man who erected the
building in 1892 as a grocery store.
At least she thought she was his
wife. She lived with him 25 years, bore
seven children and helped run several
of his businesses.
But after Charles B. Duhrkoop
died in 1893, a daughter of his first
AUGUST ’11
VOLUME 25, ISSUE 12
FREE
Continued on page 6
By Allan Classen
Besaw’s Café, the oldest restaurant in
the Northwest District, may be demolished
as part of a four-story, mixed-use develop-
ment planned at Northwest 23rd and Savier
streets.
Four 19th century houses adjacent to the
restaurant are certain to go if the plan is
carried out.
25TH ANNIVERSARY FEATURE
Thesecondfiveyears,1991-95
Demolition of Besaw’s corner,
perhaps Besaw’s itself, planned
Representatives for the developer, C.E.
John of Vancouver, Wash., have said they
intend to keep the 119-year-old Besaw’s
building and even rebuild a cupola and
second floor that were removed many years
ago.
But there are reasons to doubt the com-
pany’s pledge.
For one, C.E. John’s vice president of
development, Thomas A. DiChiara, has
steadfastly refused to clarify or affirm the
company’s position after repeated inquiries
from the Examiner.
As explained by project architect Bruce
Brown of GBD Architects at a public
meeting in May, the Besaw’s structure
does not fully contain the restaurant. The
kitchen and storage space extend under
the house to the west. The covered patio
on the north side of the restaurant is to be
removed to create maximum space for the
new building.That means a “saved”Besaw’s
would have to be reconfigured internally to
accommodate cooking and storage needs,
while the seating capacity would be signifi-
cantly reduced internally as well as exter-
Sandy Stein’s great-great-grandfather built this house at 1715 NW 23rd Ave. in 1885, and developer C.E. John plans to demolish it as part
of a four-story mixed-use project.
JOHN KLICKER
JULY ’11VOLUME 25, ISSUE 11
FREE
Continued on page 20
By Allan Classen
C.E. John Company has become one ofthe big players on Northwest 23rd
Avenue,
but how sensitive is the company to theneeds of small businesses?Don’t ask Judy Farinha,who’s been oper-ating Tribute’s sandwich shop at Northwest23rd
and Kearney the past 11 years.Because of C.E. John, she suffered asmall business owner’s ultimate indignity:
learning through the news that she wasbeing evicted. Customers broke the news ofher impending closure.
According to a report on OregonLive,The Oregonian’s website, C.E. John hadleased her space, that of Mio Gelato nextdoor and the former Rose’s—which closedlast month—to Bamboo Sushi. The June7 story said the entire building “would betaken down to the studs … then handedover to Bamboo Sushi for remodeling.”The story also said that Mio Gelato andTribute’s “have been given notice they willhave to leave.”
The last statement was not true; she andMio Gelato had not been given notice. Butwithout lease protection, she knew C.E.John could have her out in short order.“It blindsided me,” said Farinha, notingthat “to hear this from someone else” com-pounded the insult.
To put it bluntly: “It sucks.”She admits she was naïve to have gonealong with a short-term lease just becauseC.E. John told her it wanted all leases toexpire at the same time.
“They were a lot smarter than me,” shesaid. “They obviously knew what they weredoing. Me, not so much.”An online responder (screen name: Cassidy Rae) to the OregonLive story wrote:
C.E.Johncourts
newtenant—
claimsexisting
tenantswantout
By Allan Classen
For three decades, discussion of devel-opment on Northwest 23rd
Avenue hasstarted or ended with Richard Singer,whose family holds most of the plum retaillocations on the southern half of the street.For the next few years at least, the talkwill be all about C.E. John, a Vancou-
ver, Wash., company that already ownstwo significant commercial corners and isabout to build three multi-story, mixed-use projects between Lovejoy and Savierstreets.
“This is very unusual,” said John Brad-ley, chair of the Northwest District Asso-ciation Planning Committee since the1990s.
In that time, he cannot rememberanother developer having three major con-struction projects in the hopper at once.In fact, even Bill Welch, who has servedon that committee for 35 years, does notrecall any precedent for this scale or speedof development by one party.
Vancouvercompanyhasdesigns on 23rd
Avenue
25TH
ANNIVERSARY FEATURE
Thefirstfiveyears,1986-91

and zero social media presence
nada
zip
zilch

And they were about to roll out
six mixed-use apartment projects
that would transform the
urbanscape of NW Portland.

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FRANKLIN IDE
2240 NW Lovejoy St
FI
L. L. HAWKINS
NW 22nd & Raleigh
LL
BENEVENTO
2275 NW Raleigh St
B
SAWYER’S ROW
NW 20th & Raleigh
SR
Their properties fall within a 10-
block radius at the north end of
Northwest Portland. We set out to
highlight the distinct, quiet, cozy
vibe that contrasts its bustling
counterpart to the south.

Our mission was to inspire a
love for the NW neighborhood.

Only after we touted…
the shortcut through the woods,
the way the streets are named,
and the cozy booth in the back
…would we introduce the buildings and the company who developed them.

This type of subtle,
strategy is what C.E. John
(and Green Rising) stands for.
long-
term

So, we held the “Perfect Day Contest,”
hello!
YOU’RE INVITED
We'rethrowingacontestfortheneighborhood,and
TOJOININTHEFUN

sprinkling posters, postcards, and “hidden
gem” scratch-oﬀs in the area to get people
thinking of what NW PDX has to oﬀer.

We directed people to the ﬂagship building’s
website and Facebook page.

…and had them submit
entries like this:
“My day would start out by
taking a class at Yoga NW,
buy local produce at Food
Front, take pictures at the
Peculiarorium, get a soy
latte at Sterling Coﬀee
Roaster, buy a "zine" at
Floating World, play
PacMan at Ground Kontrol,
throwback a Boneyard IPA,
a vegan gyro & a punk
band at Slabtown.”
-Evelyn Boling

and we even got this…
!
“I awake to a quarter-pounder of a hangover. I stumble
out and find the Pizza Schmizza. I head over to the park
at NW Johnson with the water and kids playing and lie on
the grass. I'm guessing now it's about time to head down
to Everyday Music and listen to some Alice in
Chains. Then I’m thinking it's time for some foie gras, so I
head over to Bluehour and grab an outside table. I order
a finely-aged bottle of chablis, foie gras, and a nice
rhubarb gelee. Unfortunately it comes to bear that I've
been talking to a pigeon instead of a waiter and police are
asking for my identification. Thanks for the perfect day!”

With no budget for advertising and
a general distrust of developers, it
was hard to get traction.

So we bought St. Cupcake sweets and headed to the Ecotrust
@ Sundown concerts to capture people’s attention.

how fast leases were signed
‣ The ﬁrst, Benevento, was 17% leased by Opening
Day. The 24-unit building sold out in 8 weeks.
‣ The second, Franklin Ide, leased 22% of 92 units
by Opening Day.

how the community shifted
JULY ’11
VOLUME 25, ISSUE 11
FREE
inside
By Allan Classen
C.E. John Company has become one of
the big players on Northwest 23rd Avenue,
but how sensitive is the company to the
needs of small businesses?
Don’t ask Judy Farinha,who’s been oper-
ating Tribute’s sandwich shop at Northwest
23rd and Kearney the past 11 years.
Because of C.E. John, she suffered a
small business owner’s ultimate indignity:
learning through the news that she was
being evicted. Customers broke the news of
her impending closure.
According to a report on OregonLive,
The Oregonian’s website, C.E. John had
leased her space, that of Mio Gelato next
door and the former Rose’s—which closed
last month—to Bamboo Sushi. The June
7 story said the entire building “would be
taken down to the studs … then handed
over to Bamboo Sushi for remodeling.”
The story also said that Mio Gelato and
Tribute’s “have been given notice they will
have to leave.”
The last statement was not true; she and
Mio Gelato had not been given notice. But
without lease protection, she knew C.E.
John could have her out in short order.
“It blindsided me,” said Farinha, noting
that “to hear this from someone else” com-
pounded the insult.
To put it bluntly: “It sucks.”
She admits she was naïve to have gone
along with a short-term lease just because
C.E. John told her it wanted all leases to
expire at the same time.
“They were a lot smarter than me,” she
said. “They obviously knew what they were
doing. Me, not so much.”
An online responder (screen name: Cas-
sidy Rae) to the OregonLive story wrote:
“I was at Tribute’s for lunch today and
came across this story. They had no idea of
the timeline, they haven’t been given notice
C.E.Johncourts
newtenant—
claimsexisting
tenantswantout
By Allan Classen
For three decades, discussion of devel-
opment on Northwest 23rd Avenue has
started or ended with Richard Singer,
whose family holds most of the plum retail
locations on the southern half of the street.
For the next few years at least, the talk
will be all about C.E. John, a Vancou-
ver, Wash., company that already owns
two significant commercial corners and is
about to build three multi-story, mixed-
use projects between Lovejoy and Savier
streets.
“This is very unusual,” said John Brad-
ley, chair of the Northwest District Asso-
ciation Planning Committee since the
1990s.
In that time, he cannot remember
another developer having three major con-
struction projects in the hopper at once.
In fact, even Bill Welch, who has served
on that committee for 35 years, does not
recall any precedent for this scale or speed
of development by one party.
Vancouvercompanyhas
designs on 23rd Avenue
25TH ANNIVERSARY FEATURE
Thefirstfiveyears,1986-91
From being depicted
as a bulldozer…
‣ being described by words
like “high design,”
“transparent,” and
“integrity”
‣ the historian and journalist
who was their harshest
critic donating streetcar
rails for art, presenting
slideshows at openings,
and submitting an entry to
our contest!
TO…

and lastly, perhaps most
importantly, sentiments like
this from our client…

“I had several people tell me how great our branding
and approach in the neighborhood has been over
the last few years, especially in comparison to the
years prior. I think that is a testament to the work
that GRM has done for the company brand…We
appreciate the good work you have done for us.”
Tom DiChiara
Senior Vice President of Development
C.E. John Company

From Bulldozing to Beloved

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From Bulldozing to Beloved