In 1991, Art DeMuro combined his extensive real estate background with his passion for historic preservation to form Venerable—a full service commercial real estate firm specializing in the preservation and adaptive reuse of historic commercial properties. The company is recognized as one of Portland’s top ten commercial developers and the most successful redeveloper of historic commercial properties as confirmed with numerous awards.

Art and Venerable are well-known for historic preservation interests but the firm also handles new development,  brokerage services, property management and preservation consulting.

Venerable’s staying power is attributed to the firm’s long-term retention of a superior, dedicated staff and sustenance of long-term business relationships. During the past 20 years, Venerable has grown from one to 10 staff members, of which six have been with the firm for over 10 years.  The staff’s longevity is due to the firm’s philosophy of providing opportunities for growth, creativity and open communication.  This stability and continuity in relationships has enabled Venerable to operate swiftly and predictably in a field that is rife with challenge and risk.

Venerable places high importance on giving back to the community and is rated as one of the top 15 small business corporate philanthropists in Portland.  For many years, Venerable donated time and money annually to employee-selected organizations focusing on historic preservation and non-profit groups who work to improve livability in Oregon.  In 2008, Venerable pioneered with the University of Oregon to establish the McMath Awards, which annually honors Metro-area historic preservationists. All proceeds benefit the University of Oregon’s Historic Preservation Program.

Art is an activist in the preservation community expounding the benefits of building rehabilitation and sustainable preservation. He uses such forums as local publications editorials, many speaking appearances and participation in preservation organizations at all jurisdictional levels. Staff is encouraged to participate in teaching and lecturing in the University’s Historic Preservation Program in the Architecture and Allied Arts (AAA) Department.  Art is a member of the AAA’s Board of Visitors as well as the National Trust of Historic Preservation, Bosco Milligan Foundation (BMF) and Historic Preservation League of Oregon (HPLO). Venerable offers substantial financial support to HPLO and BMF through gifts of money and office space to BMF and HPLO.

In addition, Art is completing the longest tenure ever on the Portland Historic Landmarks Commission of ten years and has been chairman for the last three years. He was appointed by city officials to numerous advisory committees focused on preservation and planning. In 2003 and 2004, he rallied the community through presentations and speeches to neighborhood groups and business organizations to ensure the City Council’s passage of the Historic Resources Code Amendment (HRCA). Adopted in 2004, the HRCA is a package of zoning and building code amendments to strengthen the city’s historic preservation programs and regulations including restrictions against demolishing historic buildings.

Dedicated to improving Oregon’s livability, over the last 20 years Venerable’s redevelopment projects have created hundreds of new jobs in all corners of Portland including the following neighborhoods: Northwest District, Pearl District, Japantown/Chinatown, Skidmore/Old Town, West End, Buckman, Central Eastside, Irvington, King, Sellwood/Moreland and the Burnside Retail core in Gresham.  Catalytic redevelopments have even extended all the way to the Oregon Coast to include development projects in Astoria.

Historic preservation is a cornerstone of sustainability. Older buildings were designed with sustainable features such as natural lighting and ventilation, durable materials, timeless design and thoughtful site orientation and were built for durability, not disposability. Venerable has proven that with quality upgrades, these buildings will continue to be viable structures for generations to come. Venerable’s philosophy is to employ green building strategies without major intrusions into historic fabric. We repair rather than replace, which leads to the reduction of construction waste.  We found from experience with White Stag Block’s LEED Gold certification that it is a myth that the Secretary’s Standards for Historic Rehabilitation conflict with green building guidelines–proving that preserving and adapting historic buildings for reuse is profitable as well as environmentally sound.

Please join Venerable Group, Inc. and the University of Oregon Historic Preservation Program at the luncheon May 6 to honor Elisabeth Walton Potter. Potter is the recipient of the 2011 George McMath Historic Preservation Award.

The luncheon is from 11:30 a.m.- 1:00 p.m. at the White Stag Block, 70 NW Couch Street.

Cost is $50 per person. Proceeds support the University’s Historic Preservation Program.

The lunch program presentation is by Carl Williams, graduate student on “Historic Structure Report: Lew Williams/Joe Romania Showroom, Eugene, Oregon.

For tickets please click here

White Stag Block is the cover story in the Winter 2010 edition of Oregon Facilities: Solutions for Building Owners and Managers.

The article by Kelly Lux is titled “Adaptive Reuse in Portland’s White Stag Block: Building Managers Find Little Difference in Operating, Managing a Rehabilitated Building.”

Click here to read the full article.

Old Town | The sign will soon read “Portland, Oregon” under a deal just okayed

By Tom Hallman, Jr.

The city of Portland took ownership of the iconic “Made in Oregon” sign Wednesday after city commissioners declared an emergency allowing them to approve a complicated deal among the city, the sign’s owner and the owner of the Old Town building under the sign.

The emergency? Starting work immediately so the lettering can be changed to read “Portland, Oregon” in time to light the sign at a ceremony the day after Thanksgiving.

Commissioner Randy Leonard, who has spent nearly a year on the project, asked fellow commissioners to declare the matter an emergency. Otherwise, he said, the City Council couldn’t vote until a Sept. 29 meeting — too late to get the sign ready for the celebration.

“It hasn’t been as easy as people would think,” Leonard said. “It wasn’t a matter of just giving the sign away and the city taking it.”

The neon sign, built by Ramsay Signs in 1941 to advertise White Satin Sugar, was changed over the years, becoming “Made in Oregon” in 1997. After the University of Oregon leased and renovated the building under the sign for a satellite campus, it sought in 2008 to change the sign to carry a big “O.” That idea died last year when Leonard and the city’s Historic Landmarks Commission objected.

Leonard began rounds of negotiations, at one point driving to Anacortes, Wash., to talk face to face with the sign owner Darryl Paulsen of Ramsay Signs.

Leonard said sticking points were maintenance agreements, easement issues to give the city access to the sign — and finding a way to pull off a deal without taxpayers footing the bill.

The final document — 104 pages and filled with plenty uses of “whereas” and “therefore”" — was so long that a City Hall copier broke down making copies for all involved, said Amy Ruiz, the planning and sustainability adviser for Mayor Sam Adams.

Under the agreement, Ramsay Signs will donate the sign to the city and be paid, $2,000 a month for 10 years to maintain it. Art DeMuro, who owns the building under the sign, will give the city the $200,000 needed to change the lettering. Money to maintain the sign will come from a parking lot and commercial space under the Burnside Bridge that DeMuro will lease from the city.

Before the vote, Adams said residents have asked him why it’s taken so long for the city to make a deal. DeMuro told the commissioners that people continually ask him about the sign’s future, and that his kids even get questions from classmates.

“It’s nice to have it resolved,” he said.

The vote was 4-0, with Commissioner Dan Saltzman absent.

Commissioner Amanda Fritz said she hadn’t expected to support the plan given a tight city budget. But she did, noting the deal doesn’t burden taxpayers, takes no money from the city’s budget and protects a sign the city didn’t have the money to buy outright.

After the vote, Leonard said he’d let Fritz flip the switch the day after Thanksgiving. But Fritz, acknowledging Leonard’s efforts, said they would do it together.

And, yes, Rudolph’s nose will be red.