I have this theory that the reason the DJC has exclusive stories is because their RSS feed is broken, so lazy reporters won’t know what they’re reporting on without visiting the website. Anyway, today they announce another chapter in the sordid history of the Grove Hotel.
- Matt Davis
Old Town developer David Gold—who owns the parking lot across the street and the rest of the Grove’s block—wants to turn it into a youth hostel.
“I think it would be a fantastic transition from the current drug and alcohol recovery population to the international visitor demographic,” Gold told the DJC.
The city bought the property in November 2007, under the auspices of the Housing Authority of Portland, which lowered the monthly rent for a small, dismal room from $550 to $335. A few years later, HAP sold it to the Portland Development Commission (PDC), which currently rents the building to Central City Concern for transitional housing. Central City has been running operations there since September 1, 2008.
Now Gold is doing feasibility studies on a potential youth hostel. If they pan out, he’ll likely buy the building from PDC after Central City moves to another facility in July.
“Our desire is to put the property to the highest and best use,” says PDC’s Shawn Uhlman. “We’ll work with David for as long as it takes.”
I don’t think it’s a bad idea, but on the other hand, less homeless services in favor of attracting backpacker kids from far and wide (especially in a fairly crappy neighborhood) doesn’t really strike me as something that’s very “feasible” for the central city.
Explain why the future of this building is any of David Gold’s business? He stood by idly while The Grove was a snakepit. Now that it’s been tidied up with City dollars who’s he to be advantaged?
How disappointing to realize after reading into the first sentence of this post, that this was not a cool picture of Matt Davis’s new digs in NOLA.
I don’t fully understand the intro to this piece. Are you saying that because they’re not using RSS feeds, they’re not regurgitating other reporters’ work (because they’re therefore finding enterprise stories on their own)? Are you complimenting them? Or busting on them for not using RSS feeds?