PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — An historic building on Southeast Foster Road and 67th Avenue is going to be brought back to life after sitting vacant since the 1990s.
The owner hopes to take the old Phoenix Pharmacy from eye-sore to icon with his new vision.
The building is currently boarded up and needs a lot of TLC — but people in the community are really excited that this piece of local history is going to come back to life.
The Phoenix Pharmacy building was constructed in 1922 and has since gone through several reincarnations, including a garment shop, an aquarium and a video store.
“I’ve lived in the neighborhood about 16 years, and I always loved this building,” said Eric Furlong, Chair of the Foster Powell Neighborhood Association. “It’s one of the grounding pieces of architecture in the neighborhood.
Matt Froman, the building owner, said that his father originally bought the building with the intent to turn it into a museum. When Froman bought it from his dad in 2018, the building was being used for storage.
Rather than tear it down Froman is following through with his dream to restore it. He hopes to eventually rent it out as an office, retail or restaurant space.
“They are never going to make another Phoenix Pharmacy building,” Froman said. “This building has seen decades and decades of life of different people coming in and out of these doors, generations of people.”
Froman said he and his partners are working on getting the proper permits in place to begin reconstruction. He’s teamed up with historic preservationists Rick Michaelson and Karen Karlsson. Renovations are scheduled to begin later this summer.
Froman hopes to have everything done within 2 years.
