CORBETT, Ore. (PORTLAND TRIBUNE) — Owners of the former View Point Inn in Corbett have a vision of transforming the former restaurant and lodge into a Chinese wellness retreat center, but Multnomah County planning officials are so far not sharing enthusiasm for their dream.
Corbett-based owners Heiner and Sheron Fruehauf are attempting to restore the historic structure at 40301 E. Larch Mountain Road that was gutted by a fire in 2011. The 1.2-acre site has remained vacant since the blaze.
Citing the couple’s plans to expand portions of the property that weren’t originally part of the historic site, the county’s Land Use Planning Department is recommending denial, according to a county planning staff report released Friday, Dec. 7. A land-use hearing on the matter will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 14, at the county planning office at 1600 S.E. 190th Ave., Portland.
The Fruehaufs, who bought the property in 2016 for $577,000, are proposing adding 5,385 square feet of floor area to the existing structure, reconstructing a damaged accessory building and establishing parking on the adjacent property. Their vision of a wellness retreat center will contain five overnight guest rooms, a restaurant and spa.
“The health assessment center will be housed within an addition to the north end of the original end of the building that replaces the existing non-historic garage,” according to a document Emerick Architects submitted to the county. “The spa facilities will be located within the expanded basement below the existing building and new addition.”
The Multnomah County National Scenic Area code and the National Scenic Area Management Plan allows commercial use in historic Columbia River Gorge structures, but only as they were established before 2006. The code was amended at that time to allow commercial use specifically for the View Point Inn, but applied to all historic structures in the Gorge scenic area.
While county staff object to the expansion aspects of development, the county report states parts of the application would be OK.
“The components that staff finds are approvable include the establishment of a restaurant and overnight accommodation because those special uses are proposed to be located in the building, as it existed as of Jan. 1, 2006,” the report states.
Gathering support
The building operated as an inn from 1927 to 1979 and was converted to a single-family residential home in 1980.
Previous owners Geoff Thompson and Angelo Simione operated the facility from 2007 to 2011 as an inn, restaurant and event space that was often used for weddings. The View Point Inn gained national prominence when the prom scene from the 2008 hit movie “Twilight” was filmed at the lodge.
Operations at the View Point abruptly came to a halt in 2011 when a chimney spark ignited a fire that burned most of the structure’s second floor. The inn also sustained smoke and water damage.
Thompson’s plans for restoration in 2013 never materialized, and he and Simione eventually sold the property.
The new owners held a meeting on Friday, Nov. 30, at the Corbett Grange near the View Point to drum up support for their project. The Fruehaufs encouraged attendees to speak in favor of their proposal at the county hearing on Dec. 14.
If approved, the Chinese-style healing center will accommodate fewer visitors at a time than in its last incarnation, Heiner explained. The concept is to present guests with a relaxing, quiet, healing experience.
“The idea is that it is an inn with a wellness component,” Heiner told the crowd of about 30.
With the exception of a few yearly events, the restaurant will only be open to guests staying at the retreat center. Heiner said Corbett residents would benefit from a restored building, and healing center operations will not create nearly as much traffic as the prior business.
The wellness retreats will include personalized menus, and herbal remedies and supplements will be prescribed along with daily spa treatments.
Heiner is a professor of Chinese medicine at the National University of Natural Medicine in Southwest Portland and operates a private practice in Corbett. He plans to apply his knowledge of healing at the wellness center.
Heiner said he and his wife were motivated to restore the inn because of fond memories of having delicious meals there. As Corbett residents, they often drive past the nearly destroyed building, spurring dreams of transforming it back into the idyllic oasis it was for years.
“Every time I drive by it, it’s a heartache,” Heiner said. “We want to restore it to remove the visual eyesore, and fulfill my vision.”
Turning a profit
In a document submitted to the county on Nov. 16 by Jessica Engeman, historic preservation specialist for Venerable Development LLC, said making all of the proposed restorations is the only way the Fruehaufs can make a large enough profit worth the investment.
Engeman calculates that turning the building into a single-family home would cost more than the structure’s resale value.
She also estimates that a business operating as an inn and restaurant would lose money; n inn and spa operation would create a 2.9 percent return on investment, and the project as proposed would create a 7.8 percent return on investment.
“As is made clear by (this) analysis, restoration of the building to accommodate the inn/restaurant, the inn/spa and a single-family residence are all infeasible,” Engeman said. “Running a five-room inn with a restaurant does not provide enough income to cover the annual expenses. The previous owners were not able to make this a profitable use, even with the property also being used as a wedding venue.”
Michael Lang, conservation director for the nonprofit conservation organization Friends of the Columbia Gorge, said the group has kept a close eye on the Fruehaufs’ proposal, and they cannot support the couple’s application in its current form.
“Based on our initial review on the county’s Friends of the Columbia Gorge staff report they got it right,” Lang said. “The applicants are unmoving on their desire to have their commercial aspect in the new structure. The Multnomah county code is really black and white.”
Friends of the Gorge supports development efforts that conform to established guidelines.
“It’s crystal clear that the Multnomah County National Scenic Area code and the National Scenic Area Management Plan restrict all commercial uses and other adaptive uses in historic structures to the historic building as it existed in 2006,” Lang said. “The applicants would be doing themselves a favor if they modified their application to conform with this and other requirements of the law.”
About the View Point Inn
The View Point Inn was constructed in 1924 just off of the Columbia River Gorge Historic Highway in Corbett. It started as a tea room in it early years of operation.
Added to the National Register of Historic Places, the facility closed in 1962 as a result of rerouting traffic from U.S. Highway 30 to the newly built Interstate 84 freeway along the Columbia River.
The building was placed into single-family residential use. In 2006, Multnomah County granted a conditional use permit to re-establish a restaurant that accommodated 125 diners and 12 employees, along with a five-room inn and gift shop.
The inn ran in this configuration until it was gutted by fire in 2011, and has remained vacant since.