Five Clark County construction subcontractors are taking part in an unusual rehabilitation and construction project unfolding in Bingen.
From roofs to drywall to flooring, the subs are taking part in transforming a Civilian Conservation Corps-era structure and new surrounding buildings into a destination resort in the Columbia River Gorge community.
When completed, likely in May, The Society Hotel-Bingen will feature a hotel, cabins, bathhouse and spa, and a structure called The Sanctuary, which promotional materials say is a “unique subterranean building that can be reserved for retreats or other groups of travelers for personal use, yoga, team-building retreats and wellness. It’s flooded with natural light through a cupola and large, south-facing glass doors.”
Suffice it to say, Bingen, the Klickitat County town of fewer than 1,000 residents that is a magnet for out-of-town kite boarders, windsurfers, mountain bikers and hikers, has not seen another structure like this. Same could be said for the rest of the Gorge.
“Definitely a neat project,” said Richard Ammons, co-owner with his brother Casey Ammons of RC Pro-roof LLC in Yacolt. “It’s got that modern vintage appeal to it.”
The Portland-based developers purchased the former Bingen schoolhouse and gymnasium and two city blocks in spring 2017 for $1.5 million, one of the first steps in developing the $9 million project. About 20 investors are participating, including one from Washougal who declined to be identified.
The core of five development partners, all with real estate development backgrounds, had previously collaborated on developing The Society Hotel at 203 N.W. Third Ave., in Portland, a block south of the Lan Su Chinese Garden. The hotel, built in 1881 primarily to serve sailors, was renovated and opened in late 2015.
They had been looking for the next collaborative opportunity when a real estate agent mentioned the Bingen property, said Matt Siegel, who owns renovation-focused construction company Building Blocks LLC in Portland.
“It just spoke to me,” Siegel said of the Bingen property at 405 E. Franklin St., on the corner of East Franklin and Cedar streets. “My background is taking old things and reimagining them.”
The original schoolhouse was built in 1908 and burned down in 1933. The new Bingen School complex was designed by Pacific Northwest architect Donald J. Stewart and built in 1937 by the Civilian Conservation Corps, a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 for unemployed, unmarried men as part of the New Deal.
The 7,500-square-foot schoolhouse served as the school for Bingen and White Salmon from 1938 until the 1970s. In 1988, it was converted into a hostel, which offered private rooms and dormitory-style accommodations.
The former schoolhouse will serve as a hotel, with 20 modern cabins nearby encircling a meadow, fire pit, bathhouse and spa. The development could serve up to 150 guests.
Roof work has been just one of the construction challenges for a project that has called upon the expertise of about 15 to 20 subcontractors. In addition to RC Pro-roof of Yacolt, other Clark County subcontractors have included: Express Fire Systems of Washougal; Jose Sinaloa Drywall of Vancouver; Elite Lift & Elevator Inc., of Vancouver; and Clark Flooring LLC of Washougal.
The roofs on the historic buildings were replaced only a few years before the partners purchased the property. So RC Pro-roof has focused on installing steel roofing on the new structures. Metal roof material typically costs about twice as much as composite shingles, Richard Ammons said.
Overall, Siegel said the developers, working with Waechter Architecture, have tried to maintain the look and feel of a Civilian Conservation Corps project — with decidedly contemporary influences.
“We’ve done our best to maintain the character of the buildings and the energy they bring to the community,” Siegel said. “These buildings have provided the Gorge communities a gathering place for nearly 100 years, and we hope that what we are creating honors that.”
