I guess I was bound to comment on this sooner or later: The Crane Shed demolition here in Bend last Thursday, August 19th. It’s the big news around here. Here’s some recap:
- With a mighty roar, Crane Shed is no more: The initial Bend.com story which lays the groundwork
- Crane Shed demolition brings shock, sadness: The Bend.com follow-up story, which reveals that Crown Investment Group (who owned and demolished the building) didn’t even have a permit—oops!
- Exclusive: Crane Shed owners tell their side
- Crane Shed update: City seeks $150,000 fine: Fine amount for demolition without a permit? $500. Watching Crown Investment Group getting their asses kicked over shady dealings? Priceless.
- DEQ after Crane Shed owners over asbestos: And the hits just keep on coming.
And, here’s a good link about the Crane Shed: Brooks Scanlon Historic Crane Shed. Guess they’ll need to update their site now, though.
For my part, I think the city should have fought for the Crane Shed and prevented Crown Investment from demolishing it. I’m not sure it would have helped, though, considering Crown Investment’s highly questionable actions:
- Threaten the city of Bend with a lawsuit to deter a denial of demolition;
- Demolish the building, after hours, without a permit or safety precautions, while the whole matter was still legally pending;
- Publicly thumbing their nose at the city and the situation;
- Not perform the necessary safety inspections that would have prevented the asbestos issues the DEQ is smacking them down for;
- Lying about the state of the building and issues surrounding the demolition.
I hope Crown Investment gets the royal smackdown they deserve—and they look like they will, too. Plus, how hard do you think it will be for them to conduct future business in this town? I guess they got what they ultimately wanted, though: now they can sell off the land, which is already worth a bunch more now that the Shed is gone.
And in the meantime, yet another piece of historic Bend is gone. Sucks.
I was visiting Bend the week the Crane Shed was demolished and I’m sorry to see it gone. It was a wonderful landmark. Although I do not condone the developer’s less than legal approach I do struggle with the rights of property owners vs. preserving historical landmarks. Unfortunately, Bend residents will never know if a mutually beneficial solution could have been reached.
P.S. Really enjoy your blog!
Thanks for the compliment!
In general, I get the sense that there wouldn’t have been a mutually beneficial solution possible, but, you’re right, we’ll never know now. I do know I haven’t yet run into anyone here who’s happy that it’s gon. I image Crown Investment will be receiving a chilly reception on any future projects, *and* Bend will be ultra-conservative on preserving historical landmarks in the future. Fool me once, and all that.
yesterday i was talking wtih a collegue and he said what will happen is crown investment will go bankrupt and then will have to sell to the old mill guy …and make a ton of money.
if it was a safety hazard and could go down at "any minute" demolishing would have been done anyway.
The demolition *may* have been inevitable, but we’ll never know, and from what I’ve been reading, it was generally agreed (outside of Crown Investment) that the building was *not* a safety hazard or in imminent danger of collapsing.
Business and real estate in a small town, I guess…
Late comment:
responding to Andi’s touch on private property rights, it’s always been my understanding that if you buy property within a city’s limits you are bound by the laws and general consensus of the city. It sounds a little socialist, but we all contribute to Bend and reap its offerings whenever possible. but we do it peacefully and within the limits of the law. In the case of Crown Investments, we just have a bad neighbor.
I’m so sad to see it gone. It’s an important part of our history about the mill.