The scaffolding at Portland’s Trelawny Building is finally coming down

Scaffolding at Portland’s Trelawny Building to Come Down This Week, Final Facade Repairs Nearing Completion

Portland, Ore. – Workers are poised to dismantle the last of the scaffolding that has shrouded the historic Trelawny Building on Congress Street for three years, a move that marks the final phase of a long‑delayed restoration effort. According to project manager Greg Shinberg of Shinberg Consulting, the bulk of the structure will be cleared over the next week to ten days, weather permitting. Once the scaffolding is removed, crews will use a lift to finish repairing the first two floors, bringing the façade back to the condition required by the city and the Portland Historic Preservation Office.

The Trelawny Building, erected in 1907 and located at 655 Congress Street, sits within the Congress Street Historic District and is governed by strict preservation codes. In 2023, the city and preservation office ordered owner Geoffrey Rice, a Portland landlord who owns dozens of properties in the city, to repair portions of the façade after chunks of masonry began falling onto the street. Rice was given a year to complete permanent fixes, a deadline that was extended to October 2025. The project’s slow progress has led to a cascade of complaints from tenants and a lawsuit against the city for delayed repairs.

Shinberg told reporters that the work has been complicated but that the safety of both workers and residents has been the top priority. “The safety of workers and residents has been the number one concern throughout,” he said. The scaffolding has already been partially dismantled, revealing a restored façade that is beginning to look like its original early‑20th‑century appearance. “Replacing the windows will be a second phase, but that I’ll likely not be involved,” Shinberg added, noting that the next steps will focus on interior finishing and window replacement.

The removal of the scaffolding has been welcomed by tenants and local businesses affected by the long‑running construction. Michelle Souliere, the owner of the Green Hand Bookshop on the ground floor, said the “scaffolding barricade” coming down “will bring a much‑needed breath of fresh air and freedom to the neighborhood.” She also reflected on the broader impact of the project. “Hopefully the heavy losses incurred during this ordeal will serve as a lesson to the city that accountability extends beyond paperwork and loopholes, and reminds them that hundreds if not thousands of Portlanders have encountered detrimental living and working conditions that could have been mitigated much earlier had better city oversight and community involvement been part of the original plan,” Souliere said.

The project’s protracted timeline has attracted legal attention. In December 2024, a city notice of violation cited Rice’s failure to complete the work within the allotted timeframe. The notice warned that penalties of no less than $100 per day per violation would accrue from October 14, 2025, until the violations were remedied. A status conference between city attorneys and Rice’s counsel is scheduled for November 6.

Rice’s record of compliance with city regulations has been mixed. Earlier this year, a Superior Court judge upheld a 2025 ruling of the Portland Rent Board that required Rice to refund tenants he overcharged and pay $170,500 in fines for violating the city’s rent‑control ordinance on 68 separate occasions. The city and Rice have already been involved in a lawsuit over delayed Trelawny repairs, underscoring a history of friction between the landlord and municipal authorities.

While the final removal of the scaffolding signals the end of a disruptive chapter for the Trelawny Building’s tenants, the project’s completion will also allow the building to resume normal commercial and residential activity. Local residents and business owners alike anticipate that the restored façade and improved safety conditions will rejuvenate the downtown area, which has long been a cornerstone of Portland’s historic district.

As the city watches the last of the scaffolding fall, the Trelawny Building’s future looks clearer than it has in years—a testament to persistent legal pressure, community advocacy, and the hard work of a dedicated project team.