A last-minute sale to save an 1892 house in Willamette Heights from demolition has closed, putting to rest a saga that unfolded over a week and drew national attention to a typically quiet corner of Northwest Portland.

Digg.com founder and Google Ventures partner Kevin Rose and his wife, Darya, sold the house for the $1.375 million — what they paid plus the $75,000 they spent on plans for a new house on the site — to Tom and Jennifer Saunders, who live nearby. The deal closed on Friday, said Will Aitchison, who was involved in the negotiations.

The deal came together after neighbors caught wind of the Roses’ plans to demolish the house and launched a counteroffensive that captured the attention of Silicon Valley and the national technology press. 

Tom Saunders, a longtime Portland renovator who describes himself as mostly retired, says he isn’t yet sure what he’s going to do with the house. 

He didn’t have much time to plan. He made an offer Monday night, only about 24 hours after learning the house was headed for demolition.

“It became apparent the only way to stop this was to buy it. Having bought and sold many houses in my life, it was not a big deal to me,” he said. “This is what my life has been. If I were a surgeon and somebody was having a heart attack, I’d give them a bypass.”

He said he’ll likely try to sell the house and rent it out if he can’t find a buyer. If that doesn’t work out, he said, he’s willing to move in himself.

If he sells, Saunders said it would be under the condition that the house not be torn down, and he would take other measures to make the house a less enticing target for development. 

When the Roses bought the house, it was listed the city’s historic resource inventory of more than 5,000 properties, which initially blocked their demolition permit.

Removing a house from that inventory, however, is as simple as filling out an application. Applying to have the house named a local landmark or getting the house listed on the the National Register of Historic Places puts up more substantial hurdles to demolition.

But Saunders said he likely won’t apply for historic designations that would force more oversight. He owns another house that s listed on the National Register.

“Those can come with strings and fees and things that don’t really make my life easier,” he said. “As long as I own them, they’re protected.”

— Elliot Njus