A 1910 Arts and Crafts bungalow in Lake Oswego that was saved from demolition in 2016 sold for $1.47 million in June after a full restoration.

The Emma Austin House at 49 Briarwood Road closed at $1,470,000 on June 26, according to OregonLive. The property had been listed at $1,650,000 on Feb. 5 before the price dropped to $1,595,000 on April 8. Listing broker Steve Nassar of Lake Oswego-based Premiere Property Group told OregonLive the buyer works in the homebuilding industry and submitted a cash offer for a quick close.

The sale caps a preservation story that stretches back to 2016, when the house on its double lot faced demolition by a developer. Lake Oswego Preservation Society board member Emogene Waggoner sounded the alarm, and the developer gave the nonprofit a narrow window to find a buyer willing to restore the home rather than raze it, according to the Preservation Society.

The society connected with John McCulloch of Portland-based McCulloch Construction. McCulloch had two days to buy the house, according to his firm's portfolio page. He bought it immediately.

McCulloch's crew spent years on the restoration, which was completed in 2020. Workers took rooms down to the studs to install energy-efficient insulation, heating and air conditioning.

They poured a new foundation to improve seismic strength. Original windows, lighting fixtures and hardware were safeguarded throughout.

The interior painting alone cost more than $75,000, not counting months of touch-up work, according to McCulloch Construction. A new retaining wall built from matching river rock took six months to complete.

"We leaned heavily into the story, character, restoration and lifestyle of the property rather than positioning it simply as another Lake Oswego luxury listing," Nassar told OregonLive.

The two-story home spans 3,074 square feet with three bedrooms and three bathrooms featuring marble finishes and tile floors.

The living room retains original arched doors flanking a stone-and-brick fireplace. Outside, the one-acre forested lot holds a gazebo, fountain, waterfall, mature rose gardens and a redwood tree.

Portland socialite Emma Austin commissioned the home in 1910 as a summer retreat. Architect Joseph Jacobberger, whose firm Jacobberger and Smith designed multiple buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, drew the plans.

When the house went up, the area was still known as Sucker Lake and surrounded by fishing shacks. Austin's arrival helped draw other Portland families to build vacation homes nearby, OregonLive reported.

McCulloch earned the Lake Oswego Preservation Society's Morgan Award for the project. His McCulloch Foundation has been credited with saving about 20 historic structures across the region.

The house carries no formal landmark designation and has no legal protection against future demolition, the Preservation Society noted in 2020 open house materials. Its survival still depends on its owners.