Salem investors renovate buildings in Astoria and Seaside

Mar. 20—Several properties, including apartment complexes and cornerstone commercial buildings in Astoria and Seaside, have been purchased by two Salem investors with plans for revitalization.

Paul Kerley and Gabe Johansen, through their company, One Ten Holdings, own more than 20 residential and commercial properties on the North Coast.

Separately, Kerley owns Commercial Property Resources, which has about 2,000 residential, commercial and industrial properties along the West Coast. Johansen owns SMI Real Estate, a brokerage and property management company that manages about 4,000 properties.

Kerley said he and Johansen love finding "deal" properties.

"We like to buy bread-and-butter real estate and fix it up," he said in a statement. "We really appreciate and respect people and property. We're in it for the long term so we make sure it's done right."

As far as the residential properties, Kerley said they typically renovate the buildings and rent them at market rate. He said some of the properties need more work than others, such as an apartment complex on W. Bond Street in Astoria, which he said needs to be almost completely redone on the inside.

He said the company has nearly rebuilt two duplexes on Eighth Street and Franklin Avenue.

In Astoria, the company also owns the Cook Building on Commercial Street, which is home to Holly McHone Jewelers, and the Messenger Building across from the Astoria Transit Center.

Since purchasing the Cook Building, the company has installed solar panels on the roof, renovated the inside to include six floor-to-ceiling photo murals of Astoria's scenery and have drawn plans for a makeover of the building's exterior.

The company envisions a dressy black-and-white scheme for the building's exterior, which will involve new paint, awnings, lights, a clock and brightly colored flowers in pots.

Julie Oakes, a spokesperson for One Ten Holdings, said the hope is to complete the project this year — the building's 100th anniversary.

"We hope the tenants and neighboring buildings love the change," she said.

Oakes said the solar panels are expected to generate enough energy to fully power the building year-round and will pay for itself in seven to 12 years.

She said the project removes the power demand for all eight of the building's commercial spaces off the local grid.

The properties in Seaside include apartment complexes and a block of commercial buildings along Broadway Street, including the site of the Seaside Antique Mall.

The Astorian's sister paper, the Seaside Signal, reported in February that the Seaside Planning Commission approved a request by One Ten Holdings to turn the second-floor space of the antique mall into six apartments.

The units will include three studio, two one-bedroom and one two-bedroom apartments.

Kerley said he and Johansen have made connections with brokers and other investors in the area, which he said has opened a lot of doors on the North Coast.