What's that happening in downtown Salem near Riverfront Park?
Location: 217 State St. and 140 Front St. NE
Description: Two major remodels at State and Front streets NE could bring new businesses to a long-empty corner in downtown Salem.
A local developer is doing an extensive remodel of the former automotive center, garage, guitar, printing and repair shop at 217 State St. and the old White seed building at 140 Front St. NE.
Clutch Industries Inc. founder and owner Chris Blackburn said the site has no confirmed tenants but is full of potential.
"We're exploring options like restaurants, coffee shops, bagel shops, ice cream or brewery concepts for the spaces," he said, pointing to Ruse Brewing, a family friendly taproom and restaurant on the Vancouver, Washington, waterfront as a possible model for the future of the spot.
The neighboring properties are in a prominent location downtown — across the street from Riverfront Park and near several new businesses and apartments like Koz on State and Manna Bakery — but have been vacant for years.
The R.B. Boise Building at 217 State St. is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Built in the early 1900s, the location served as the home for a variety of automotive dealers, repair shops and audio stores. Statesman Journal archives show it was occupied by Beal Reproduction Printing until 2009. Normandy Guitars opened at the location that same year and remained in business for several years.
The faded brick facade of D.A. White's seed warehouse on Front Street is a common sight for drivers zooming by on Front Street. The warehouse was built in 1890 and once housed equipment to clean oats and seeds. It has been empty since the 1950s, according to newspaper archives.
In 2003, previous owner Evan Boise said he planned to turn the building at 217 State St. into an office and retail space and bulldoze the White seed building to use as a parking lot. The plans caused a stir at the time, as some downtown wanted to preserve the building. Those plans never came to fruition.
Three years later, Boise sold both buildings to local artist Margaret Furlong Alexander, the creator of a nationally known line of porcelain angel figurines. Furlong Alexander is the longtime owner of the nearby historic properties at 210 and 226 State St.
After the purchase in 2006, she outlined plans to transform the buildings into a venue similar to Seattle's Pike Place Market.
When cracks appeared in the 140 Front St. building in 2007, it put a temporary pause on construction at the neighboring Rivers condominiums. The building was stabilized before work could continue.
Furlong Alexander sold the 217 State St. and 140 Front St. buildings to LLCs connected to Clutch Industries in 2022.
Is there something under construction you'd like to tell us about or find out more about? Contact reporter Whitney Woodworth at wmwoodworth@statesmanjournal.com
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: What's that happening in downtown Salem near Riverfront Park?
