Coastal Construction UPDATE
A special section of Lower Columbia BUSINESS
Tourism Projects Big and
Small
Profiles of Chamber of Commerce, Bed & Breakfast and Time-Share
Construction
It has been five years since we wrote an article about ourselves, but this time, we've done it. Included in this month's rotating special on construction are the new chamber depot in St. Helens, our "newly-remodeling" Bed & Breakfast in Seaside, and the development plans for the property that has been long vacant at the Turnaround in Seaside.
The St. Helens-Scappoose Chamber of
Commerce
Plenty of Plenty of Room: According
to Shawna Sykes (above), here is so much more room in this newly-renovated
train depot in St. Helens that the St. Helens-Scappoose will share
their new space with work from local artists, the Retired Senior
Volunteer Program (Contact, Nancy Harwood) and the Greater Columbia
County Education and Careers Foundation (Contact Marie Johnstun)
formerly called the School to Work Program. The Grand Opening
Celebration is scheduled for this weekend.
When it comes to visiting
small towns, few buildings conjure a more charming vision than
an old-fashioned railroad depot. Members of the St. Helens - Scappoose
Chamber of Commerce must agree with that as they prepare for their
grand opening celebration, titled "All Aboard."
The project has been years in the making, starting when the chamber
was first displaced for highway right of way expansion. The Chamber
was paid $30,000 relocation expenses and moved to the current
location, approximately 600 square feet next to Western Bank,
on Columbia Boulevard in St. Helens. The dream of previous chamber
president Diane Dillard was beginning to take shape, when in 1997
they requested a grant from the Northwest Oregon Economic Alliance,
which was funded to $35,000 in 1998.
The 1200 square foot depot changed hands from the Portland and
Western Railroad to the Chamber in April.
Architectural work was provided free of charge by local railroad
buff Jim Russell, who now works for the City of Beaverton. The
Chamber paid $42,500 for the building, the renovation work cost
$91,000 and donations were received valuing as much as $27,800.
There is a long list of people to thank for work, support and
contributions. Please see our website, www.lcbiz.com, for the
complete list.
The grand opening celebration is May 5- 6. The 5th will be an
invitation-only party to thank all the volunteers and contributors
to the project. The public open house will be held May 6 from
10am to 2pm with the ribbon cutting at 11am.
St. Helens-Scappoose Chamber
Executive Director: Shawna Sykes
Address: The Depot at St. Helens
Telephone: 503/397-0685
Fax: 503/397-7196
E-mail: shschamber@columbia-center.org
Hours: 10a - 3p M - F, Closed S/S
10th Avenue Inn B&B
A Room with a View: Innkeepers/publishers
Jack and Lesle Palmeri are making changes for a view of the beach.
They recently acquired the 10th Avenue Inn B&B in Seaside.
Their former residence, Summer House - A Bed & Breakfast,
will now become a really large vacation rental. It can accommodate
up to 14 adults, plus accompanying children. It has seven bedrooms,
7.5 bathrooms and five fireplaces - perfect for your next church
or business retreat. For smaller gatherings, the cozy cottage
called the Doll House will sleep four adults. Drop in for a quick tour.
We, Jack and Lesle Palmeri,
and our son, Patrick, have lived in the Summer House Bed &
Breakfast for over five years since our move to Oregon in 1994.
We have answered thousands of telephone calls over the years asking
if our bed & breakfast has a view of the beach. "No,"
we always had to say. As of mid-April, we can say "YES!"
to that question. We are now the proud owners of the 10th Avenue
Inn Bed & Breakfast in Seaside.
Former owners, Francie and Vern Starkey, have moved to Utah to
help their son with his home, and we have moved two blocks south
and one block west so that we, too, may enjoy magnificent ocean
sunsets from the cozy front porch. Our guests may watch the early
beachcombers while enjoying great coffee, homemade scones, Salmon
crumpets or mushroom-artichoke fritatas.
We have been busy in our first weeks in our new home and Roy Hazen
of Hazen and Johnson Quality Builders of Gearhart is doing a great
job of executing changes designed for us by Jay Raskin, architect
of Cannon Beach. Nikos Maragos of Nehalem has just put the finishing
touches to a new river rock/stone stairway that enables guests
to ascend to the cozy parlor (furnished by Roehm's of Seaside),
complete with fabulous views (new windows from Lumbermen's), a
cozy fire, and a baby grand piano. More projects to come includes
work by Joe Corder Drywall, P& L Johnson Mechanical and Astoria
Plumbing and Tile, to name just a few.
If you have never stayed at a bed & breakfast, you should
give it a try. We love it and would be happy to show you our new
home, if you happen to be in the neighborhood.
10th Avenue Inn Bed & Breakfast
Owners: Jack and Lesle Palmeri
Address: 125 10th Avenue,
P. O. Box 1088 Seaside, OR 97138
Telephone: 503/738-0643
Toll Free: 800/745-BEST (2378)
Fax: 503/738-0172
E-mail: summerhs@seasurf.com
Trendwest Resorts, Inc.
Putting
Seaside on the Map: WorldMark, The Club locations are shown
in the
illustration to the left. By May, 2002, Seaside, Oregon will be
a part of the offerings for almost 100,000 recreation credit "owners"
to select where to spend their next vacation.
When asked about the many
rumors that have surrounded development of the property at the
Turnaround in Seaside, George Donahoe of Trendwest Resorts, Inc.
stated, "It has been given to me as my sole mission in life...to
get this project built." Trendwest Resorts was founded in
1989 and creates resort development which it then turns over to
affiliated vacation credit company called WorldMark, The Club
which owns, operates and maintains the real property resort destinations.
Unlike the traditional timeshare resort concept, members (called
owners) in WorldMark resorts purchase $8,700 worth of "credits"
against their vacation plans which they then use against time
spent in the resort destination of their choice. As of the end
of 1999, there were approximately 90,000 WorldMark owners with
the possibility of vacationing at 29 locations in Oregon, Washington,
California, Nevada, Hawaii, Utah, Arizona, British Columbia, Mexico
& Fiji, with an 80 - 97% occupancy rate. Their properties
on the Oregon coast are often filled and the company was looking
for a place to expand.
Prior to TrendWest interest, the property at the Turnaround on
the beach at Seaside has been tied up in the rumormill for development
by John Q Hammons for more than a decade. The property was owned
by Al Cohen from Eugene, Oregon, but the Hammons project has yet
be built.
Since TrendWest took up the planning for the WorldMark project
in the same location, things are looking up for development. Up
in a couple of ways. First, they are planning a nine story building,
far dwarfing anything so far in existence in Seaside, second,
they plan at least 260 units, which will be the biggest project
for the company to date, although larger properties are planned
for Nevada in the near future.
The project director will be Dan Cavenaugh; the architect, Ankrom
Moisan Associated Architects of Portland; the general contractor,
Westwood Swinerton Construction of Portland. Other subs and final
details have yet to be solidified, but plans are for an 18-20
month construction period with the property "available for
owners" by May 2002. LCB
WorldMark, The Club at Seaside
Developers: Trendwest Resorts, Inc.
Property Locations: Broadway and Avenue A in Seaside, Oregon
Contact: Sonia Tolbert, Community Relations
Telephone: 800/722-3487
E-mail: soniat@trendwestresorts.com
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