PORT ANGELES — The Landing mall has been acquired by a Seattle businessman with local ties and a vision for the landmark property.
Erik Marks, 50, plans to put a “fresh look” on the 46,000-square-foot building on the Port Angeles waterfront and the 2,200-square-foot brick Chamber of Commerce center in its shadow.
“I know that the status quo for this property isn’t what the community wants,” Marks said while standing in the courtyard south of mall Friday.
“So the answer is change, and the question is what should that be?”
In the short term, Marks plans to hire a full-time worker to pressure-wash and paint the exterior of the mall, replace signs for tenants and “just clean up the whole facade for the summer.”
In 2019, Marks hopes to begin a two-year effort to make significant improvements like enhanced sight lines to the water and a stamped concrete courtyard to attract local residents and tourists.
“The Landing mall is the only waterfront retail or office building on the American side of the Strait of Juan de Fuca,” Marks said in a Friday announcement.
“It has glorious views of the water, city and mountains and deserves the opportunity to step up and shine as a beacon for the city of Port Angeles.”
Marks would not disclose the purchase price.
The appraised value of the property in 2017 was $2.3 million, the Clallam County Assessor’s Office said.
The Landing sits on aquatic lands leased by the state Department of Natural Resources. Marks had been working with DNR officials on the property acquisition for the past 18 months, he said.
“It’s a political process, and it’s got to run its course,” Marks said of the ongoing talks.
“Best case scenario is we’d start work on the bigger-picture stuff in the summer of 2019.”
Marks, who works in real estate and owns a cabin near Joyce, said he has been soliciting input from tenants and community members about the long-term future of The Landing mall.
That feedback will help shape his vision for the property at 115 E. Railroad Ave., he said.
“I’m telling myself I have to keep my mouth shut for 30 days and listen so that I’ll hear the ideas that are out there,” Marks said.
“Once I put mine out there, people will react to those instead of sharing what they have.”
The three-story mall is 88-percent occupied and has 16 tenants, Marks said.
Its major tenants include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, Downriggers Restaurant, Smuggler’s Landing Restaurant and Wine on the Waterfront.
Marks acquired The Landing from the estate of Paul Cronauer, a Port Angeles developer and business leader who died in 2012.
The property was conveyed to Marks through a foreclosure, according to land transfer documents recorded by the Clallam County Auditor’s Office on Friday.
“I acquired the loan, and the property was conveyed back to me by mutual agreement,” Marks said in a telephone interview.
Cronauer’s Port Angeles Landing LLC owed two deeds of trust for a combined $842,523 and granted the property to TLM Loan Acquisition LLC, according to the deed in lieu of foreclosure.
TLM Loan granted the property to Marks’ The Landing and Wharf LLC, the quit claim deed said.
Marks’ LLC paid $527,222 to two lenders — $263,611 to each — as part of the secured obligations, according to the deed of trust, assignment of rents and leases, fixture filing and security agreement.
Cronauer paid $759,000 to purchase The Landing from the Port of Port Angeles in 2007, according to Assessor’s Office records.
“My goal has been to see the property pass on to someone with both enthusiasm and vision for the property, not just an investor,” said Sarah Cronauer, Paul Cronauer’s widow, in a Friday news release.
“Clearly, Marks is passionate about the property and meets that requirement.”
Cronauer could not be reached for further comment.
Young Johnson, owner of H2O Waterfront Bistro near the The Landing, said she and others have been encouraged by Marks’ efforts to acquire the property.
“We hope to see a vibrant Landing mall,” said Johnson, a longtime Port Angeles resident.
“We don’t expect everything to happen at once, but we’re very excited about the changes to come.”
Johnson added that a refurbished Landing and courtyard would create a “wonderful gathering place for the community.”
“We needed that,” Johnson said.
“I’m really stoked for him.
“He’s captured the spirit of Port Angeles.”
A native of Berkeley, Calif., Marks works as a licensed real estate attorney, real estate broker, real estate investor and entrepreneur.
He founded CDL Recycle, a construction waste recycling company, and TisBest Philanthropy, a nonprofit that makes charity gift cards.
Marks splits his time between Seattle and the North Olympic Peninsula. He built a cabin near Joyce about nine years ago and his mother lives in Port Angeles “just a few blocks from The Landing mall,” he said.
“I am excited to participate in the transformation of this property in a way that both respects its roots and moves it toward increased utility, prosperity and vibrancy,” Marks said.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
