PORT TOWNSEND — A downtown restaurateur has become her own landlord by purchasing the space she was renting — and avoiding the threat of foreclosure.
Kris Nelson said she paid $1 million for the C.C. Bartlett building at 825 Water Street., which contains her restaurant, Sirens Pub, as well as the Tickled Pink gift store and William James Booksellers.
“This was a defensive move on my part,” Nelson said.
“If the building foreclosed, there was no telling if I could keep the business that I have worked on for nine years.”
At the time of the signing of closing document for the sale from the estate of Stephen Pothier last Monday, the building was scheduled for auction this coming Tuesday.
Bayview Mortgage initiated foreclosure proceedings because of nonpayment of the mortgage, Nelson said.
The building — a downtown landmark built in 1881 — had changed hands twice in the last five years, selling for $1 million in 2005 and nearly $1.5 million in 2008, when the late Stephen Pothier purchased it.
The building’s most recent assessed value is $1,163,920. Its 2010 property tax bill was $9,058 property tax bill.
After Stephen Pothier’s death from cancer in November 2009, the building was at the center of an estate dispute involving, among others, members of his family.
In a hearing in King County Superior Court Aug. 23, Nelson was given the right to purchase the building, said The Leader, a weekly newspaper in Port Townsend.
“It’s great to have somebody local as landlord,” said Tickled Pink owner Michele Henery, who has weathered two ownership changes.
“It will be nice to just go upstairs and talk to the landlord when there is an issue.”
Bookstore owner Jim Catley said he will wait to decide the benefits of Nelson’s ownership.
“She has not contacted me directly about buying the building,” said Catley, who heard about the sale from a third party.
“I’m waiting to see what will change, and if the terms of the lease stay the same, I will probably look for other options.”
Nelson said she has no plans to raise rents, but that her business plan was based upon the rent generated by the current tenants.
Aside from the two stores and Sirens, there are three vacant office spaces on the second floor of the 10,600 square-foot building.
Plans are uncertain, Nelson said, and she will wait until the transaction finalizes to make any decisions.
“As soon as the sale was announced, I came to work and one of my cooks said, ‘Can we expand the kitchen now?'” Nelson said.
Nelson grew up in Port Townsend and “can remember when you could lie down in the middle of Water Street and no one would notice.”
Aside from owning and operating Sirens for nine years she is, at 39, the youngest member of the Port Townsend City Council.
Additionally, she just began a term as president of the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce.
“Downtown Port Townsend is successful because there are a lot of independent local businesses working together,” she said.
She recognizes the importance of tourism — Sirens is always busy on summer weekends — but at the same time, she wishes local business had more diversity.
“The fact that we have all of our eggs in one basket concerns me,” she said.
“It could backfire, and it would be nice if we had something as a backup, like manufacturing jobs.”
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
