PORT TOWNSEND — A public tour of all the commercial property for sale or rent in downtown Port Townsend this Friday will apprise people of the area’s potential and perhaps help prospective businesses find homes, organizers hope.
“There are a lot of opportunities downtown,” said Port Townsend Main Street Executive Director Mari Mullen, who is planing the event.
“We want to show people what’s available.”
Ten properties — many with multiple spaces for rent or sale — on Taylor Street, Water Street and Quincy Street will be toured from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The tour is free and open to the public. Some locations will serve light refreshments.
Participants are asked to check in on the street level of the Mount Baker Block Building, 213 Taylor St., where they can pick up the materials needed for the self-guided tour, which Mullen hopes will draw about 200 people.
Among the possibilities on the tour are 11 spaces in the Mount Baker Block Building, from a 256-square-foot space for $385 a month to a top-floor 1,332-square-foot space for $1,700 a month.
Down the street, the Green Eyeshade kitchen store is up for sale both as a business and a building.
“I won’t sell one without the other,” said Marilyn Staples, who has owned the business for 20 years and worked there 10 years before that.
“I am looking for someone who is as dedicated to the business as I am.”
Staples said she is asking $700,000 for the package.
Another landmark space is the N.D. Hill Building, 639 Water St., which housed the Water Street Brewing Co. until it closed last summer.
Owner Chris Sudlow has cleaned out the front room, which once held two bars and a stage, and hopes to subdivide the 7,000-square-foot area into two retail spaces.
Despite some nostalgia for the several bars that once occupied the space, Sudlow said he is not inclined to rent to another restaurateur.
Instead he feels that the right retail has a better chance, such as a small grocery or convenience store.
Sudlow’s building has a lot of nooks and crannies, including a three-level space that was last occupied by the Christian Science Reading Room.
“I think downtown is doing pretty well considering the state of the economy,” he said.
“We are doing better than a lot of other places.”
Staples said her business has decreased, but feels the downtown area has potential.
“All the stores down here reflect the expressions of their owners,” she said.
“We are not a part of someone else’s idea.”
Richard Probst, who manages the Mount Baker Block Building, said the vacancy rate is less than it was three years ago when the economy took a downturn.
With 11 spaces of various sizes, businesses can start small and move to a larger space as their business grows, he said.
Mullen said she feels that the downtown area will thrive as soon as the refurbished north end of Water Street, dubbed the Civic District, is complete.
“When all this construction is finished, this part of town will be a showplace,” she said.
For more information about the tour or the Main Street program, go to www.ptmainstreet.com or phone 360-385-7911.
________
Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
