Archive
Subscribe
Weather
 |
|
 |
Flex Appeal adds nutrition to exercise
|
Chehalem Mill readies for facelift |
By David
Sale, Newberg
Graphic reporter
E-mail David at
dsale@eaglenewspapers.com
|
Things have seemed quiet at the Chehalem
Valley Mills since renovation plans were announced, but appearances
can be deceiving.
With the approval of the city’s planning commission Thursday,
drivers on North Main Street can look forward to a dramatic change
in the mill’s appearance, intended to restore it to its original
appearance.
The
commission was unanimous in its decision to allow restoration to
proceed, but city code required the owner of the Mills, John Arnold,
to add a sidewalk to the property along Sheridan Street before the
building is occupied.
“We’ve had to do most of the work inside, because we hadn’t had our
design review applications approved by the city,” Arnold said. “The
initial plan was to fix the exterior and then build to suit the
occupants, but we had to reverse that.”
As part of the work, Arnold intends to repair and reopen the upper
floors of the mill, expanding its usable floor space from 4,000 to
12,000 square feet.
Arnold, who owns Sherwood-based Construction Plus and is part owner of
several Portland commercial properties, purchased the mill in
October 2006. He intends to restore it as a commercial building,
with artist’s studios, retail space and a restaurant or cafe on the
ground floor.
His restoration plans include new windows, doors and railings
throughout, rebuilding the loading dock, removing the false-front
facade around the roof of the former Tack Trader store and repairing
the roof.
However, these plans have had to wait for city approval, as the
century-old mill is listed on Newberg’s Historic Resources
Inventory, originally created in 1985.
Arnold’s plans also call for demolishing the steel grain hopper and
nearby awning on the building’s north side. Though these structures
may have acquired some historic significance in their own right,
planning commission members concurred with staff findings, showing
that they should be removed due to their poor condition.
“I’m looking forward to removing the corrugated metal siding,
replacing the windows underneath and restoring the original cedar
siding,” Arnold said.
The core buildings were constructed in 1901, when the mill was used
to produce pastry flour from Willamette Valley wheat, which was sold
nationwide.
Beginning in 1947, additional structures were added to convert the
flour mill into a feed and seed mill, which also produced
fertilizer.
Since 1992, the mill was owned by Newberg resident Sharon Smith,
who operated the Tack Trader store, selling new and historic riding
equipment. |
|
From
June 20,
2007, Newberg Graphic
Click Here to Subscribe |
|
|
|
 |
|
