Pioneer Building in TD sells for second time in 17 months; Apartments planned
By Tom Peterson
Some long-awaited housing in the downtown core is in the works as new investors from Vancouver, Washington have recently purchased the Pioneer Building at 301 East Second Street.
Thirsty Sasquatch LLC owned by Brandon Rush and Anthony McNamara of Vancouver, Washington purchased the property in September 2022 and are now working towards remodeling the seven business suites on the second floor of the building.
Rush recently received approval from The Dalles Planning Department to convert the second-floor office space into “residential apartment units of varying size.”
The planning decision is dated Jan. 12.
These types of improvements have been pointed out by city leaders for years as a great way to pump the economy and attract more retail shoppers to the downtown district while also addressing the major housing shortage in The Dalles.
Win-Win-Win.
Pioneer Building photographed from the second floor of Hampton Furniture on Friday, Jan. 20. Thanks David Desrochers for access. If you look at the second floor, you can see the seven windows some with air conditioners which are slated to become apartment units of varying sizes.
Realtor Brian Lauterbach in one of the office suites in the Pioneer Building back in 2021. This one overlooks the Granada Theater at the corner.
CCCNews has reached out to the owners for comment and will add comments to this story at which time they respond.
Susan Woods
“This is all great stuff,” said Susan Woods of Susan’s Custom Sewing in the ground-floor retail portion of the Pioneer Building. “I think the more housing units we have downtown and the addition of Azure putting in a grocery store is really going to improve things.”
She noted revitalization downtown is already occurring, noting that she is seeing a lot more people on downtown streets, especially during spring and summer months.”
A Third Better the Second Time
This is the second time the Pioneer Building has sold in the past 17 months. The latest price for the 13,374-square-foot building was $750,000 according to Wasco County property records dated September 23, 2022. That’s up $250,000 from the last sale in April 2021 to Wise Rentals LLC.
Matt Wise in a photo from a mission to Uganda.
One of the registered agents for that company, Matt Wise, said today, Jan. 20, that the decision to sell “came down to the price offer.”
“It was a good offer,” he said from Chuck Wise Motors on 82nd Street in Portland. “They had good thoughts. We passed the torch.”
Jeff Judah and Dr. Dale Bricker originally sold the building to Wise Rentals for $500,000, according to Wasco County Property records.
Renters in Place
The building is broken up into four addresses - 301, 303, 305 and 307 E. 2nd Street. Berries by Felice, Sunflower Vision, Emma’s Bowtique and Susan’s Custom Sewing are renting the retail space on the first floor.
It worked out down the street
The following reporting was done in May 2021:
Perhaps this project will go the way of the Honald Building at the southeast corner of Federal and Second streets.
The 10,000-square-foot space on the second floor above Lilo’s Hawaiian BBQ was converted to five single-bedroom apartments, three studios and one two-bedroom apartment within the 10,000 square feet by January of 2020.
Guess what?
They all rented.
Travis and Jen Dillard were behind the transformation with a $500,000 investment. Dillard, a self-described real estate entrepreneur, said in 2020 that the advent of nice downtown living will ignite the area.
“I believe in it. I believe in The Dalles. When we get people here, it will come alive,” he said at the time.
“They’re 100 percent occupied,” Dillard said this morning. “It did not take long. We filled them in a month right in the middle of COVID.”
Rents range between $900 and $1,600 per month.
“This is high-end downtown living with industrial finishes and old-school charm,” he said, noting The Dalles was reasonably priced for the Gorge.
“All in all it is a successful project,” Dillard said. “It was a private-public project with Mid-Columbia Economic Development District (MCEDD) aiding in the financing.”
“It was great working with MCEDD and The Dalles Mainstreet. It’s very business-friendly out there compared to other areas of the Gorge,” he said.
