This Month's Front Page Articles
Yost Elected President of Elsinore Theatre Board
Downtown property owner Roger
Yost has been elected president
of the Historic Elsinore Theatre
board of directors, succeeding Peter
Chamberlain of Chamberlain Financial
Services.
Other officers elected by the Elsinore
board are:
� Dr. David Holloway, chief medical
officer of Salem Hospital, vice
president;
� J. R. Aguilar, Portland General
Electric, treasurer;
� Attorney Jonathan Bauer, of Parks,
Bauer, Sime, Winkler and Fernety,
secretary.
� Suzi Bicknell, executive director
of Go Downtown Salem,
� Tyler Friesen, an attorney with Saalfeld
Griggs PC, were elected to the board to
replace retiring board members Gerry
Thompson and Dennis Miles.
Victoria Shinn, vice president of U.S.
Bank, Kimberly Mounts of Oregon
Private Health Partnerships, and
Chamberlain round out the board for
the 2010-11 terms.
Yost owns the Reed Opera
House, Capitol Center office tower,
Alessandro�s Ristornate & Galleria, the
Vick Building and the Apartments at
Cinnamon Lakes. He is the immediate
past president of Go Downtown Salem!
and a member of the Travel Salem
board.
Luxury Downtown Condos
Offer Great Value
Looking west from the 8th floor of Rivers
Condominiums, the morning fog dissolved
into another spectacular autumn day along
the Willamette. A red-tailed hawk swooped
in, landed on the patio railing and preened,
enjoying its reflection in the energy efficient wall
of glass, before gliding away silently through the
turning maple trees in Riverfront Park.
The view from the other side of the 2400 sq ft. penthouse condo is just as spectacular, the
cityscape below punctuated by a canopy of
parkland, the spires of churches, the Capitol
dome and, in the distance, Mt. Jefferson and
Hood commanding the Cascade heights.
Salem�s downtown has taken a giant step
forward with the completion of three distinct,
magnificent condominium projects. The Rivers,
the Meridian and 295 Church: they�re all called
�luxury� for a reason, and you have to see them
to appreciate it. But the slackened economy has
forced each of the developers to swallow hard
and sharpen their pencils. Between shaved
prices and plentiful incentives, many of these
condos are luxury in everything but the price.
�The square-foot cost of some units is scarcely
more than a site-built, stick-frame home in
a subdivision,� said John Reis, a broker with
Windemere Pacific West Properties, one of the
listing agents for 295 Church Condominiums.
�And there�s no comparison between the two
when it comes to durability and construction
quality,� he added.
Alex Rhoten recalls his childhood along these
same downtown Salem streets. Along Shelton
Ditch, Pringle Creek, the Mill Race and Mill
Creek, feed and seed warehouses squatted. Along
the same banks, and bordering the Willamette,
the sagging remains of industry threatened to
stifle a vibrant future for the capital city.
�In the 60�s and 70�s, the City�s urban renewal
agency created a vision for Salem,� Rhoten
said, �and these new condos are only the latest
manifestation of that downtown plan.�
�The SAIF building, Pringle Park, the Civic
Center and Library were foundation pieces for
Salem�s urban transformation,� Rhoten added.
Today, the Salem Hospital complex, Park Place
offices, the senior housing tower on Church
Street and Willamette University�s expanded
campus along the creek are all outgrowths of that
urban renewal decision,� said Rhoten, principal
broker for Coldwell Banker Commercial,
Mountain West Real Estate.
The second tier of the downtown plan
was the decision to create a downtown
retail magnet, forestalling suburban mall
development in favor of the city�s core.
Quickly, Salem Centre was created - a public/
private partnership driven by the City�s
comprehensive plan for development.
And the crowning touch, Rhoten said, was
the acquisition of riverfront property from
Boise Cascade in the 1980s, a move that
hastened Salem residents� embrace of historic
preservation and natural beauty. He drew a
small square on a blank page, representing
Salem�s downtown in 1960, then drew long
rectangles bordering three of its sides, each representing a new urban development that
formed a greatly enlarged core that we know
today as downtown.
Urban planners know that residency is what
separates lively from sleepy downtowns. And
while pioneers like Carole Smith and Eric
Kittleson have been downtown-living advocates
for more than a decade, it was a 2003 study
(and a hot Oregon real estate market) that
jump started the three luxury condo projects
in downtown Salem, according to James
Hauge, principal broker for Legacy Real Estate,
representing Rivers Condominiums. �The study
concluded that there was in Salem a demand for
high quality downtown housing and very little
availability,� he said. �It�s estimated that every
downtown resident will add about $8,500 to
the downtown economy each year,� said Rivers
Condo developer Matt Sloan.
The amenities at each of the featured condo
properties is impressive. �We�ve built in what
people have become accustomed to in their
lives,� said Don Meyer, a broker for Re/Max
Equity Group, representing The Meridian
condos on Commercial SE. �And because
buyers of condominiums have little interest in
maintaining their own landscape and home,
these units build in ease and convenience,
together with a high degree of comfort, security
and solace.
All the properties have a ton of flexibility built
into the �finish� of the condos. That leaves plenty
of options open to buyers wanting a maximum
of choice. But the structures are also built to
commercial standards, ensuring durability,
security systems, phenomenal sound-proofing
and easy access.
Buyers in these three buildings share other
values, Meyer continued. �They want to be
able to leave their car behind for a week at
a time. They want easy access to shopping,
dining, cultural events, parks and health care.
These properties all score very high in tangible
benefits,� he said.
�In fact,� added James Hauge, �if you put this
address into the website www.walkscore.com
you�ll see that the Rivers scores 98 out of 100
possible points in terms of �walkability.�� Putting
in the other two properties: 295 Church and The
Meridian, the scores are equally impressive: 97
and 85 percent respectively.
So who�s living in these properties? �You�d
expect retired people might be attracted to
this kind of centralized, comfortable living,�
said Rhoten. �What�s gratifying is the range of
ages and lifestyles,� he added. �And part of the
reason, beyond the convenience, is because of
the current affordability and variety of condos
offered.� Condo sizes range from studios (700
� 800 square feet) to spacious homes of more
than 2000 square feet.
�Young professionals, business owners, state
employees, retired folks and college students,�
added John Reis, about the tenants at 295
Church. He said that with one more closing, the
property developer will hold a �50% Sold� party
for the community, with 13 of 27 condos sold as
of late October.
�If you figure an average of two people per
condo, and multiply that times the number of
luxury condos in these three properties (about
150), you�re adding to the �neighborhood�
about 300 people. The new owners love the
idea of having the occasion to become a close
community in downtown Salem,� added
Meyer.
Another perk of these particular properties
is private, off-street parking and commercial
space on the first floor. At the Meridian, it looks
like a medical practice will soon occupy almost
10,000 square feet. Likewise, Rivers has about
8000 square feet of space available for a variety
of businesses: restaurant, coffee shop, clothing
boutique or bookstore, for example.
With the economic downturn, prices for homes
in these buildings were pared and discounted
somewhat. Incentives like free interior design
services, no association fees for the first few
months and even realtor assistance in selling
your current homes still are available. �But the
prices aren�t likely to slide any further,� said
Reis. �Because all the properties are beginning
to sell units, and because the jitters of being
the first to move into a new complex are long
settled, the interest in the remaining spots has
picked up considerably,� he added.
�There isn�t much more expansion room
for Salem�s core,� concluded Rhoten, except
perhaps north along the river where industrial
and hardware businesses have been.
�That means to me that these condo properties
will continue to be very popular as people
increasingly look for quality of life changes
that put them in the heart of the city with a
maximum of opportunities and a maximum
amount of ease.�
Mid Valley Mentors Awarded
Competitive Federal Grant
In October 2010, the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services Administration
of Children and Family Services named
Salem-based nonprofit Mid Valley Mentors
as a recipient of a three year grant totaling
$600,000. The grant will support expansion
of Mid Valley Mentors� successful one-onone
mentoring program for children of
prisoners, known as �Juvenile Enrichment through Mentoring�.
Mid Valley Mentors is one of 94 new
grantees nationwide � and one of only two
new grants distributed in Oregon.
The need to support children of prisoners
in our community is great. Social service
providers and correctional facilities do not
track the number of youth affected by parental
incarceration. Yet public data supports what
we already sense to be true: children living
in Salem and the surrounding Marion County
area are markedly impacted by parental
incarceration.
The Oregon Department of Corrections
operates 14 facilities across the state. Four of
those � including Oregon�s only maximum
security facility � are located right here in
Salem. A fifth Salem-based facility, Oregon
State Hospital�s Forensic Psychiatric Services
Unit (FPS), is the only state facility for care
and treatment to adult males found guilty
except for insanity.
On July 1, 2010, there were 14,021 inmates
in the custody of Oregon Department of
Corrections statewide. Over 27% of those
inmates housed here in Salem. (Oregon
Department of Corrections Community
Population Profile for 7/1/2010.) Only 18%
of Salem�s inmate population comes from
within Marion County; the remaining 82% are
brought in from Oregon�s other 35 counties.
The result is that Marion County � with 11%
of the state�s population � is home to over
30% of Oregon�s incarcerated adults. Roughly
70% of inmates are the parent of one or more
children. So the impact to the community is
significant.
Children dealing with parental incarceration
are likely to experience difficulties
concentrating in school due to trauma,
unstable living conditions and anxiety over
the incarcerated parent�s wellbeing, resulting
in school behavioral problems, and poor
academic performance. These kids � and
their families � need healthy role models.
They need hope.
Under the new USDHHS grant, Mid
Valley Mentors will work with children ages
4 to 18 who have an incarcerated parent,
providing one-to-one mentoring, mentoryouth
match activities, life skills development
opportunities, exposure to higher education
and positive family events at area prisons.
The Juvenile Enrichment through Mentoring
program will support positive outcomes for
children impacted by incarceration, improve
family functioning and increase academic
performance, high school completion and
the number of participants pursing higher
education.
Mid Valley Mentors welcomes the
participation of Salem�s business community
in this exciting new opportunity. Let�s join
forces to change the community impacts of
Salem�s prisons. If we always do what we�ve
always done, we�ll always get what we always
got. Connect � engage � inspire!
If your workplace has a community
service program, consider introducing your employees to Mid Valley Mentors� volunteer
and mentoring opportunities.
Be a mentor! Positive adult mentors are
needed � for youth ages 4 to 18, as well as
for adults releasing back into the community
from prison. MVM especially needs male
mentors as 80% of our youth referrals are
boys.
Be a volunteer! We depend on volunteers for
data entry, file maintenance, mailing projects,
event logistics and much more.
Be a sponsor! Sponsors for positive youth
events are always needed. A small sponsorship
will make such a difference.
Be a boss or a landlord! Access to housing
and jobs are a huge barrier to community
reentry for so many ex-prisoners; consider
giving a second chance to someone who has
already paid their debt to society.
Apply to become a board member! Mid
Valley Mentors has an active and dynamic
board of directors that is moving mountains
in the community. If you�re interested
in learning about board service, contact
Executive Director Sarah Spinks.
Learn more about this nonprofit 501(c)3
at www.midvalleymentors.org. Contact Mid
Valley Mentors at info@midvalleymentors.
org or 503.584.4865.
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