At long last, work is under way on the Myhre’s building … at least the exterior.
Abadan Holdings, LLC, owned by Mansour Samadpour, in October told city of Port Orchard officials it would address the crumbling exterior of the building, that was gutted by fire in 2011. The city had fielded complaints about the building’s appearance and concerns about the safety of the rock veneer on the front and the wood canopy, which was loose.
The Rylander family had an interest in the property since 1930, operating a restaurant there and rebuilding after a fire in 1963. A couple who bought the property in 2005 lost it to foreclosure, after the 2011 fire, and the building was tied up in a legal morass, sitting fallow, incomplete and exposed to the elements. Samadpour, who owns seven other downtown properties, bought it at auction in May 2014.
The building’s appearance became a political issue last fall. Incumbent Tim Matthes was pushing for a derelict building ordinance — with Myhre’s as the poster child — while his challenger, Rob Putaansuu, said developers needed incentives to help projects “pencil out.” Putaansuu said at the time he had reached out to Samadpour.
In April, Putaansuu — who beat Matthes in the election — expressed frustration that the Myhre’s building sat as dilapidated as ever. But the mayor was hopeful work on the building would start soon, since the contractor, BJC Group, Inc., of Port Orchard, had applied for a permit. Apparently, however, the damage caused by moisture to the unfinished building was worse than expected, so BJC had to revise plans leading to yet another delay.
But, lo, here about three weeks ago, new siding started to
appear. Last week, Putaansuu said BJC was working on permits to
pull old plywood off the second story deck and jack up a corner of
the building that is sagging. A little paint on the canopy, and the
cosmetic fix will be complete.
The interior remains a shell that would need extensive work,
however. Putaansuu said he’s been networking to try and find
someone to buy or lease the space. “Now it’s time to find a tenant
and make it a vibrant part of our community again,” the mayor said.
“I think it’s a fabulous location for a brew pub or
restaurant.”
As it happens The Lighthouse is looking for a new location. But owner Brooks Konig said he is interested in the building that formerly housed the Port Orchard Pavilion. The Pavilion property also is owned by Mansour Samadpour and, like Myhre’s, is located on the 700 block of Bay Street.
Putaansuu wants people to quit referring to the Myhre’s building as “the Myhre’s building. “It’s not fair to the family that operated it as Myhre’s,” he said. “It’s been a thorn in our side in the community. It’s gotten some negative connotations, and I just want to refer to it as 737 Bay until there’s someone else in there.”
That would make “the Pavilion building” 701 Bay.
I hope we all can keep that straight, and not get the numbers mixed up. A better solution would be for both buildings to be quickly occupied, so we can refer to them by their new business names.
Nothing but political spin by the Mayor of Port Orchard. Who in an attempt to avoid the revealing curse of the “google” search tool that links this building to its notorious history and half assed campaign promises that could not be accomplished as slickly as they poured from the then lips of the most bought, sold and prostituted mayoral candidate in recent Port Orchard history.
This is what happens when people vote for the candidate with the most and largest campaign signs instead of becoming informed and voting for the right candidate. The same thing is likely to happen in the South end county commissioner’s race.
I have a better idea. Let’s call it Putansuu Corner. He is the one obstructing the derelict building ordinance that would help clean the mess up so let him own it.
I dub thee “Putansuu Corner”
Tear it down and build a parking garage to make up for the spaces P. O. is going to cover with grass.
In Politics I’ve learned the advantage of being positive when trying to take positive steps. So, I’m going to glance over all the negative aspects I see to try to focus on having a positive attitude with this; “Remember Myhre’s!” This could be a rallying cry like, “Remember the Alamo!” This might also help us ask for all of the reasons why all the other picturesque buildings are falling to pieces in downtown Port Orchard. And it could even remind us of another repeatedly asked and unanswered question that has yet to be answered by our City Council and our New Mayor, “Why can’t we get a derelict building ordinance in our city?” And while I’m focused on trying to get at positive solutions, I’ve got a number of other unanswered positive questions:
1. Don’t we have Historic Registered old buildings here in Port Orchard and wouldn’t it be great to save some of the other, “old style buildings” befitting our “old town atmosphere” downtown?
2. Can’t we find ways to preserve these buildings and build GMA style buildings somewhere else nearby?
3. Wouldn’t it be worth our effort to work together to work towards an, “Old Town” vision to bring in more money and people?
4. Wouldn’t having an authentic “American Old Town” be a tremendous tourist draw and bring in people from around the world who have read about, “Cedar Cove” and have an eye for beauty and want to come here to see our, “Old Town on the Sound” that’s even tied in with the old historic, “Miskito Fleet” ferry that ties up here?!
5. Isn’t the Rings and Things building downtown is a great example of what could be done?
6. Can we get our city Council, our Mayor or even our Kitsap SUN paper to answer any of these questions?