New owners restoring downtown Bend building

Published 12:00 am Thursday, January 15, 2015

The new owners of 831 NW Wall St. knew from the start that taking title to the building in downtown Bend would not pencil out as a sure-fire investment in real estate.

Not right away, and not without improving the property, one of the oldest structures in Bend, they said.

“We’re more interested in the viability of downtown, in taking a shot at restoring this building as a real landmark,” said Dr. Scott Letourneau, who with his wife, Karen Letourneau, bought the property last year. “It’s one of the really true eyesores remaining on Wall Street. We would like to see that change.”

Work began Jan. 5 on restoring portions of the property, otherwise known as the E.M. Thompson Building. Mission Building and Renovation is working on improvements designed by Ascent Architecture and Interiors, Scott Letourneau said. The city in October issued Mission Building a permit for $220,000 in renovations.

The Letourneaus, through their company E.M. Thompson Building LLC, purchased the building in August for $1.2 million from Roger and Therese Nichols, according to Deschutes County records. Karen Letourneau said a U.S. Small Business Administration loan helped with the purchase. The building dates to 1915, according to the county. Edgar Thompson built the two-story brick structure for his furniture and music store; the Thompson family lived on the second floor until 1920, according to the Deschutes County Historical Society.

Karen Letourneau said she plans on locating a home decor and gift store on the first floor, similar to but not exactly like Lone Crow Bungalow, her shop at 937 NW Wall St. The new shop could open as early as May or June, she said.

“It’s a bucket list kind of thing, to own the building you’re in,” she said. Letourneau leases space at 937 NW Wall, where she’s been in business since 2001, from the historical society, which owns the building. That building, the N.P. Smith Pioneer Hardware Building, is the last wooden structure downtown and the second-oldest building in Bend, said Kelly Cannon-Miller, director of the historical society.

Renovation of the Thompson building will benefit the community and the local economy, Cannon-Miller said. “We’re really excited that Karen and Scott have bought the building and are doing this work,” she said.

The building’s former first-floor occupant, Ranch Records, moved to a new, 2,300-square-foot home at 117 NW Oregon Ave. on Jan. 1 — 15 years to the day that it first opened for business, said store owner John Schroeder.

“The sheer volume of stuff made it challenging for the movers,” he said.

At the Thompson building, the Letourneaus said they plan a full interior renovation of the first floor and mezzanine, including electrical, plumbing and heating and air conditioning improvements. The plan calls for removing the drop ceiling and restoring the first floor to its original 16-foot height.

They also plan to restore the Wall Street and Brook Street facades, and make the entrances and rest rooms compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Scott Letourneau said the plan is to bring the building back to its original appearance.

The Tower Theatre Foundation offices will occupy the second floor, he said. Thompson’s widow sold the building in 1939 to the then-owners of the next-door Tower Theatre, he said, “so it’s coming full circle.”

— Reporter: 541-617-7815, jditzler@bendbulletin.com