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Honoring sacrifice
Library expansion set for bid
Waite High School celebrated its 101st Memorial Day program, “The Sacrifice of the Four Families,” honoring the families of PVT Baird E. Brooks, Jr., ENS Jon P. Joyce, 1LT Harold G. Phillips, and PFC George Rajner. Top photo, in the auditorium, Waite High School Band Director Andy Fritz rings a bell over 100 times in honor of each of Waite’s fallen heroes. Bottom left, the family of Cpl. Thomas Moon lays a wreath in his honor. Bottom right, student Amed Issa plays taps. (Press photos by Ken Grosjean)
By Larry Limpf News Editor news@presspublications.com
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Life is magnified on a bicycle. Al Thompson See page 3
Shopping plaza planned for Oregon By Kelly J. Kaczala Press News Editor kkaczala@presspublications.com A public hearing for a zoning change application on South Wheeling Street will be held on June 27 in Oregon City Council chambers at 8 p.m. Marvin Dabish is applying for a zoning change from C-1 Neighborhood Commercial to C-2 General Commercial Zoning at 410 South Wheeling Street, the former site of a Pharm store. Dabish said he plans to remodel the building and make it into a commercial complex. Dabish, a businessman who at one time served on Oregon City Council, said he plans to lease the building. Spartan Stores Inc., of Grand Rapids, owned the Pharm stores that closed in the Toledo area in 2008. Rite Aid then bought the property. “When their lease was finished, I bought the building from Spartan last month,” said Dabish. “My goal is to make it into individual stores, like a plaza. If someone wants 15,000 square feet, C-1 Commercial would not allow it. C-2 Commercial will,” he said. The total space that will be available for
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Obviously, we feel good that almost all the rentable space in Oregon is taken.
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The board of trustees of the Wood County District Public Library plans to seek bids in June for an addition to the Walbridge Library branch. The board may award a contract as early as July, Michael Penrod, library director, said and construction is expected to take about eight or nine months. The renovated building will have two front facades – one along Main Street and one facing north. A new front entrance will be located at the northwest corner of the building. The addition will increase the size of the branch from 4,000 to about 8,000 square feet. Other improvements will include: • A doubling of the area for children activities and collections. • An increase from five to 12 of computer stations. • The meeting room, which includes seating for 80, and restrooms can be partitioned from the rest of the building for use when the library is closed. • New efficient heating and cooling systems and LED lighting systems. • Parking suitable for the Americans with Disabilities Act will be added near the rear entrance. • A wide sidewalk along the north side of the building to allow for activities. Penrod said windows in the original building will be enlarged to allow for more natural light and a new “through the wall” walk-up book drop will better protect materials during snow and rain. Walbridge Mayor Ed Kolanko, said the improvements will be good for more than just the village. “This expansion not only benefits Walbridge but this entire area of Wood County. Libraries are the pillars of communities and we are looking forward to this continued partnership,” he said.
lease is 29,000 square feet, he said. He would like to see restaurants, a clothing store and a shoe store at the location. “I don’t think we have a shoe store in Oregon.” The Oregon Planning Commission last Tuesday recommended approval for the zoning change by a vote of 5-0. Council must act on the recommendation for final approval of the zoning change request. If the zoning change request is approved by council, Dabish plans to gut the interior and spruce up the exterior of the building, an investment of over $500,000. “We’re going to gut the inside, make it just four walls. Then the outside of the
building will get a major facelift,” he said. Commercial space City Administrator Mike Beazley said he was pleased to see a vacant building get purchased for economic development. “We’re excited to see someone purchase it – someone who wants to develop it instead of it sitting there vacant,” said Beazley. “Among the primary reasons it sat vacant is the lease agreement with the prior tenant had not lapsed after the business closed. When a landlord has a lease with a chain that goes out of business, that chain’s lease may continue five to seven years after the business closes. The property owner is still collecting rent and there’s no incentive to market the space because they would, in most instances, lose the rent revenue they’re already collecting. This is one of those locations that went undevelopable for a period of time because of a long term lease from a prior tenant. It’s that sort of lease where you frequently end up with a long-term empty property that becomes a blight in the community. Those are the properties in which the administration and neighbors look for options to get them developed. We’re pleased that the S. Wheeling Street property
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