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The sign reads “Future retail space available for lease (Tenant relocating),” though the text appears out of date. The word “future” should be removed, and of course, “tenant relocating” should be “tenant relocated.”

The site of the former Bridgetown Printing offices, at 424 N.W. 14th Ave. in the Pearl District, has been vacant since the company moved out three years ago. The building is on the edge of a retail district and will require a tenant willing to make the leap to that new frontier – and probably a significant renovation.

The building is a block away from Interstate 405, separated only by a small strip mall. But it’s bordered on its other sides by Pearl District mainstay Lux Lighting and fine-dining Peruvian restaurant Andina.

“It’s at a primary access point into the Pearl from the freeway,” said broker Mark New of New & Neville Real Estate Services.

The building itself is nondescript. It’s painted eggshell and has a royal blue awning. It’s large for a retail space: 12,000 square feet on the ground floor and 5,000 square feet on the second floor. Outside, it doesn’t have many visible windows. Inside, it has low ceilings and several columns. The makeover needed to shift the industrial space to retail space would require demolition of partition walls, installation of an elevator, and remodeling to the storefront and entry.

Owner Wayne Kittelson decided to take the retail route to piggyback off nearby development on 13th Street. Kittelson, a traffic engineer and principal at Kittelson & Associates Inc., inherited the building from his father and initially planned to convert it into condominiums.

“I’m so glad we didn’t do that,” Kittelson said, remarking on the housing downturn at the beginning of the Great Recession.

Kittelson said he’d like to rent the space to a local retailer for storefront space on the ground floor and office space on the second floor. But now that the space has been vacant for three years and retail activity is dwindling in the Pearl District, he’s willing to consider alternatives.

“I still think in the longer term retail makes a lot of sense for that site,” Kittelson said, “but maybe some kind of activity to keep it occupied in the interim is what we’re looking at right now.”

The asking rate for the space is $20 per square foot, per year, triple net.

For more leasing information, contact broker Mark New with New & Neville Real Estate Services at 503-241-1222 or [email protected].