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May Oka had a hard time letting go of the old brick building in historic Chinatown.

鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 until high school that I realized people lived in houses and had backyards,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of memories there and for a long time I didn鈥檛 even want anyone to touch it. But I鈥檓 going to be 81 pretty soon 鈥� and so we thought the best thing to do while we鈥檙e still lucid is sell it.鈥�

When Oka was about 5 years old, her father died unexpectedly from food poisoning. Her mother, Kai Young Wong, moved May and five of her siblings into the building to start a business. It was called Wong鈥檚 Laundry, Bath and Bed and for many years served as a hub of sorts for the industrial shipyard laborers who worked in the neighborhood.

In between homework assignments and games of Chinese checkers, Oka and her siblings would fold laundry and pour hot baths of water.

鈥�(Workers would) come in and take a bath,鈥� Oka recalled. 鈥淚t cost all of 25 cents and then they would give her the dirty laundry and she鈥檇 give them clean laundry. Every time they gave her something, before she returned it to them, she always felt their seams 鈥� make sure the seams were good and the buttons were tight. Is that something or what?鈥�

The 107-year-old, 9,094-square-foot building at 219 N.W. Third Ave. is for sale, and the asking price is $649,000 鈥� down $46,000 from last fall. Steve Hagan, the building鈥檚 agent and a senior adviser with Sperry Van Ness, said the vacant building would require some improvements, including a seismic upgrade, to accommodate new commercial use.

But the property, which is centrally located and near access to three freeways, has a lot of potential, according to Hagan. He said it could easily be divided into a mix of retail, commercial and/or office space.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been standing for 100 years, so something is right about it,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a great location and it鈥檚 very 鈥� I would say it has a lot of meaning to many people in the community.鈥�

For Oka, a former technology professor at Portland State University and Mount Hood Community College, it will always be home, as well as the place where she first learned the value of hard work.

As a first generation immigrant to the United States, Oka鈥檚 mother didn鈥檛 speak English; however, when it came to school she knew that an 鈥淎鈥� was the best grade one could get. Oka said that when she and her siblings brought home their report cards her mother would clap her hands whenever she saw the high mark.

鈥淲e always, always wanted her to clap her hands,鈥� she said, 鈥渁nd so we all studied very hard and we鈥檙e very fortunate that we did well.鈥�

Block by Block is a weekly look at commercial real estate around Portland. Send suggestions for properties to [email protected].