91视频

Before the ivy-covered St. Johns City Hall building was constructed in 1905, city councilors met in a smaller building at 8621 N. Lombard St.

The 3,815-square-foot retail property is anchored by a home furnishings store, and also holds a specialty beer and wine shop, a children’s clothing store and an Internet retailer. But 114 years ago, its use was entirely different.

鈥淥n the ground floor was where you paid your parking tickets for the horse and buggy,鈥� joked Tim Walters, the property’s owner and a principal broker for RE/MAX Equity Group.

St. Johns was becoming a thriving industrial hub when the structure was built in 1898. Several shipping companies, and lumber and wool mills were staking claims along the city’s waterfront, and the electric streetcar was being extended down its streets.

Walters said the building on North Lombard Street served as city hall for just a couple of years before a fire destroyed the second floor. In 1901, the property reopened as a hardware store called St. Johns Hardware and Paint.

In the early 2000s, the hardware store’s owners retired, and the building sat vacant for several years. Walters bought it in 2007 and gave it a full renovation, with new wiring, plumbing, heating, finishes and flooring.

He’s looking to sell it for $699,000. But he may change his mind because a new hotel and restaurant are set to open across the street, and two multifamily projects are in the works nearby.

鈥淚f building rents keep going up and up over there, I might just keep that building,鈥� Walters said.

For more information, contact Walters at 503-495-5780.

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