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A Portland electrical contractor is moving from one Central Eastside Industrial District space to another.

Joe Squires owns Squires Electric Inc., which presently operates out of a space at 1001 S.E. Division St. He bought the 10,000-square-foot-building at 921 S.E. Seventh Ave., in November for $1.2 million, according to PortlandMaps. The building, which will be called The Kennedy in honor of Squires’ daughter, previously was used to store unsold Mercedes-Benz vehicles, he said.

The Kennedy will be renovated and hold Squires Electric’s headquarters; it also will hold two smaller creative industrial spaces and a 3,000-square-foot retail space, Squires said.

“It’s been vacant for a while,” he said. “There’s a big hole in one corner of the building with exposed sewer lines and no bathrooms.”

IT Assurance, a Portland computer repair company, will occupy one of the industrial spaces; the retail space could end up housing a restaurant, bar or coffee shop, Squires said.

Joseph Hughes Construction is the contractor for the $580,000 project, which will include a seismic upgrade and the addition of a second level and mezzanine for offices, Squires said. Other improvements include strengthening the building’s bowstring trusses, he said.

The most significant challenge has been separating the building from another building and then adding a two-hour fire-rated wall between them, DECA Inc. principal David Hyman said.

“The code requires that you have two self-supporting structures,” he said. “It can’t be connected to the building next to it.”

Squires said he is hoping to occupy the renovated building by the Fourth of July.