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Portland-based Realtor Debbie Thomas and Boly:Welch co-owner Patricia Welch have purchased the Jower’s Building on North Lombard Street in St. Johns. They’re planning to convert it into office, retail and possibly residential space.

The $528,000 transaction closed June 24, said Todd Peres, a broker representing Lombard 8803 LLC (Thomas and Welch).

“Debbie is sort of a Portland powerhouse and has been for over 20 years,” he said. “The fact that they’re looking at St. Johns and the potential for things to happen … gives it a sort of cachet.”

The partners are working with Kevin Cavenaugh, who owns an adjacent property and plans to build a mixed-use development, to bring the right mix of uses to the site, Peres said.

One option for the two-story, 15,000-square-foot building, he said, would be a bakery – identified through market testing as a desire of residents. Other options could include a mix of retail and office space with four apartment units upstairs.

The building for many years was owned by the Jower family. Its clothing retail business operated there for about seven decades, Peres said, and served mostly dock workers in the historically blue collar neighborhood.

Some seismic work and a roof replacement have taken place, but significant plumbing and HVAC work needs to be done, he said.

“The previous owners really gutted the place,” he said. “It’s actually a really cool, raw shell now with exposed walls, brick archways and exposed structure inside.”

Construction would take about six months, Peres said.