Document text
OVERCAST Temp: 46 °F Wind: N at 4 mph Wednesday, February 19, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend February 6, 2003 Four corners of Grape and West Main streets in Medford have vacant or unused offices in them. Most recently, Medford Internet and Rogue Disposal left their offices on the two corners visible from this empty space. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Perspectives on a vacant look Downtown Medford has its share of empty offices — but there is progress being made By MEG LANDERS Mail Tribune For Bill Ferguson, downtown Medford has too many vacant spaces, and he doesn’t blame it all on a poor economy. "One thing is, downtown is not as attractive as it could be," said Ferguson, who owns several office buildings downtown. Ferguson cites downtown businesses moving to other locations in the city as among the reasons for the many downtown spaces with no tenants, but he also faults the Medford Urban Renewal Agency. "They haven’t been the catalyst to make (downtown) user-friendly that they need to be," he said. He said he’d like to see more landscaped parking lots and an overall inviting feeling. "I think downtown has to really bust its tail to be attractive, and I don’t think (MURA is) doing it," he said. Ferguson’s comments came less than a week after a suit he filed a year ago — which ultimately ended the MURA-planned Winetrout office project — was dismissed in Jackson County Circuit Court. Scott Henselman, owner of Henselman Realty & Management, owns five downtown buildings he leases out for office and retail spaces. He places downtown’s lease-space vacancy rate at 6 to 6.5 percent. "That’s available, on the market," he said, explaining that just because something looks empty doesn’t mean it is. Sometimes space is temporarily vacant or underused, he said. But he said that number is still high. "The general economy has resulted in an increase in vacancies," he said. But he added that vacancies are cyclical, and there are always more between January and March. He said of the 30 office and retail spaces in his buildings, two are vacant, and he described the downtown as healthy. "I think it’s still stabilized, still expanding," he said. He said what downtown needs is new buildings going up. "That’s what’s going to stimulate growth downtown is new projects," he said. Don Burt, MURA director, said that relative to the current economy, Medford’s downtown is still thriving. "I would agree that the vacancy is high, but it’s high everywhere," said Burt. He said downtown’s problems were not created overnight, and would not all be solved overnight. "This is something that just takes time," he said. He added that when the agency began 14 years ago it had zero revenue, and has had to build up from that, so many of MURA’s projects are yet to come. Part of urban renewal’s charge, he said, is to encourage new development and renovation downtown. "We’re looking at some programs that would facilitate low-interest loan programs," said Burt. In fact, Ferguson has contacted MURA about applying for a facade grant for one of his buildings, the Fluhrer Bakery building, between Main and Sixth streets, and Holly and Ivy streets. "We can do some things with colors and awnings to make it more attractive," said Ferguson. Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy webmaster feedback A D V E R T I S E R S