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Former Elks Lodge has a buyer The former Medford Elks Lodge has been sold, but the buyer's identity is unknown. [Mail Tribune file photo] Tuesday Jun 27, 2017 at 5:37 PM Jun 28, 2017 at 3:15 PM Greg Stiles Mail Tribune @GregMTBusiness The "Sold" sign is up, but the sale of the Medford Elks Lodge on Central Avenue isn't quite a done deal. The 28,760-square-foot, three-story structure, built in 1915, was shuttered after the lodge was ordered closed in December 2014 by the national Grand Lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, based in Chicago. "We're waiting final approval from the Grand Lodge for recording," said Pete Belcastro, a member of the Ashland Elks club and a John L. Scott Real Estate agent who listed the property. Whether the unnamed out-of-town buyers paid the asking price of $1.25 million isn't clear, but it will take far more than that to put the shine back on one of Medford's iconic downtown buildings. The lodge went into escrow in late 2016, but the nature of the beast created hurdles. The sale fell through for a while, said Belcastro, who credited Ron Burgess of ReMax/Integrity Brokers in Medford for helping to get it back on track. "It took time to get everybody together," he said.  Belcastro said he showed the building more than 45 times in two years. Among the inquirers were churches, schools, veterans groups, state office folks, as well as developers thinking about luxury apartments, bars, restaurants, A conference center and office space. Belcastro declined to specify the owner in waiting or exactly who has signed on the dotted line. "They usually do things under the radar," he said. "The buyers have restored and repurposed older buildings, including Elks lodges. Belcastro indicated the new owners would "be down" sometime in July. So, let the guessing begin. Two years ago, Scott Henselman, of Henselman Realty and Management in Medford, pitched the Elks Lodge to Portland-based brew pub operator McMenamins, which operates more than 50 locations in Oregon and Washington. "We suggested that if you ever want to come to Medford (the Elks Lodge) would be an ideal location. They responded at that time they didn't have plans to come to Medford, so I dropped it." McMenamins, incidentally, has been working on a similar Elks Temple project in Tacoma, Washington, that is scheduled to open this year. "It takes the financial wherewithal and vision to create something that is of value," Henselman said. Urban redevelopers term such revitalization as adaptive reuse, helping to make neighborhoods and communities more marketable. "She's a glorious old lady waiting for someone to restore her and bring her back in to use," Henselman said. Preservation groups share similar sentiments. Restore Oregon listed the property as one of its "Most Endangered Places" for 2017. "The great part is the building is going to be part of Medford's future again," Belcastro said. "Instead of its past."  — Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 541-776-4463 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GregMTBusiness, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/greg.stiles.31.