Document text
Owner of Stark's Valley Vacuum hangs on to lease Despite having to participate in a blind auction for the lease, Stark's Valley Vacuum will remain in its current building in downtown Medford. "It is a relief, for sure," said Wayne Smith, the owner of the vacuum sales and repair shop. "We'd been looking at other places in case (we didn't win the bid) but what a relief because of all the money we put into this place and then the expense of a move." The Medford Elks Lodge owns the building at 232 N. Central Ave. where Stark's has been for 16 years. But instead of re-negotiating the lease with Smith, the Elks Lodge held an unusual sealed bid auction for the building's lease. The bidding closed on Aug. 31. Smith was notified Thursday that he won, said Michael Torguson, chairman of the board of trustees for the Medford Elks Lodge. Torguson would not say how many people participated in the leasing auction, but Smith said no prospective tenants asked to look at the building. "I think I was the only bidder," Smith said. Smith said he bid $1,200 a month for the 2,700-square-foot building. He had been paying $1,050 for most of the last five years. Torguson said the Elks were pleased with the secret bid process. "I'm just glad to see the process worked," he said. "We opened it to let the market decide the price and the market decided." The building has housed Stark's Valley Vacuums for 16 years. Smith bought the business after getting fed up with the car business, he said. After four years, he sold the business. He said the new owner didn't keep up the payments to him or the Elks. Smith took the business back in May. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.