Document text
Winetrout pact will be signed Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell A vacant lot and a picture of a building to come are the only signs of progress on the proposed Winetrout project at West Main and Fir streets in downtown Medford. Five-story building in downtown Medford would combine several uses By MELISSA MARTIN The developer of the Winetrout project said he will sign a contract Tuesday with the Medford Urban Renewal Agency to create Medford's first building that combines offices, shops, condominiums and a parking garage. The developer's design changes in early January pushed back the Jan. 22 signing of the contract, known as the disposition and development agreement. The five-story building is planned for the corner of Main and Fir streets. "It's a critical time in the process because we're going through the details of the project," said developer Greg Bessert, a partner in KCS Holdings and Winetrout LLC of Battle Ground, Wash. "If you rush through it, you'll miss something and have to come back to deal with it later." Medford Urban Renewal director Don Burt last week gave Bessert 72 hours to prepare a contract that includes parking garage costs, lease rates, a construction schedule and other details. "Urban renewal is ready to go and we've had all of our ducks in a row," said board chairman Greg Yechout. "We feel good about KCS and we feel good about the project. As long as the potential tenants feel comfortable with the direction the project is going and with the lease rates, we're right there." The developer and his partners, Mike Montero and Craig Stone of Medford, must find businesses to occupy 75,000 square feet of office space and 14,000 square feet of retail. The building's new design shows an atrium that opens to shops, a food court, offices, condominiums and a conference room on multiple levels. Winetrout will also have fifth-story condominiums offering views of the Rogue Valley, and 400 parking spaces, most of them below ground or on the third floor. Bessert said he has spent about $175,000 on the project, including paying for a real estate economist to study rents in the Medford market. He will eventually spend about $3 million on Winetrout, with Medford urban renewal adding $9 million. The developer predicted excavation would start this month on the one-acre downtown corner. But several things have slowed the process, including the redesign, the search for tenants and site preparation. Urban renewal recently advertised for bids to move and upgrade an 8-inch sewer line at a cost of about $80,000. Crews should begin digging a trench for the new sewer pipe next month, Burt said. Medford Urban Renewal is anxious to sign a contract with the developer. "This is public money and whatever we do, we want to use it responsibly," Burt said. "The DDA (or contract) formalizes everything. That is the point where everybody is contractually obligated. Up to that point, anyone can walk away - no harm, no foul." It's like the chicken and egg dilemma - it's hard to sign a contract before tenants are lined up and it's hard to secure tenants without a contract, Bessert said. "When we sign the contract, it will be a milestone," Bessert said. "When the first wheelbarrow of dirt goes down the road, it will be tangible, physical evidence that something is happening." Reach reporter Melissa Martin at 776-4497, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.