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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Roseburg thrift stores deluged with trash ... Rogue Valley residents inspired by Pope Francis' speech ... Brush with Kindness ... Roseburg thrift stores deluged with trash ... Rogue Valley residents inspired by Pope Francis' speech ... Brush with Kindness ... SMALL BUSINESS New home in an old house Allstate insurance agency has moved into a bungalow on East Jackson Street Comment By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 23, 2015 at 12:01 AM By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 23, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News Looking for a new location for his Allstate insurance agency, Mike Neilitz settled on an East Jackson Street address. The bungalow was just a mile away from Neilitz's former Crater Corners location, it had easy access off the street and parking in the back. Best of all, it had been an insurance office decades ago. But there was unexpected wrinkle. The agent who owned the house both lived and worked at the address. While most every other house on the stretch between Genessee Street and Academy Place on the south side of Jackson had been rezoned commercial in the intervening years, not so with 716 E. Jackson St. "It was zoned 60 percent residential and 40 percent commercial," said Neilitz, who began his career with Allstate in 2006 and then acquired his father-in-law's office on Crater Lake Avenue in 2008. The move was prompted when Neilitz lost the lease at Crater Corners. Walgreens purchased the 1.8-acre retail center at the intersection of East McAndrews Road and Crater Lake Avenue for $1.5 million in 2008. Although the lease for the 7-Eleven convenience store runs into 2018, most of the other tenants have been served notice or rent month-to-month. "We essentially lost our lease," Neilitz said. "We were told at the beginning of 2014 we had a year to be out. Later, they changed it to month-to-month. But by then we had already begun on this. We found another place just around the corner and made an offer, but someone had just purchased it. We like this location — and potential for this building in particular." The $163,160 acquisition was completed in September last year and Neilitz planned to be moved in by Christmas. Up until the 1980s, the house was merely a residence, but it was partially turned into a real-estate office with access off the alley. At first it was run as an independent insurance office, and then as Allstate before the business was sold. The 1,260-square-foot house was built on .14 acres in 1926 when Jackson Street was little more than a country road connecting town and nearby farms and orchards. Needless to say, seismic, parking and handicap access weren't concerns at the time. But a change in zoning required all those issues — and more — to be addressed. "I thought it would be a short process," Neilitz admitted. "It dragged on for two months." With zoning change in hand, Neilitz gave the house a complete makeover, including hardwood floors. "Nothing about this place looks like it did when I bought it," he said. "We knocked a couple walls out, put a couple walls in, made some doorways where there weren't any, and put in a couple of windows where they weren't. It's had huge impact on day-to-day operations." Even the business name changed, with Friendly Family Insurance giving way to The Neilitz Group. "Allstate is transitioning from perception of having agents and salesmen who can save you $10 a month, to a trusted adviser," Neilitz said. "Having an office in a strip mall just didn't do that for me." Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 541-776-4463 or [email protected] . Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GregMTBusiness , on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/greg.stiles.31 , and read his blog at www.mailtribune.com/ Economic Edge . By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 23, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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