EDMONDS – An ownership change and renovation plans for Old Milltown, a downtown landmark dating back more than 90 years, has raised both cheers and jeers from affected merchants.
Bob Gregg, a local developer best known for building condominiums a few blocks away along Edmonds’ Fifth Avenue, bought the Old Milltown structure last month for $3.2 million.
His renovation of the mall space at the corner of Fifth Ave. S and Dayton Street could cost a couple million dollars more. Inside, new office and retail spaces will be created and reconfigured, all with exterior entrances and exits. Outside, the complex will sport a look designed to fit better with downtown Edmonds’ character.
“I think we need a new face,” said Charles Dickey, co-owner of the Quiznos outlet, which opened in Old Milltown last year, and president of the mall’s tenant association. “We’ve been very involved with (Gregg), talking to him about the building.”
Starfeather, the one-name owner of Starfeather’s Gallery, doesn’t dispute the need to fix up Old Milltown. She faults the previous owner for investing little in it. But, as one of the business owners being evicted, she’s not happy with Gregg’s plans.
“It was pretty shocking,” she said of Gregg’s announcement last month that some merchants had to be out by early September. “I would say the whole town of Edmonds is processing the loss of this building and these small businesses.”
Merchants in the two-story, most northern portion of Old Milltown, which will see the biggest changes, are the ones being told to move out. Gregg didn’t return phone messages left over two days by The Herald.
Ralph Allen, a Seattle architect hired to work on the renovation plans, said much of the effort will be to simply bring Old Milltown’s building up to code and better use the space inside. Some second-floor space will be added.
Exterior changes will include modifying the roof, replacing old brick and wood facades with things like stucco and tile. The covered boardwalk also is likely to be removed. Allen said the result could be a look more reflective of how Old Milltown looked in its earlier decades.
Allen said renovating the old building is more challenging than it would be to start from scratch at the site.
“But that’s part of the fun of it, too,” Allen said. “It’s a beautiful building.”
Depending on whose account is believed, the building dates back to about 1910, when Allen Yost established the city’s first auto dealership and garage there. Through subsequent years and additions, the property later hosted a bus barn, the local telephone company and others. It was converted into a mix of retail and office space in 1973.
Besides Starfeather’s, the businesses moving out include Lambo’s, a specialty glass and crystal giftware shop, and merchants in the antique mall. The popular Provinces restaurant has tentatively agreed to move into a downstairs space.
Starfeather, who said she thinks the revamped Old Milltown and its new tenants may take away another piece of downtown Edmonds “quaintness,” said she’s focused on continuing her healing practice after her store closes. She may reopen her gallery in another place, but that’s still up in the air.
“I haven’t been able to find a location that suits me. We only had 45 days’ notice, so I’m concentrating on closing in a good way,” she said.
Dickey said he feels sorry for those who have to move out, but he’s optimistic about the changes Gregg has planned.
Sharon Shannon, an owner of Ambience, a home decor shop at Old Milltown, said she’s also looking forward to the changes, even though it means her shop will be closed for months.
“I think what he’s doing is wonderful if it turns out the way he wants it,” Shannon said of Gregg. “The building’s going to fall down if nothing’s done.”
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.
Shop owner Starfeather and a few other tenants have been told that they need to vacate their space in Old Milltown shopping center to make way for new development.
Chris Goodenow / The Enterprise
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