Old Milltown Shopping Center will resemble its former self

Sophia Loren was a stunningly beautiful Italian actress who was famous in the 1960s.

The Old Milltown Shopping Center — or what’s left of it — is a 107-year-old building in downtown Edmonds that’s been used as a mall, a Ford dealership, a bus barn and a water company.

By the middle of next year, Edmonds developer Bob Gregg hopes the old building will share the beauty of the actress.

Gregg, who bought Old Milltown in July 2006 for $3.2 million, wants to remodel the building to more closely resemble its appearance from the first half of the 20th century.

For months, not much has changed at the building’s gutted skeleton on Fifth Avenue and Dayton Street.

That will soon change, Gregg said.

Question: What is the next step in the project?

Gregg: “In the next couple weeks, they’ll start changing the looks of the building on nearly a daily basis” as steel framing is installed for the floors and roof. “We have poured about three-quarters of the new footings around the building.”

Question: Could you have done this renovation any differently?

Gregg: “The one thing we could have done differently would have been to bulldoze the whole thing and start over.”

Question: When will the building be finished?

Gregg: “My crystal ball says June 30, 2008.”

Question: Could your crystal ball be wrong?

Gregg: “My crystal ball has never been right yet.”

Question: How many tenants do you have for the building so far?

Gregg: “Two out of three. The whole second floor, the corner restaurant, and today I have a meeting with a potential tenant for the remaining space.” (An Edmonds restaurateur is planning to move into the restaurant space, and The Hotel Group of Edmonds is moving into the second-floor offices.)

Question: Will upcoming construction disrupt traffic downtown?

Gregg: “For the most part, we should be able to handle (construction) from the upper parking lot (of Old Milltown).”

Question: How will Old Milltown look when construction is finished?

Gregg: “It will look like Sophia Loren; beautiful and classic.”