The office directory on the back wall of the Wheelhouse lobby.
On the riverfront beat, there’s an encouraging update from the Wheelhouse, which became an instant landmark on the Willamette River when it was completed in 2010. Much of the four-story building sat vacant in the years since then, but now it is filling up.
Janet M. Johnson, the wife of building developer Dave Johnson, reports there are three tenants on the second floor and two on the third. The fourth floor, long used for meetings and special events, will be remodeled for offices in February. Janet says she’ll let me know when tenants for the remodeled space have signed on.
The ground floor, though still being advertised as a possible site for a restaurant, has been turned into an event center to replace the one upstairs. And it’s getting fairly steady use, judging from the people I see milling about on my frequent rides past the place.
Built at a reported cost of about $7 million, the Wheelhouse is the most stunning building on Albany’s riverfront. Consider it a signal of economic revival up and down the river that this courageous private investment is gradually filling up. (hh)
The Wheelhouse in the September sunshine on Monday.
So much for the naysayers.
Another plus for CARA and the hardworking entrepreneurs willing to invest their money.
Courageous investors is an understatement . It’s easy to criticize , quite another putting down millions because you believe in something . Making loan payments on time for 5 years with little or no income coming back in takes a lot of stamina and guts .
A grand, solid, stately structure. I really like the architectural design of the building.
Cities decline for a lot of reasons, but one of the most important reasons are those folks that always scream “No! No! No!.”
Those folks are NOT the risk takers. They’re the ones who always paint the picture of doom and gloom. They do everything they can to stop the citizens from working together to improve things. Why they do that is somewhat a mystery. Why is it they have that visceral revulsion against citizens working together through lawful channels to forge a better tomorrow? In my mind it has to be that they were taught to be that way.
What a shame.
Yes I’ve lived ALL over the west coast . Albany is a great place . It’s getting better each year I live here . It’s ok to questions things . It’s the American way . But to go to length to make things worse ?? But those that want different things don’t see it that way . We are s divided nation , state , town . Sad .