Main and Santiam

Old corner, new business: Baseball training

Written August 29th, 2025 by Hasso Hering

Comments: 2 responses.

Off and on, the corner of Santiam Road and Main Street has been in the Albany news for decades. Now its transformation is complete, from the site of a historic church to the creation of a type of business the town has not seen before.

Posted in: Bicycling, Commentary, News
Tags: 503 Main St S.E., baseball, batting cages, C&C Bat Factory, Main and Santiam, softball

Dressed up: The corner of Santiam and Main

Written December 13th, 2024 by Hasso Hering

Comments: 11 responses.

Bike rides through the east end of old Albany occasionally take me past the corner of Main Street and Santiam Road, the former site of the historic Cumberland Church. Now the corner has a new look.

Posted in: Bicycling, Commentary, News
Tags: Cumberland site, East Albany, Main and Santiam, pocket parks, rainwater, stormwater swale, street corner, Yohn Baldwin

Old Cumberland site now needs city variance

Written March 13th, 2023 by Hasso Hering

Comments: 5 responses.

When Yohn Baldwin bought the site of the former Cumberland Church from the City of Albany last year, no one said anything about the regulatory obstacles he would face in doing something with the land.

Posted in: Commentary, News
Tags: City of Albany, Cumberland site, Development code, Main and Santiam, parking, Yohn Baldwin

A plan for the corner of Santiam and Main

Written January 24th, 2023 by Hasso Hering

Comments: 14 responses.

Yohn Baldwin has filed the site plan for a proposed development on the corner of Santiam Road and Main Street in Albany. But whether the project goes ahead may depend on how much the city requires to be done on Main.

Posted in: Commentary, News
Tags: 401 Main Street SE, Albany construction, Albany planning, Benjamen Properties, Cumberland Church site, Main and Santiam, site plan review, Yohn Baldwin

Still for sale: Vacant Cumberland lot

Written May 25th, 2022 by Hasso Hering

Comments: 6 responses.

The city of Albany is hoping to sell the former site of the historic Cumberland Presbyterian Church, a property that the Public Works Department acquired in 2000 for $150,000. But as of today, the vacant lot is still for sale.

Posted in: Commentary, News
Tags: 401 Main, Baldwin General, Baldwin General Contracting, cumberland church, Main and Santiam, Scott Lepman

Cumberland: A center in search of events?

Written September 19th, 2020 by Hasso Hering

Comments: 12 responses.

Since at least February 2014, the Albany City Council has been trying to get rid of the historic Cumberland Church it bought for $150,000 20 years ago. Now this may finally get done, but if the plan works, it’s going to cost private donors around a million dollars or more.

Posted in: Commentary, News
Tags: cumberland church, Cumberland Events Center, Main and Santiam, Skatepark

One man’s big ideas for old church

Written March 28th, 2016 by Hasso Hering

Comments: 7 responses.

On Monday I had a cup of coffee and a piece of apple pie at Universal Coffee while the owner, Alex Contreras, told me about his ideas for the old church across the parking lot. And ambitious ideas they are, ideas he hopes can help bridge what sometimes looks like an Albany cultural divide.

Posted in: Commentary, News
Tags: Alex Contreras, cumberland church, Main and Santiam, Universal Coffee