tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666195730630249633.post479909078019018733..comments2024-03-25T17:49:41.408-07:00Comments on Salem Breakfast on Bikes: Belluschi Legacy in Danger: YWCA Building Deserves AttentionSalem Breakfast on Bikeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618055627843335993noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666195730630249633.post-26112025095219454852018-01-25T20:29:06.653-08:002018-01-25T20:29:06.653-08:00The SJ just posted a history note about the YWCA!
...The SJ just posted a history note about the YWCA!<br /><br />http://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/life/2018/01/25/heritage-ywca-building-reflected-city/109807782/<br /><br />Probably it'll be in the Sunday print edition.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666195730630249633.post-42465489198299795472017-08-14T20:57:26.955-07:002017-08-14T20:57:26.955-07:00Updated with photo from the demolition.Updated with photo from the demolition.Salem Breakfast on Bikeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15618055627843335993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666195730630249633.post-74890054338114062682017-07-23T11:33:06.412-07:002017-07-23T11:33:06.412-07:00Updated with a few details from today's histor...Updated with a few details from today's history piece in the paper.Salem Breakfast on Bikeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15618055627843335993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666195730630249633.post-70292177961433456862017-06-18T09:19:01.350-07:002017-06-18T09:19:01.350-07:00While the YWCA build may look vacant, it is owned ...While the YWCA build may look vacant, it is owned by Willamette University and currently used mainly for storage. I know one of the issues/costs with the building is asbestos abatement before any real reuse could be accomplished.Scott Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17083752165005044107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666195730630249633.post-10252753051571393642017-06-14T15:05:37.531-07:002017-06-14T15:05:37.531-07:00Just another datum showing the need for a land-val...Just another datum showing the need for a land-value tax rather than a property tax. Whoever is leveling that building is going to get a giant tax reward for flipping off the rest of Salem by replacing that building with nothing -- see the old City Hall lot for an example.<br /><br />What Salem needs is to shift taxes so that idle and underused land being held for speculation is taxed as if it was fully developed, so that there is no reduction in carrying cost and no reward damaging the urban fabric and the neighboring businesses.<br /><br />We also need a $300/monthly fee on all commercial storefronts in the downtown core, forgiven so long as the storefront is occupied with a business ... rising to $400/mo after 12 months of payments and $500/mo after 24 months. Take all the money raised and put it in a pot for low interest loans and grants to that same pool of landowners paying the fee --- in other words, charge unused storefronts a fee for the damage they cause to the vitality of downtown, but use the money solely to help those same landowners invest and improve downtown. This would strongly incent landowners to come down to the market in their rent demands rather than letting properties sit idle year after year.Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12731260619465817652noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666195730630249633.post-84624545538433464812017-06-14T13:54:39.215-07:002017-06-14T13:54:39.215-07:00The other posts on Belluschi have been critical of...The other posts on Belluschi have been critical of this building. It is - "hideous" is too strong! - problematic as you suggest. It is cold, unfriendly, and the lack of sidewalk level windows a real barrier. And you are right that it has been vacant for a long time without a successful adaptive reuse and/or remodel.<br /><br />The focus here in this post is less on this particular building than on Belluschi's whole body of Salem work, which in the past five years has sustained real loss. It is the YWCA that seems most important now, and the argument here is that that building in particular deserves more attention and help.<br /><br />Still, there is no approved building plan for the bank lot, and so it will be replaced in the short term at least by an empty lot. This also is a problem. The demolition would be easier to swallow if it were immediately being replaced by a strong new building and new commercial or residential activity.Salem Breakfast on Bikeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15618055627843335993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666195730630249633.post-83283749280250029502017-06-14T13:25:52.640-07:002017-06-14T13:25:52.640-07:00I love historic preservation but come on, that mar...I love historic preservation but come on, that marble building is hideous and it has been empty since 2000 according to that article. A huge building to be vacant for that long in the heart of downtown (any downtown) is the real problem.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com