Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Vollmer Bldg. before
Vollmer Bldg today
Uniontown Community Development Association’s Main Street restoration of the Vollmer building is complete.
UCDA President Dale Miller and architect Craig Beaumont of Palouse Design Associates inspected the property July 31, the culmination of a two-year project, beginning with the UCDA’s purchase of the building at auction in 2012.
The storefront now appears much like it did at original construction in 1889, with expansive windows facing the street.
Inside the glass is a retail space which will be rented by association tenants.
“It is done, ready to be marketed,” said Miller.
In the summer and fall of 2012, work was done on the back of the building, and Grandma Lela’s oatmeal company moved in as a production facility. A year after, workers covered the north wall of the building in stucco, after restoration of the brick work was deemed too expensive.
The UCDA now hopes to locate a certain kind of tenant for the new retail area.
“Our objective is to find someone marketing products made in the region,” said Miller. “We prefer food products, to keep the theme (of Grandma Lela’s).”
Restoration of the front of the building was intended to be complete in February of this year, but because of delays regarding the previous contractor, a new one, Mangum Construction of Clarkston was hired to finish the job.
The new retail space can be attached to the building’s delivery bay.
Total cost of the Vollmer building project was $167,903 including the $39,750 purchase price of the building.
A Whitman County .09 grant for $60,000 and a Washington State Community Economic Revitalization Project (CERB) grant for $98,750 provided much of the funding. Another $3,500 came from the Avista Foundation and $10,000 in private donations.
Final steps of the project include painting by volunteers. That will include new trim boards installed during renovation. The gray stucco wall on the north side will receive a seal coat.
Miller indicated that the wide wall may have a mural in the future.
The UCDA meets the first Wednesday of each month at 4:30 p.m. at the Dahmen Barn. How to market the Vollmer retail space was an item on the agenda Aug. 6.
“It’s been a frustrating project but we’re feeling good about getting it done,” said Miller. “It makes the street front look really good. Now we’ve just got to get a tenant in there.”
The structure originally was built to be a mercantile store. It was last run in the 1980s by Dick and Ella Wittman as the Community Grocery Store.
In 1995, it was remodeled – the front windows covered over – and updated for I.S.R. Technology, which made parts in it for two years until they outgrew the space.
The building later went into foreclosure before the 2012 auction.
The UCDA is a public, non-profit group appointed by the Uniontown City Council. Its previous projects include buying and restoring the Main Street building which houses Sage Baking Co. and the project to restore the Dahmen Barn.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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