Downtown living

Much has been written in the pages of the Southern Standard about the decades-long discussion about what to do with McMinnville's historic Blue Building. 

After seemingly countless official studies and discussion about the venerable property's fate, Investment Partners of McMinnville took control on Oct. 26, 2022. Helmed by Bobby Kirby, Jewell Hale and Lake Kirby, the partners planned to put condos and a small retail space  in the Blue Building itself in addition to building townhomes on the property behind the building.

The purchase was seen as a win-win, both for those who wanted to preserve the history of the Blue Building and those who saw a need for more residential properties downtown. Now, as anyone who has been near the property at 201 W Colville St. can see, that project is quickly coming to fruition. 

Billed as Southern Blue Townhomes, the newest place to live in McMinnville is in one of the city's oldest neighborhoods. Offering open floor concepts, engineered hardwood floors throughout and designer tiled baths, the 35 townhome units boast walkability to everything downtown McMinnville has to offer. All of the townhomes are for sale, not rent. There are 19 three-bedroom units which start in the $330,000s and 16 two-bedroom units starting in the $280,000s.

The three-bedroom units offer the added amenities of a one-car garage with storage and private interior elevators offered at designated locations.

I spoke to Lara Kirby of KIRBY GROUP|Parks who, along with Rayah Kirby Chilcutt of Kirby Real Estate, is a listing agent for Southern Blue Townhomes, about the new properties.

"All of the 35 townhomes are for sale and we are contracting now," said Lara. "To date we have three units currently under contract. We are conducting guided tours. With the construction ongoing and the site kind of messy, all of our tours are currently guided but we're certainly glad to tour clients. Just call myself at (615) 383-6964 or Rayah at (931) 473-3181."

Lara and Rayah technically represent two different companies but Bobby, Lara's brother and Rayah's father, wanted Southern Blue to be a family affair. "Bobby's goal was to bring together the family and incorporate both groups so she and I are spearheading this and working together as the listing agents and we're having fun doing that," Lara said.

Under the developer name Blues Brothers LLC, Bobby, Jewell and Lake are working toward the goal of "taking a really nice old site and making it into something good for the community and hopefully making the townhomes long-term residences for people," Lara said. 

As for the Blue Building itself, Lara said that will house residential condo rentals which will be in a short-term rental program for visitors or people with an interim need. The building also has a roof-top event space which can be rented for weddings, high school reunions, etc. and provides breathtaking views of McMinnville. 

"There is going to be a nice coffee cafe on the first floor where the entrance to  the old police department was. That is going to be open to the public and will be really awesome. There will be an outdoor patio and the building will retain a lot of its original architectural design," Lara said.

Like any good real estate agent, Lara is quick to point out the importance of location, location, location. "These townhomes provide a turn-key lifestyle with excellent walkability to downtown McMinnville, the Greenway, Farmers Market, and all the great businesses on Main Street and the downtown district," Lara added.

After much hand-ringing over the fate of the Blue Building and whether or not the building would even continue to exist, I applaud the developers for not only preserving history but adding some needed housing to the downtown area. The development truly embodies the best of embracing the past while improving the future prospects of the town.

A moving

offer to help

McMinnville Moving & Storage (MM&S) is donating its services to help Families in Crisis (FIC). MM&S owner Scot MacDonald shared with me what and why his company is doing. 

"We have been working with Families in Crisis (FIC) for the last few years, helping our customers donate furniture they no longer wanted. When on a move, if a piece of furniture didn’t fit, or if they were going to replace it with something different, we would take the piece back to our storage facility. FIC has multiple storage units with us, and we have keys in order to drop off the piece in an available unit. Then FIC comes in when they have a client in need, and uses the furniture, décor, home goods, kids toys, clothing, etc. to help them set up a new residence," Scot told me.

FIC helps primarily women and children who are leaving abusive homes to get a fresh start. Oftentimes these people leave their homes without being able to take any of their possessions.

"After speaking to Kristi Stubblefield, executive director of FIC, we decided to create a day of donation where MM&S will donate the trucks, crew and equipment to go around Warren County and help people donate items to FIC. We'll take not only the large and difficult-to-move pieces, but anything that FIC can use. We will also be able to supply the donation paperwork from FIC that can be submitted as a deduction on a tax return," Scot said.

Scot aims to make this an annual event and chose to do it on June 1, the anniversary of when he bought the business from Stanley Graves on June 1, 2018. 

"We are very excited about this opportunity to continue to serve the community we all share, and we want to make this as successful as we possibly can," Scot said. 

For details, call (931) 473-2805 or book online at www.mcminnvillemoving.com.

A new Meating place

A new business I've been talking to the owners about for a little over a year has now settled on a location and is closer to becoming a reality. 

The Butcher on Main is preparing its new location at 209 W. Main St. in the building housing the Public Defender's Office. The shop will feature a full-service fresh meat counter as well as a deli and a salad bar. 

I hope to bring you more on this exciting addition to the downtown business community closer to its opening.

Until next week,

same biz day,

same biz page

Thanks for reading and thanks to Ben Lomand Connect for sponsoring the page. 

If you have a business you'd like to see featured in Business Pulse, please email me at editor@southernstandard.com.