Brush Up Your Shakespeare

An Oregon retailing couple updates their century-old premises

Ashland, Oregon, is a town that understands dramatic flair, having hosted the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for 70 years. And for over 30 of those years, Paddington Station has been the town's “Eclectic Emporium,” offering a wide range of gifts under four different owners. Don and Pam Hammond bought the business in 1993, and took over ownership of its 100-year-old building in 1999. Besides serving retail needs for more than a century, at one time the three-story structure housed the city morgue.

Of course, a building with ten decades under its belt is going to come with a lot of charm, and not a few headaches. Wiring, heating and air conditioning systems were antiquated, mezzanine banisters were unsafe, and bathrooms weren't handicapped accessible … for starters. Add to that, an unattractive facade.

To begin their modernization project, the Hammonds sought to have the building designated as a National Park Service historic property. The reason? It froze Paddington Station's property taxes for ten years and offered tax credit opportunities

In 2001, a restaurant in the basement of the building closed, and the Hammonds seized the opportunity to reclaim the space. But they were forced to cut back on the amount they hoped to gain when they discovered that the foundation lay on poor soil conditions. New concrete pilings retrofitted the building, making it safer in the earthquake-prone Pacific Northwest. The Hammonds also put in new wiring, laid carpet, and opened the basement by the middle of 2003.

Phase two of the renovations would add even more pain, as the Hammonds would have to vacate the premises for at least four months. After a search, the couple came up with an 1,800-square-foot location in a mall a dozen miles away.

“The big question was how to put an 8,000-square-foot store into 1,800 square feet,” says Pam. The move was timed for early January, when stock levels would be at their lowest. Still, the Hammonds filled three storage units and the basement of their home with excess merchandise.

Back at home base, a crane appeared on East Main Street to lower huge beams through holes in Paddington Station's newly opened roof. Unfortunately, the rains came, flooding the building and warping floors and damaging carpet. However they “scrambled to adjust,” says Pam, and the project stayed on schedule, though not on budget. They were aiming for a May 2004 opening.

The retrofit was completed, with new electrical fixtures and a HVAC system installed, stairways and balustrades rebuilt, and a demonstration kitchen for the homewares shop in the mezzanine completed. However, the flooring, slatwall, and exterior awning remained to be taken care of, as well as all the painting. Paddington Station's mall lease was about to expire, and there were at least three more weeks of work. By May 10, the original fir floors had been restored, and patches of vintage linoleum repaired. It was down to the wire, but the main floor and mezzanine opened on May 23; the basement a few weeks later. Paddington Station celebrated a grand reopening on June 26, 2005.

The Hammonds saw an immediate return on their investment: sales from June to December increased 9 percent over 2003, and January to March 2005 increased 12 percent over 2003 — and a whopping 107 percent over the same period of 2004, which they spent in their temporary mall location. For 2005, they anticipate an increase in sales of 16 percent over 2004.

But the benefits weren't just financial. “The renovation has changed our customers' perception of our store,” says Pam. “It is a brighter, happier store. Guests are staying longer and buying more.”

Taking a community asset, and investing time, money, and energy to create an updated retail environment that serves tourists and locals alike, are among the reasons Gifts & Decorative Accessories selected Padding Station as a 2005 REA finalist for Store Design.