PDC gives grant to help renovate the Oak Hotel
By Terry Murry on Tuesday, April 23rd, 2024 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
PENDLETON – The Pendleton Development Commission has unanimously approved a grant of a little less than $250,000 to help developer Parley Pierce renovate the Oak Hotel. Mayor John Turner said the vote in favor of the grant was unanimous and just covers phase one of the project.
“The first phase, of which is almost a million dollars, he wants to convert the bottom floor of it into eight bed-and-breakfast-type rooms,” Turner said.
Turner said the second phase will be to renovate the second floor of the hotel, which once served as a bordello. The vote followed an executive session by the PDC to discuss the project. The mayor said the commission reviewed Pierce’s business plan, his finances, and his architectural design before taking the vote.
Pierce’s request states that the project will upgrade the exterior and interior of the building to serve as a boutique hotel. Its design and décor, he wrote in his request, will focus on the history of Pendleton’s early development.
Turner said the hotel that has been vacant for about 40 years, isn’t in bad shape.
“I was looking at pictures of the inside and it’s really in pretty good shape,” he said.
Photo: The Pendleton City Council also acts as the Pendleton Development Commission for urban renewal projects.
