Pendleton building may find new life

By on Friday, November 24th, 2023 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories

PENDLETON – For decades, the Christian Science Reading Room at the corner of South Main Street and Southwest Byers Avenue has been vacant. Owned by the Bisnett family, the building has been used for some special events, but has had no permanent occupant. The family wants to see it used, and is offering it to the city of Pendleton.

The offer occurred during an executive session of the Pendleton City Council Tuesday night.

“Coming out of the meeting, the city council voted to accept a donation by the Bisnetts to the city of Pendleton, subject to a Level 1 environmental study of that property to make sure there aren’t any issues on that site,” Corbett said. “The cost of that will be split 50/50 between the city and the owners.”

Corbett said the council is excited about the potential for the building.

“That’s a very, very unique building in our downtown,” he said. “It’s on a prominent corner on Main Street and it has been vacant for decades. What we envision is a process where we would open it up and find out who’s interested in moving into that facility and taking all comers.”

More information will be released as the plan is developed.