Today’s web bonus >> Old Dick Bruhn building being rebuilt
SALINAS >> Gourley Construction of Soledad posted two videos to its social media page last week giving the public a peek into the rehabilitation of the old Dick Bruhn building in downtown Salinas that will eventually house a mixed-use project and add to the city’s housing stock.
“The building is now safe from falling on the city sidewalk,” said Matt Gourley, owner of the construction company that is working on the project at 300 Main St., in one of the videos. “Not much left except for concrete and a little bit of steel.”
In early October, it was announced that Taylor Fresh Foods bought the iconic Bruhn building for $2.15 million, along with the former Greyhound bus station building that sold for $1.35 million.
The Bruhn building was originally constructed in 1925 as the headquarters of the agribusiness sector in the Salinas Valley, housing the Farmers Mercantile Exchange. It would later become a Montgomery Ward department store, then home to Dick Bruhn, which occupied the space for 57 years until bankruptcy closed it in 2007. A fire broke out in the unoccupied building in February 2016, leaving only the exterior walls intact.
“( We) pulled out some oldgrowth timber … pretty incredible,” said Gourley.
The building will ultimately house 19 residential units on the second and third floors with plans to have an open atrium on those floors.
“Look at those growth rings. You’re not going to find old-growth timber like that anymore.”
Workers from Gregg, a subsurface investigation service company, were performing soil testing “to make sure (the building) is on solid ground before we put it back together,” said Gourley.
The city is thrilled to finally see something is being done to improve the building, said Salinas Mayor Kimbley Craig.
Taylor Farms Vice President of Business Development Steve Ish said the company plans to update the community on its progress and outline the vision for 300 Main St. in late January, including plans and architectural renderings.
The building will ultimately house 19 residential units on the second and third floors with plans to have an open atrium on those floors. There will be five retail spaces on the first floor and structurally supported planter areas for trees to grow through the center of the building, according to Gourley.
The building has a footprint of 19,200 square feet and has three levels for a total of 57,200 square feet of space.
“They’re highly motivated to get this project completed,” said Craig, who expects the project to be done by mid-2022.
Craig said she looks forward to another “topnotch building” by Gourley Construction, which has also had a hand in the 100,000- square-foot Taylor Farms corporate headquarters building in the 100 block of Main Street in downtown Salinas, along with other projects such as the Farmers Union Pour House at 217 Main St. and the old Salinas Fire Department building at 210 Salinas St.
The Taylor headquarters building was modeled after the architecture found in New Orleans. Bruce Taylor, president and CEO of Taylor Farms, has said that by placing his four-story headquarters, with its patios, courtyards and open space that works to create a sense of community in downtown Salinas, he hoped to spur other economic activity and revitalize his hometown.
“We’re looking for an 18-month turnkey, and excited to be working with our partners with the city of Salinas on this project,” said Gourley of the current project in the former Bruhn building.
Craig said there has been an ongoing concerted effort to bring the downtown area up to date with many projects currently in the works to make it a more vibrant, pedestrian-friendly and livable environment. This is one project that will bring Salinas closer to its housing goals, she said.