The current store and shop for Coos ATV and Cycle Center is at 2580 Broadway St. in North Bend. When renovations on the new location in Coos Bay are finished, which are estimated around the end of summer, they will move in. World Photo by Lou Sennick

The view is changing along Bayshore Drive in Coos Bay, as a longtime fixture is being transformed into a new business location.

A boom lift is about the only object taking up space in the main building on the Stalcup property, 2273 N. Bayshore Drive. There are slabs of insulation in one corner and several boxes of what appear to be light fixtures. Cobwebs and dust bunnies are plentiful, as you might expect to find in a building that has been vacated and on the market for the last two years.

But this fall, the building's detritus is expected to be gone, and in its place will be Vulcan cruisers and Brute Force ATVs. There will be street bikes, motorbikes and motorized watercraft on sale, as well as a brand new service center elsewhere on the property.

These improvements got under way May 8, when Hal Cline officially took ownership of the 2.87-acre lot. It was Cline's second major purchase of the year, having earlier obtained Farwest Kawasaki-Suzuki, the ATV dealership in North Bend.

Once renovations to the former trucking business are complete, the ATV dealership will be relocated from its current location on Broadway Street to the busier thoroughfare. With the new location will be a new name: Coos ATV and Cycle Center.

“We needed a bigger place,” Cline said Tuesday, noting the Stalcup property, is about three times as large as the current location. “We are wall-to-wall here. There is no room to walk, there is so much stuff.”

Cline said the new location should provide easier access for customers as well as a less cramped shopping experience.

“At least half of our trade is with people from out of town,” he said. “Now, they don't have to ask where we are, because we are right there when you come into town.”

The property, which had a list price of $3 million, officially changed hands May 8. The next day, Cline said, refurbishment of the existing building began, with plans to open at the new location by September or October.

Daymon Cline, general manager of the business and Hal Cline's son, said the plan is to enlarge the existing facility and use it as a showroom. At the same time a 2,640-square-foot building will be constructed to serve as a service center.

The sale of the property was overseen by Jim Berg, principal broker owner of North Point Inc. Real Estate and Development, who also is the listing agent for the former Unical site just north of the Stalcup property. He is optimistic the sale of one property might influence the sale of more.

“Any time you get any development happening, it clearly draws attention to that area,” he said. “It's a catalyst.”

With a listed selling price of $2.775 million, the approximately 4-acre site would be an attractive location, Berg said.

“It's an industrial-zoned property on 101,” he said. “It would have potential for something pretty nice to be there. That whole area between the two cities has a lot going for it and I could see a lot of change there over the next two or three years.”

The Clines have been operating their store since Jan. 1, when they took over from previous owners Harold and Linda Moore. Hal Cline said he had an understanding with both Kawasaki and Suzuki that he would be relocating after acquiring their dealerships.

The relocation plan was a welcome development for Howard Forte, general sales manager at Coos Bay Toyota, which borders the Stalcup property on the south.

“Having another business creates more traffic,” he said. “It will enhance the entire stretch.”

Forte said Coos Bay Toyota plans to build a new building on its property that will provide more space for a service shop and sales offices. Between both projects, he expects to see more traffic along Pine Avenue, which separates the two properties.

“Right now, we always put our vehicles facing out on 101,” he said. “Now they can generate traffic on Pine and we can put cars facing there, too.

“Anything is better than having a vacant building next to your business.”

Chris Cahill, an assistant manager with Coos Bay Transfer, which owns the property immediately adjacent to where the ATV dealership will be, does not expect it to impact his business directly, but is happy to see the property off the market.

“It's good for development in the area,” he said. “It was a big piece of property that was unused and hopefully it will become a successful business.”