Best Western purchased this property in 2002. -World Photo by Alexander Rich

Q: I want to know what has happened to the property Best Western purchased on Front Street. Are there still plans to build an inn there? If so, when will work start?

A: Plans for the property at 320 N. Front St. have been in a holding pattern because there are people who still occupy the existing buildings, one a large pink structure, the other a two-story white building with office spaces.

Nathan Mischel, manager of the Best Western Holiday Motel, said the buildings have several tenants, some of whom have lease agreements that run through this summer. Once those contracts expire, the company will inspect the buildings and decide what to do next.

“It’s kind of up in the air,” he said. “The plan is it will be developed, but datewise, we don’t know yet.”

At one time, there were thoughts about building a boutique inn. In January 2005, the Coos Bay Planning Commission granted a conditional-use permit for Best Western owner Tom Cottrell to build a 22-unit inn that would serve as an annex to the existing motel between the north and southbound lanes of Highway 101.

Mischel said in order to build an inn, the existing structures would probably need to be torn down. Doing so would lead the city to require system development charges on the property, which Mischel said might be so high as to make it uneconomical to proceed.

“SDCs are astronomical,” he said. “It’s made us think whether we can be profitable,” developing the site.

The city recently placed a moratorium on transportation SDCs, but sewer SDCs are still in effect.

About the only thing that could happen in the near future is the razing of the pink building, possibly as early as this winter. Mischel said the deteriorating structure is essentially vacant, with only one tenant who uses the space sparingly.