Mike McInally

Here’s a sneak peek of a story we’ll be running in Monday’s paper:

Dr. Chris Martel’s Downtown Dental office at 142 S.W. Second St. in Corvallis has taken top honors in this year’s Downtown Design Awards.

The awards, sponsored by the Downtown Corvallis Association, are meant to honor businesses that have made outstanding contributions to improving downtown during the year.

“It’s a tremendous honor,” Martel said on Friday, the day after the awards were handed out during an association event at The Inkwell Home Store.

Martel moved into the space that had been occupied for nearly 50 years by Phagan’s Beauty College. In 2007, Phagan’s owners relocated to a new location on Philomath Boulevard, leaving a downtown vacancy.

Enter Martel, who was looking for a space for a dental practice after searching for a community where he wanted to live and work. He called Joan Wessell, executive director of the Downtown Association, who recommended that he look at the Phagan’s location. After meeting with the building’s owner, David Livingston, Martel decided that it would be a great location for his business.

His remodeling efforts were aided by a pair of loans from an association program meant to help bankroll renovation projects.

Wessell said that the revolving loan program, now about 15 years old, has loaned out more than $200,000 for various downtown renovation projects.

Martel said he appreciated the support he’s received from the Downtown Corvallis Association.

“I’ve always been interested in being part of the downtown community,” he said. “I’m just thankful to be downtown.”

Other award winners were:

– Oregon Coffee & Tea (Dennis, Casey and Mirian Collett), for their work in moving into a new showroom downtown.

– Cloud 9 and The Downward Dog. Owner Cloud Davidson created and combined two compatible businesses along the riverfront, Cloud 9 Restaurant and The Downward Dog Pub & Grub.

– Mod Pod (Jessica Klein and Heidi Henry), who opened a store offering fashions for dorms, apartments, condos and fashionable homes.

– Enoteca Wine Bar & Espresso (Barb Kralj and Mark Matsler), who opened a wine bar in the Renaissance Building.

– Many Hands Trading, which remodeled a 5,000-square-foot space on Third Street that had been vacant for years.

Tweet This Post