(The building at 708 SW Deschutes Avenue, which began as the Patrick Medical Building and is now Patrick’s Corner Executive Suites | Rendering courtesy of Jonathon Keith)
Remodeled Historical Building Will Retain Redmond’s Retro Charm While Receiving Vital Updating
Downtown Redmond is rich with history, and the Patrick Medical Building is a nostalgic slice of the town’s memorable past. Located at 708 SW Deschutes Avenue adjacent to Centennial Park, the former 17-bed hospital was built nearly 80 years ago and is reminiscent of the Art Deco period of the 1920s and ‘30s. In 2015, the building was set to be demolished after sitting vacant and in need of repair, but was thankfully spared the wrecking ball.
The Patrick Medical Building received a second chance at life when new owner Lawnae Hunter, principal Broker of PLUS Property Management in Redmond and Bend and Jonathon Keith, broker of Special Projects for PLUS, got involved in 2018. It was then that the eventual transformation of the building was launched, and its new incarnation — Patrick’s Corner Executive Suites — is expected to be completed in the next 30 to 45 days.
“We looked at trying to help the original owner because he was an old friend, and we wanted to help salvage the building. It needed to be renovated,” says Keith. “In September 2019, the ownership changed. We’d gotten involved in 2018, but when the ownership changed, the building’s new incarnation started taking shape. That was the phoenix of it.”
Patrick’s Corner Executive Suites will house private office suites, and will offer WiFi and all utilities, a shared conference room and coffee bar for meetings, heat/air controlled by individual units in each office, opening windows, on-site mail delivery, on-site parking and a location that is convenient to all of downtown Redmond.
“In the 1,336-square-foot space on the east side, we are hoping to create a coffee house-style meeting space,” explains Keith. “When we first got involved, we were going to convert it to a family-style restaurant, but the way things have happened and the cost of doing business have made that a risky proposition.” Keith says that because the building butts Centennial Park and is centrally located, a restaurant could have been helpful there, but COVID caused the team to rethink the plan.
With completion anticipated by mid to late January, Keith says they already have two, and possibly a third, of the executive offices leased. “On the east side is the coffee shop, or a small professional office space that could house six to eight people. On the west side, there is a space of almost 2,000 square feet that houses eight office spaces. Seven of those are for lease, and one is the common shared conference room,” he says. Offices are available for lease starting at $475 per month.
In the course of renovating, Keith said some leftover inventory from the building was found in the basement, including documents and photographs. “We recovered some items, but we haven’t decided how to use them yet,” he says. “Lawnae’s concept is to frame old documents and information in shadow boxes, and we are inviting people to share stories regarding the historical building and documents, similar to the City Hall building. But the scale will be different; this building is much smaller than City Hall.” He adds, “We want to tie the building to its past, visually, through photographs and the shadow boxes. “We are looking for personal stories involving the building: Some people were born here.”
According to the Redmond Historic Landmarks Commission, the original Patrick Medical Building had 17 beds, a surgery room, nursery, three wards, four private rooms and a top-of-the-line automatic signaling system. It was later acquired by Patrick, who was an early builder in Redmond, though this particular facility was not built by him, but rather was acquired by him. The Patrick Medical Building is part of the Landmark Commission’s Heritage Walk, a walking tour consisting of 36 commercial and residential buildings constructed between 1905 and 1941 in Redmond. The Heritage Walk brochure describes the old structure as a medical-dental facility that was built at a cost of $20,000 and drew a crowd of more than 400 people — about a quarter of Redmond’s population at the time — to its grand opening.
When asked why the structure at 708 SW Deschutes Avenue was selected to house Patrick’s Corner Executive Suites, Keith says the project was a labor of love. “The opportunity to save and repurpose a historic building was the main drive. Lawnae went above and beyond expense-wise to make sure this Redmond gem is preserved.” Although it might have been easier to tear down the building and start fresh, Keith says that Hunter wanted to salvage the building and do something great for the community.
“There have been some challenges, as in all real estate; none worse or better than what normally happens,” he explains, adding that there are some hurdles they are still jumping over. “COVID complicated the process, but we are working through it. Renovating an old building like this presents its challenges, none the least of which is the expense in doing so. Sometimes, it’s easier to demolish and start over, and then everything is new. But we are proud to be able to renovate a historic building, preserving its integrity, style and color scheme, and to adapt it for use to be applicable to today’s world.”
For more information about Patrick’s Corner Executive Suites, call Lawnae Hunter at 541-550-8635 or Jonathon Keith at 541-419-8708.
