High hopes of redeveloping the historic Truitt Bros. Cannery site in Salem’s North Waterfront District into apartments, restaurants and retail fell through this summer, but the property’s owners and city leaders are determined to leverage the site for revitalization.

The setback is the second time in three years developers failed to lock down a project known as The Cannery, which would have seen the cannery building at Northeast Front Street downtown redeveloped into a $150 million neighborhood with 382 apartments, commercial space and walking paths along the Willamette River.

Brokers from First Commercial Real Estate Services representing the owners of the Truitt. Bros. Cannery said Thursday that the site will go back on the market in the coming weeks after a deal with a New-Jersey based development firm fell through in July.

One of those brokers, Jordan Truitt, who is also a member of the Truitt family, told Salem Reporter on Friday that realizing a project of The Cannery’s magnitude in Salem will require a lot of patience.

“There needs to be a sense of vibrancy, and that doesn’t happen overnight. And it takes a lot of work, a lot of money and a lot of investment into that community,” Truitt said. “As outside, and inside, development sees some of these changes occur, slowly over time, that dynamic will begin to change.”

He also said he’d hope to see a different kind of investment the next time around as First Commercial recalibrates a new marketing strategy for the site.

“My preference would be for somebody local who is involved in Salem, who knows Salem, who knows what Salem wants and needs,” Truitt said, “so that somebody of that nature can be a part of the project rather than massive gobs of somebody else’s money from somewhere out of state.”

The ambitious plan for The Cannery was first revealed publicly in the spring of 2023 when developer Trent Michels and his firm FuND (Future of Neighborhood Development) announced it took on the project, which was to include 12,000 square feet of retail space, and almost 31,000 square feet for eating and drinking, and about 6,000 square feet for offices.

The city’s hearings officer approved the land use plans for the project, but the development stalled due to the complexity of the project.

Then, earlier this year, SilverSphere Capital, a New Jersey-based development firm, announced it was under contract with the Truitt Brothers to purchase the property to move forward with a $150 million transformation that would include apartments, walking paths and Michelin star restaurants.

Months later, the deal with SilverSphere fell through after the Truitts and SilverSphere failed to come to an agreement to extend the contract for sale of the property.

Aaron Stickney, co-founder of SilverSphere, told Salem Reporter he wishes the Truitts the best of luck selling the Cannery but that he doesn’t see it selling.

Stickney said he believes there needs to be a leadership change in Oregon and that his firm is closely watching the Nov. 3 election before making a decision on whether to invest in a state like Oregon, let alone a city like Salem.

He blamed state government policies, and a local Salem city government that he said fails to work together to solve issues like homelessness.

The issue of homelessness is a perennial grievance brought up by the city’s business and development community which they blame for driving developers and investment away.

Truitt agreed that Salem can be rough around the edges but said The Cannery will be a good opportunity for the right investor with the right perspective.

“There are the negative things that you see and you hear on the surface, but if you can peel those layers back and look deeper into it, which somebody with a local perspective can do, then anybody can see that The Cannery is a great project, that downtown is a great opportunity,” Truitt said. “All it takes is one. We just need one to spearhead The Cannery, which I think, in my humble opinion, is going to be the osmosis of revitalization and transformation of this former industrial corridor, just steps away from downtown.”

The news that The Cannery deal had fallen through was disappointing to city leaders such as Salem City Councilor Paul Tigan who represents Ward 1, including the North Waterfront District.

For Tigan, getting The Cannery, or another project like it, off the ground is the key to a flourishing waterfront neighborhood in the future.

Part of achieving that goal will be the city council establishing an Urban Renewal Area (URA) in the North Waterfront district, a decision the council postponed on Aug. 24.

The council postponed the decision because they wanted to see a clearer and more thought out plan for development before voting to advance it. Tigan said his sense is that city staff will come back with a plan and the decision will go back before the council before the end of the year.

“I just want to roll out the red carpet to the person who wants to go first,” Tigan said. “Because when they go first, a whole lot of people are going to go second.”

“I think us moving forward with the URA is a critical part to demonstrating to any prospective developer that the city is moving forward to generate the resources necessary to improve not just The Cannery project, but that whole part of the city.”

Property values are “frozen” in Urban Renewal Areas when they are created, and any new taxes generated by rising property values are returned to the area to fund projects like developments, rather than to the city’s general fund for police, fire and core services.

The intent is to promote economic growth in the long-term when the developments start paying taxes.

Contact reporter Joe Siess: joe@salemreporter.com.

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The post Broker hopes for local investment at Salem waterfront cannery site appeared first on Salem Reporter.

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