Will downtown Port Orchard be torn down and replaced with a variety of mixed use and condos? “I guess that’s one way to solve the damn marque problem once and for all,” quipped one local businessman. Brenda Kruse of Brenda K’s, says she’s not interested in selling, and according to her, neither are several other key property owners.

Rumors began flying around Bay Street in downtown Port Orchard several weeks ago, about investors buying all the buildings up and down the street. Shopkeepers and building owners wondered what was going on, asking each other if anyone had any cold, hard facts.

Some, like Marvin Coe, owner of the building located at the corner of Sidney and Bay, dismissed the rumors, citing previous instances in past years where various ambitious projects were presented and discussed but never came to fruition.

“Those rumors have persisted for years,” said Coe.

But this time, it would seem, the rumors are true.

Richard Clauson of Coldwell Banker Commercial, Hawkins-Poe, in Tacoma, working with Jim Freeman of Port Orchard's Coldwell Banker Park Shore Real Estate office, recently began approaching property owners in downtown Port Orchard. Clauson, a former Port Orchard resident and brother of Port Orchard city councilman John Clauson, is representing a group of private, individual investors who routinely invest in development projects.

“I'm always looking for development projects,” said Clauson. “John kept saying 'look at Port Orchard.'”

The basic plan, according to Clauson, is to transform Port Orchard's downtown into a destination location. To accomplish this, the investors will first purchase every downtown building, from Kitsap Bank up on one side of the street and from the building next to the theater to the parking lot on the other. Once the properties have been purchased, a development manager will be hired, architects will be brought in, and a plan for rebuilding downtown will be put into place.

Most, if not all, of the existing structures would be demolished. There is, to date, no concept or design for what would replace the existing buildings, but it would be a mixed-use development of some kind.

This particular project can best be described as being in its infancy, and the reason is quite simple: it's pretty much an all or nothing proposition hinging on acquiring the property. Without a 100 percent buy-in from all the downtown property owners, the project will never see the light of day.

“This is nowhere near done,” Clauson said. He stressed that the investors, who are all from the Western Washington area, are dedicated to working with the property owners and merchants to ensure that the project is a positive experience for everyone.

“Everyone is concerned with the effect on local merchants,” he said. “[The investors] want to make it a win-win for everyone. We want to work with these people.”

All existing merchants will be given the opportunity to remain in downtown, although it is up in the air right now as to whether it would be possible for them to stay open at their current locations during the entire development process. The purchase agreements, are, by design, flexible, so that the needs of individual owners and merchants can be met, within reason.

“We're not looking to take advantage of anybody,” said Clauson.

So far response from the property owners has been fairly positive, said Clauson, and there are a number of completed and pending purchase and sale agreements in the works — including agreements on the properties owned by Dr Howard Miner. Clauson applauded Jim Freeman's efforts at contacting property owners, but noted that not all of the owners have been contacted to date, and that agreements have not yet been reached for some properties, including, rumors to the contrary, Myhre's Restaurant.

“We haven't gotten to everyone yet,” said Clauson. No agreements will close until it becomes clear that all the properties the project will require are available for purchase.

One building owner not too thrilled with the prospect of selling, is Brenda Kruse, owner of Brenda K's, an interior design shop. She purchased her building late last year and has spent quite a bit of time and money upgrading and remodeling it. “I've just started my business,” she lamented. “And I started it in downtown Port Orchard for a reason. People are just now finding me. It will be very difficult for me to move without undoing a lot of what I've spent the last year building,” she said. For them to buy my building, they're definitely going to have to make it worth it to me.”

Another is Amanda Rudd of Morning Side Bread & Pastry Co. “We've been here for a year and half and we're interested in staying here,” she said. “We have plans for expansion and we have invested a lot of time and money in our business and in our equipment. Selling was definitely not a part of our long-term business plan. We enjoy downtown Port Orchard and all the people that visit us. That's why we located here and that's why we want to stay.”

While the initial plan was to keep the project under wraps, at least through the property acquisition stage, the spreading rumors spurred Clauson to go public on behalf of his investors.

“It's better that [the owners and merchants] get the right information,” he said.

Clauson anticipates completing the property acquisition phase in the next couple of months.

“Once we have the properties assembled it will move pretty quickly,” he said, although he would not speculate on a development timeline. He was confident that local contractors and builders would be used as much as possible during the building phase.

Clauson would not confirm recently published option prices, but gave a general estimate that the project, from property acquisition through development, would likely run in the tens of millions of dollars. Whatever the final price tag, he is confident that the investors have the capital to see the project through.

The investors themselves will remain silent, at least for now. Clauson is still working with the investor group to determine which investors are the most appropriate for the project as it develops. He anticipates a final pool of four to five investors participating financially in the project.

Although Clauson is, as he puts it “just the real estate guy,” he is passionate in his belief that this project holds great potential for Port Orchard and the surrounding area, during development and beyond.

“Port Orchard's got such a great infrastructure,” he said “I think this would be a huge asset.”.