Historic Goff building to get new lease on life

The historic “C.T. Goff” sign in downtown Blaine was recently taken down during the redevelopment of the building, which will reopen this summer with a new tenant.

The historic black-and-white sign, believed to be more than a century old, also featured the words “Dry Goods” and “Ready to Wear.” The sign was painted onto the bricks that formed the façade of the building, which is located at 674 Peace Portal Drive.

The building used to house the former Goff’s department store, which was operated for over 56 years by lifelong Blaine resident Murray Goff. Murray Goff succeeded his father, C.T. Goff, who bought the dry goods business in 1915. The store closed on Murray Goff’s retirement in 2009, and he passed away in 2017.

While efforts were made to save the sign, the bricks underneath the sign were becoming dislodged, posing a safety hazard. The entire sign therefore had to be taken down.

“The brick on the top was ready to fall down,” said Phil Esau, speaking for Wild Bird Charity. “It was a safety issue. A minor shake could have caused some serious injuries.”

The Wild Bird Charity operates the Wild Bird Treasure Nest boutique, which will be moving into the Goff building this summer from its current location at 442 Peace Portal Drive.

“We had an engineer look at the sign and he said it’s got to go,” added Esau, who noted that some of the historic bricks will be repurposed as part of the building’s redevelopment. “We’re going to use some of the brick at the base below the windows,” he said.

“The developer is intending to keep the brick columns and possibly reuse the removed brick in a different application,” confirmed Stacie Pratschner, the city of Blaine’s community development director.

According to Pratschner, the owner of the site is Quinby LLC and the developer is Nimbus Properties LLC, while the contractor is Northwest Construction. “The city looks forward to seeing the progress of the building’s redevelopment,” she said.

According to Deanna Mulder, owner of the Wild Bird boutique and a director of the Wild Bird Charity, the building should be ready for move-in by mid-June. The interior is already finished, she said, and features fresh paint as well as new carpets, tiles and shelving. There will be a work area in the back.

Mulder said the new location will give her growing boutique more space. “We needed a larger location,” she said. “We’ve been inundated with donations, so our store is growing rapidly.” With the added space, the store hopes to expand its offerings to include small furniture.

To mark the opening of Wild Bird’s new location, a grand opening and band concert will be held at the G Street Plaza in early August, said Esau. “By that time we will have moved, and it will be an opportunity for us to celebrate that,” he said.

Once the Wild Bird boutique has moved into the Goff building, its current location at 442 Peace Portal Drive will be redeveloped as well. “In the short range, we’re looking at redeveloping it into a bakery,” said Esau. “In the long term, it will be a four-story building with commercial space and condos.”

However, Esau cautioned that the plans for 442 Peace Portal Drive are still being worked out, and nothing is certain yet. While plans have indeed been submitted to the city for a new four-story building, there isn’t yet a timeline for construction, said Pratschner.