Tolovana Inn 40 th Anniversary The Tolovana story begins in 1906 - - PDF document

Tolovana Inn 40th Anniversary

The Tolovana story begins in 1906 when brothers Mark and William Warren platted the area along the beach south of Cannon Beach. The name came from Mark's travels through the remote regions

• f central Alaska where he visited a trading post named Tolovana. He liked the melodious sound of

the name and named their town site Tolovana. His English definition of the name was "beautiful word" which, after all, is a fitting name for one of the beautiful places in the West. Incidentally, the word Tolovana in the Alaskan Indian language is said to mean "a pile of logs or driftwood." The subdivision consisted of 72 lots and was adjacent to the north of what is now Warren Way. In 1911, the brothers built the Warren Hotel on the site of the Inn. It consisted of a large rustic lodge with dining room and several cottages and served transients and conferences for about 30

• years. Summer patrons included the elite of Portland and the business flourished.

In 1913, Gov. Oswald West, a progressive Democrat, sent a bill to the legislature which passed designating the ocean beach from Astoria to the California border a public highway. Oregon is the

• nly state to preserve it beaches for the public.

In those years, because the adjacent property was so heavily forested, the beach was the main highway and the Warren Hotel became a stagecoach stop. The coaches traveled at low tide, the

• nly time they could get around Hug Point which is south of our property.

At the beginning of WWII, the hotel was taken over by the US Coast Guard and used as headquarters for its personnel, horses, and dogs assigned to patrol the beaches. During the critical war years of 1942 arid 1943, the military believed the coasts were subject to sabotage and enemy attack and the beach patrol was one of the most important phases of national defense. It had three basic functions:

• 1. To detect and observe enemy vessels operating in coastal waters and transmit information to the

appropriate Navy and Army Commands.

• 2. To report attempts of landings by the enemy and assist in preventing such activity.
• 3. To prevent communication between persons on shore and the enemy at sea. Raids by Japanese

submarines were anticipated. By June 15, 1943 Carmon Beach had a night dog patrol of a dozen dogs and three handlers. A patrolman and a dog worked as a team. There were 18 different dog breeds but German Shepherds, Doberman Pinchers, and Airedales were preferred because of their size, strength, adaptability and intelligence. The station was assigned a horse patrol in May 1944. Mounted patrolmen carried portable radio receiver-transmitter sets, a compass, whistle, and often pistol and rifle. The Cannon Beach area was not attacked but a Japanese submarine shelled the area off Fort Stevens at the mouth of the

Columbia River in June 1942

After the end of the war the property lay abandoned for several years until it was bought by two Astoria professional men who refurbished the buildings and operated a beach motel for about l 0 years. In 1961, two couples, Francis and Myrtle Nevan and Nick and Helen Nelson purchased the property for $36,000 and operated it for 10 years as a Christian Conference Center under the name

• f Grace Haven Lodge. Their brochure desc1ibed the Lodge as having a huge fireplace, dining

facilities, and 11 cottages. The originator of Tolovana Inn was William F. Brenner, owner of Brenner Construction Co. of

• Beaverton. He had been a long-time builder of motels in Washington, Oregon, and California.

The Nelsons and the Nevans rejected his offer to buy on several occasions until the winter of 1970 when they determined that increasing operating costs, property taxes and an $8,000 sewer assessment would make their operation unprofitable. ·Sensing the potential growth of the area, they countered Brenner's final purchase offer with a 60-year lease with option to purchase. The Assessor valued the property at $100,950. The lease, based on a

val11e of$!50,000, began June l, 1971 and

ends May 31,2031. Terms of exercising the option require payment in full by December 1, 2030, 6 months prior to expiration date. Brenner offered the Robert Randall Co. of Portland a partnership for its financial stability and a marketing program to sell the 96 units. I was vice president of the company and in charge of the sales program. There were both city and local citizen objections to the original plans. The city required Brenner to re-built Siuslaw street and replace its sewer with cast iron lines and to install a 12-inch water line from its reservoir to the Inn. Brenner agreed to pay for an 8-inch line if the city would pay the difference between 8 and 12 inches. When the city refused, Brenner developed the Inn's water source on land he leased across the street, now the Haystack Resort motel. Water was found at 31 feet and a redwood storage tank was built. Low water pressure in the Tolovana Park area caused the city to reopen negotiations and it agreed to pay the difference over 10 years plus 9 percent interest. The well was capped and the tank removed. After months of efforts spent to resolve many other complications, a building permit was issued September 7, 1971. After the Cannon Beach Volunteer Fire Department burned the lodge and cabins in a practice fire drill, construction began. Ray Snyder, owner of Unit 311was job

• superintendent. Excavation revealed portions of the site had been a

land fill, casing still more unexpected costs to remove the debris and refill with rock. Bob Randall and I inspected the site weekly until it was completed in October 1972. Thus, like the Phoenix bird of legend, Tolovana Inn rose from the ashes of the past.

The complex, sited on 3.523 acres with approximately 280 feet of ocean frontage, included four buildings of 24 units each, a recreational building, an office building with manager living accommodations, and a commercial laundry. A restaurant was included to enhance the sale of

• units. A separate tax lot was created for the restaurant which was leased to the Randall Co. for

the same period as the land lease. The consideration was $1 which was paid upon execution of the lease. There have been several operators over the years and Daggatt's Restaurant sold its leasehold interest to Newport Pacific Corporation of Newport, Oregon August 15 1990. Mo's is responsible for taxes but the Association receives no lease income and Mo's must exercise its

• ption to purchase at the then current market value by December 1, 2030.

The sales program began in June 1972. Prices ranged from $32,900 for a 2-bedroom 2-bath end unit to $16,400 for a Studio. The combined asking price for the 96 units was $1,230,000. Today the County values the Inn property at $33,266,507, an increase of approximately three- thousand-six-hundred percent. It was presumed most owners would not live on site so buyers were offered an opportunity to rent their units on a daily basis by entering a rental pool. It was the first time this concept had been used in Oregon and it changed the condominium's character from real estate to a security. Consequently, the units had to be sold by Prospectus just like a stock offering. Sales were limited to residents of Oregon who purchased for investment. Once all units were sold, re-sales were available nationwide and in Canada. An aggressive radio advertising campaign brought lots of prospects to the site but sales were slow. Most Oregonians were unwilling to buy because the units were on land they didn't own. The monthly condo fee added a new and unfamiliar fee. The Prospectus identified the Inn as "a high risk investment" and cautioned would-be buyers that condominium units were not as speedily resalable as securities. My family lived on site that summer and I sold 24 units in June, July, and

• August. Various Saving and Loan Association provided most of the financing. Down payment

was 25 percent, loans were amortized over 25 years with interest rates in the 8% range. The first closings were November 3, 1972. The last unit was sold and closed November 11, 1975. Today eight original families retain ownership and I have cet1ificates acknowledging those in attendance tonight. The others will be mailed their certificates. The Inn's ownership has been

• stable. In addition to the eight, 37 other families have owned for 25 to 39 years.

The first owner's meeting was held in the Randall Company office in Portland February 15, 1973. Its purpose was to organize a Home Owners Association. The first annual meeting of the Association was in Portland at the Lloyd Center Auditorium November 3, 1973. Joln1Pazlar was

• n the first Board. Gene Bauer was elected Chairman November 28.

The original agent, Pacific Inns Ltd, hired in I 972 to run the property for the Association was

• wned by the Brenner Co. After a year it was replaced by Vacation Villages of America a

company founded and managed by Don Jenkins. READ DON'S LETTER

To Tolovana Unit Owners 2 February 2013 When Blaine asked me to share remembrances of my time as Agent for the owners it brought back many memories.

I soon learned that the previous Agent had rented all units of a 4-plex just north of

the Inn for employee living quarters. I soon observed that the Inn's laundry was washing a lot of sheets for the few rooms we were renting at the time. Upon investigation, I learned that we were running the best little whore house in Cannon

• Beach. I closed it the day I learned it.

When all but seven units were sold, Bob Randall made VVA a fire sale offer which it couldn't refuse and for the next five months Betty and I were at the Inn every weekend, me in my selling mode and Betty with her sewing machine. I sold the seven units and VVA made a small profit on each which enabled our new company to keep its doors open. During those early days most prospective buyers began their questions with "What do you project for income distribution?" My response, "I have no idea, but if you are buying for current income you should consider other investments. But if you consider outcome, I know of no better investment. Doug Nealeigh began working for us during the summer while a student at Neah a kanie high school and full time when he was graduated. After being trained at Portland's Red Lion Inn, he showed up in my Portland office and asked if there was a place for him at VVA. Based on his work ethic I said we would make a place and I believe you all will agree that was a good move on my part. Another employee I remember fondly is Liz Ross who proved to be an outstanding addition to VVA. After a few days of orientation, she came to my office armed with several large sheets of paper which she handed to me and asked me to write down everything that I did. That took awhile because in those days I did a lot. Then she asked me to place a check mark by everything I would rather not do. Then she took the papers back, read them, and said "As of this day, I will take responsibility for everything you don't want to do." If you have employees how would you like to have one like Liz? There was a nationwide gas shortage in the early 1970s which caused long lines at the pump. Sometimes the wait for a fill was two to three hours. The lines were

shortened when the governor decreed that vehicles with license plates ending in even numbers were served on alternate days from odd numbered plates. And because of the shortage, the price went sky high and it was difficult to convince people to buy gas for a trip to Cannon Beach. And interestingly, there never was a wait for gas in Cannon Beach. Those were difficult days for VVA and Tolovana Inn. Blaine asked me to write a letter, not a book and looking back, my experiences at Tolovana Inn are so full of positives I hardly remember any negative ones. There are many things that distinguish the Inn but none more important than one I instituted and that is that each owner and guest who comes in the front door is greeted with eye contact and a smile by the clerks behind the front desk. The Rosses and Doug have maintained that policy for the 39 years VVA has been your Agent. Thanks for the memories.

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Dear Blaine, Congratulations to Tolovana Inn,all owners past and present,and Vacation Villages of America on the occasion of this 40th Anniversary of Tolovana Inn. I joined Don Jenkins at Vacation Villages in the summer of 1983, when Tolovana was 10 years old,working for Don and getting to know this wonderful property was a real privilege. Don was the mastermind of a great rental program that has been one of the foundations of Tolovana's success. The first Tolovana manager I worked with was Van Wilson. Van was wonderful! He was a great historian for the property, and a lot of fun. When Van was Manager, we were still keeping the revenue in a small cash box under the front desk, which was housed in a combination managers quarters/ office on the property. The first Chairman I worked for was Dallas Dedrick, who taught me everything I know about "dry rot" which I learned wasn't dry at all. Soon I was poking wood with a small knife with the best of them, locating the constant maintenance challenges this place presented. Another Chairman that l worked with was Newt Stokes. Under his direction, we built the "new" office, a lovely building,and housed it with computers for the first time! Keeping track of available rentals,advance deposits and implementing a rate management program that varied with the seasons made the revenue really take off. Soon we were distributing more revenue and renovating units, always trying to keep up with the competition by offering guests a more consistent experience from unit to unit. Renovating was always challenging.....everyone had their own idea about what made a good looking unit, because every unit was owned by individuals who loved this property. Over the years our " new" office became the "old" office and is now replaced with

• ne that is really grand.

Enter Ken Ross, who worked with Chairman Blaine Whipple to engineer a major renovation,including a new office and swimming pool area; conference room; and new landscaping upgrades. In addition all buildings added

elevators which made Tolovana state of the art. The customer base was

• utstanding as a result of these improvements.

The dedication of the onsite staff was incredible. They enjoyed competitive wage rates,health benefits and 401K benefit, at that time unheard of in the seasonal hospitality industry. Tolovana was and is about its people: Don and Betty Jenkins and Doug Nealeigh

• f VVA; Blaine and lnes Whipple (BIaine was a task master who always had the

good of the property at the top of the list and my education right under that!); the Dedricks,Newt and Martha Stokes; Lloyd and Ella Green;Jack and Kay Bloom; and so many more. We have always marveled that so many wonderful people could be involved in this one magic place. In 2004,Doug Nealeigh bought VVA, and we know that the list of owners who have contributed greatly has grown through the years. Congratulations Tolovana, and Vacation Villages. Good wishes for continued success!

VVA still manages the complex. Ken and Liz Ross purchased the company from Jenkins in 1987. Liz was Don's key employee so it was a smooth transition and her tenure with VVA spans 21 years. READ LIZ LETTER Today's owner, Doug Nealeigh, has an interesting history with the site. His high school church group had meetings and stayed at the Christian Conference Center which gives him the right to claim he stayed at the original Warren Hotel He began working for VVA at age 15 in June 1974 during weekends and summer months for 4 years and full time from 1978 to 1980 when he entered the management training program at the Red Lion Inn in Portland. He returned to VVA in 1982 as the Assistant to the Controller and purchased VVA January 1, 2004 from the Ross'. His first VVA job was pulling weeds until promoted to the housekeeping staff. Beginning in 1987, it became apparent to the. Board that Tolovana Inn's value would be negatively affected as it became more difficult to finance units and value would lost as the land lease period

• declined. I was Board Secretary and was authorized to negotiate for the purchase of the land. It

took three years of negotiations before Nelson and Nevan agreed to sell for $1,500,000. That agreement prevents any prepayment of the loan. Terms included no down payment, annual interest

• f 8.45%, a 40-year amortization period and the Association paid all closing costs. The transaction

Closed April 1O, 1991. At that time,. Clatsop County valued the land at $3,642, 910, $2,142,910 more than the Association paid. $441,160 of the value was on the restaurant site. The 1991 entity created to purchase the property was a non profit corporation, the Tolovana Inn Condominium Homeowners Association, Inc. The stock holders are Unit owners. No stock certificates were issued and the stock is automatically transferred to each successor owner of

• units. l was elected first Chairman of this corporation.

By 1997, the Pacific Northwest enjoyed a hefty increase in population and disposable income while our occupancy was declining. Example: Our room sales dropped from 40,397 in 1988 to 30,0 I 0 in 1999. Our competition responded by spending $5 million to upgrade their facilities while we did nothing. Even occupancy by older owners on the second and third floors had dropped dramatically because of lack of elevators. It was apparent that our guests expected more for their leisure dollars than we offered. The result was a $3 million renovation program starting in 2001. Our owners responded enthusiastically to get the Inn ready for the new millennium despite the large special assessment. Then, the Inn was a nonconforming use in a residential zone which complicated our plans as we had to get both conditional use permission and variances from the city Planning Commission to

• proceed. This meant several public hearings before we prevailed. In 2004 we were able to get the

city to change our land use designation to motel and we are now treated the same as all other motels in Cannon Beach.

Ralph Vranizan was Board Chair at this time and I was the Association representative with the various contractors. I was on site weekly for inspections and meetings with the contractors and was able to quickly resolve problems as they arose. The renovation included: A new Lodge building with meeting facilities Upgraded interiors in all buildings Elevators installed at all four buildings and the Lodge building New cable mils installed on the entry side of buildings New stair towers with steel treads installed Cultured stone wainscoting installed at the base of all buildings Landscaping enhanced including a sprinkler system Lighting in entry halls and the parking lot upgraded for better security Mansard and "Eyebrows" replaced with cedar shingles Basement remodeled for the commercial laundty and other amenities Generator installed in the Lodge to provide power during our many winter outages The Lodge fireplace is an exact replicate of the Warren Hotel fireplace. What makes Tolovana Inn special for owners and guests who come to celebrate weddings, anniversaries, and other life events year after year:

• A. Location. Cannon Beach has specular scenery, fresh air, clean beaches. The Inn's location is

in what is basically a residential neighbor-hood removed from the crowds and parking challenges

• f down town.
• B. The facilities. Undated interiors and conference facilities result in long-time repeat guests.
• C. Amenities. A salt water pool, spa, sauna, game room for kids, fitness center, pet friendly suites,
• n-site massages, guest laundry facilities, high speed internet access, easy access to the beach, fire

pits on the beach, b-b-q facilities.

• D. Staff. Our most important equation is a warm welcome at the front desk, a maintenance crew

who respond promptly (sometimes called from their warm beds in the middle of the night), a housekeeping crew who cheerfully clean our suites and sanitize our bathrooms. In closing, I believe our guests come for the pleasures created by the natural rhythms of wind, water, sand, sun, and sound of the surf Many come for the winter storms. Our intersection of sand and water replaces depression with exhilaration. Even the cell phone can't kill the allure of the beach and our owners and guests return home renewed. OUR NEW SIGN FOR UNIT 226.

TOLOVANA INN. A LITTLE BIT OF HEAVEN

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