Sage Kiernan-Sherrow | News Editor
As one drives down Main Street towards Independence, there is a large chunk of land currently being developed to the right of the road. Many locals know this area as the “S-curves,” but Monmouth City Council building official, Larry Thornton, says the area will be known as the Ash Creek Station when it is fully developed.
Salem resident, Jack Fox, purchased the land in 1999, which will be transformed into a small shopping center complete with nine buildings plus a medical facility. Thus far, three businesses have been confirmed as tenants: a larger and improved Roth’s grocery store, a Papa Murphy’s and a Tractor Supply Co.
“This has been an ongoing process for quite some time,” Thornton stated, “Mr. Fox has been trying to develop the land for a lot of years. There was a Wetlands issue on the property and until those issues were mitigated, everything was basically put on hold.”
Fox originally applied for permits back in 2018, according to Thornton, and since they’ve received approval from the Corps of Army Engineers, they are now in the second stage of building — a technical process of “framing,” a process where concrete blocks are arranged to act as the buildings frame.
“Roth’s is further along. They’ve got all their walls up and they’re putting on the roof system … once the building is watertight, they can start working on a lot of the other issues like putting the concrete floor down and the wiring and plumbing,” said Thornton.
The prospect of a new grocery store is something Thornton thinks the community will be excited about as Monmouth hasn’t had their own grocery store for the past 15 years.
“There’s a need for these kinds of businesses in Monmouth … I think the general public is totally behind it and probably thinking it’s been a long time coming and we’re glad it’s here,” he said.
The project is expected to be finished sometime in April, according to Thornton, who also warns there might be delays due to the winter weather.
Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu
Photo courtesy of Monmouth Community Development Director, Suzanne Dufner
