PENDLETON — The city of Pendleton is revisiting a redevelopment proposal for the old bank building on South Main Street with Oregon real estate scion Jordan Schnitzer.

Entitled “P Trailhead Building 7-15-21,” the digital document obtained by the East Oregonian sketches out a concept for the building at 256 S. Main St. that would turn it into a mixed-use crafting and display space for artists and artisans.

“Often, the Indians and cowboys come from such different backgrounds and cultures, but they bonded by the art of creation,” an undated memo states. “In some instances, they are the last of their kind, keeping alive a dying art, and far too often high commercial rents and limited space availability keep them hidden in their homes and inside street workshops, unable to share their amazing work with the masses. The Guild Building would strive to cure that problem, carrying their creative gifts out of their garage workshops and backroom studios, and onto Pendleton’s Historic Main Street, so each year tens of thousands can see them work and purchase their creations.”

Alternatively referred to as “The Trailhead Building” and the “Jordan Schnitzer Western Guild Building,” the concept includes a “local makers incubator,” a bistro, outdoor parklets for dining and vacation rental spaces. Rental costs for the artists and craftspeople would be set only to cover the cost of utilities and maintenance, and they would be allowed to keep all the proceeds from a sale of their work while also agreeing to work in the building for a certain number of hours.

The document also includes renderings, dated December 2020, from Seder Architecture + Urban Design, a Portland architecture firm that also wrote zoning plans for the concept. The document didn’t include a cost estimate for the project or whether the city would acquire the property from Schnitzer as a part of the plan. City Manager Robb Corbett declined to comment, citing active negotiations, and Harsch Investment Properties, Schnitzer’s real estate company, didn’t provide comment as of press time.

A former Wells Fargo, the building had gone mostly unused for years before Schnitzer bought the property for $152,000 in 2016. An art collector and philanthropist, Schnitzer has supported local art organizations like the Pendleton Center for the Arts and Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts on the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Upon purchasing the building, Schnitzer also told the East Oregonian he was a longtime fan of the Round-Up who attended the rodeo frequently.

Schnitzer promised to fill the space with something that would benefit the community, but save for some pop-up galleries and shops, the space has remained empty. A public working space for artists and artisans was floated previously in 2019 by Jeff Lorton, the owner of a local advertising firm. Referred to as the “Western Arts Gallery” at the time, Lorton shared the concept at a Pendleton City Council meeting.

“It’s a gallery space dedicated to the celebration, and the perpetuation, or the continuation of the Western traditional arts manufacturing in downtown Pendleton and its surrounding areas,” he told the council. “This would be a gallery that would celebrate silver artists, bit and spur engravers, leather workers of all kinds.”

At the time, Harsch did not directly comment on Lorton’s pitch.