Recreation Base Camp sign rises in Pateros

PATEROS – Another piece of the city’s Mall Revitalization Project fell – or rather rose – into place last Thursday, July 3, with the installation of the 20-foot lighted Recreation Base Camp sign.

Earlier this year the city council selected Graybeal Signs of Wenatchee to perform the installation that stands on a five-foot river rock pedestal east of the vehicle charging stations on the north side of Commercial Avenue. 

The Mall Revitalization Project is an ambitious undertaking to rehabilitate and enhance the mall to retain it as a vital part of the city’s economic and tourism future.

A 2013 report, The Experiment of American Pedestrian Malls, examined 200 malls built in the 1950s-60s - Pateros Mall was built in the 60s – and revealed that the failure rate of those studied was nearly 90 percent. The City of Pateros determined that its mall doubles for what is Main Street in other cities and must be rehabilitated and preserved. 

A statement on the city website, pateros.com, makes the point.

“The Mall is the infrastructure anchor that ties the Central Business District together and includes water, sewer, stormwater, and fiber,” the project summary said. The completed project “will provide another 50-75 years of sound infrastructure and provide a ‘new’ Mall that will help attract business investment and retain existing businesses.”

Since 2014, the city has been making improvements to the mall and central business district that will include renovating existing hardscapes, addressing stormwater, and replacing or lining of water and sewer mains that have reached the end of their useful life.

Funding from a Rural Business Development grant awarded in early 2023 helped the city assemble the Pateros Downtown Market Study Focus Group. The resulting 43-page Downtown Market Study adopted in May 2024 serves as a guidance document for the future of the Pateros Mall. 

In June 2024, the city was notified that the Mall Revitalization Project made the list with the Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Development Fund for a $2,500,000 grant. 

The city approved the HUD grant package on May 1.

The city recently completed an upgrade to Commercial Avenue using grants funds from the Transportation Improvement Board and the American Rescue Plan Act. The Base Camp sign stands near the electric vehicle charging stations, another recent addition.

“We will be starting on the next phase of the mall rehab – water and sewer replacement – next year,” said City Administrator Jord Wilson.

Mike Maltais: 360-333-8483 or michael@ward.media