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by Corinna Nicolau
In 2007, a marketing class at WSU surveyed undergraduates to
determine what businesses they would most want to see in Pullman.
At the top of their list: Red Robin, American Eagle, and Circuit
City. They shared their findings with the Pullman Chamber of
Commerce in hopes that these companies could be convinced to open
establishments in Pullman. For years chamber officials have been
trying to lure such companies to Pullman. In the mid-1990s, hopes
were raised when Applebees showed interest. The company sent
representatives to assess Pullman and found a great location—in
Moscow. Flat land and a lower minimum wage would reduce
construction and operating costs the company reasoned and, if they
located at the western edge of town, Pullmanites would make the
quick commute down the highway.
Fritz Hughes, president of the Chamber, admits that Pullman has
a complicated relationship with growth. For a long time, planners
believed the city would develop to the north. They built a bridge
to what they thought would be plentiful commercial real estate; it
was informally christened “the bridge to nowhere” when this pattern
of development did not materialize (now it leads to Schweitzer
Engineering Laboratories). Hughes says Pullman’s dedication to
agriculture may have something to do with its blasé attitude
towards urban development. Certainly, a few stubborn farmers
refused to give up parcels of land for frivolous roads and
shops.
Today, Pullman residents spend millions just about anywhere but
Pullman. This pattern began when the first few settlers in the
mid-1800s did their trading in Moscow, which was a bit more
established with 100 residents. Eventually, in 1881, Pullman
residents opened their own store, but if records of sluggish sales
are any indication, customers have been slipping away to do buying
ever since. This trend is particularly hard on the public
sector—the parks, the police force, the fire department—that
depends on the funds generated from the local economy.
Thank goodness for Duane Brelsford, Jr. In his effort to
develop the Pullman economy and reverse this trend, Brelsford is
earning a reputation as a hometown hero.
Born and raised in Pullman, Brelsford is a born risk-taker. In
1980, a photo of him plunging head first from the roof of his WSU
fraternity house into a snow bank made the cover of the Seattle
Times. After college, Brelsford moved to Los Angeles to become
a stuntman. But he never lost his interest in building. He had
taken almost enough courses in construction management to qualify
as a major. His grandfather had worked as a plasterer at WSU and
his father dabbled in Pullman real estate development. After six
months of stunt training, he realized that his tolerance for risk
could be put to more profitable use as a project manager for new
hotel construction in California. By his late twenties, the value
of Brelsford’s completed projects totaled $100 million.
Equipped with this experience, he returned to his hometown in
1998 with his wife Terri and their two daughters and created
Corporate Pointe Developers. He immediately set about to increase
the supply of student housing. He developed 1,400 apartments,
transforming the east side of campus into a village of apartment
complexes and forcing other landlords to step up their game. In
2001, when Corner Drug on Main Street burned to the ground, he
bought the lot. Town Centre, the building he put up in its spot,
houses Sam Dial Jewelers on the street level and the offices of the
WSU Foundation on the second level. “Without Duane,” says Hughes,
“the Corner Drug would be a parking lot.” Next, Brelsford built
Bridgeway Centre I, where Identity Spa and Taco Del Mar are
located, with stylish apartments on the second level.
City planners speak of a vibrant downtown and a mix of retail
and living spaces—but Brelsford gave the idea momentum. Brelsford
also introduced downtown’s Walk of Fame, an idea he borrowed from
the stars on Hollywood Boulevard.
To fill his buildings, Brelsford often acts as a one-man chamber
of commerce, pitching Pullman to the corporate headquarters of
businesses he envisions here. He encouraged Quiznos executives to
locate a shop in his downtown building. “I told them, ‘We’ve got
students from all over the state who rely on your sandwiches—the
advertising is effective—and now you’re going to let them go four
years without it?” It worked, and the Quiznos in downtown Pullman
has been a top performer for the sandwich chain. Brelsford has a
list of 80 companies he hopes he can persuade to come to Pullman.
At the top are outlets for women’s clothing. “Forever 21 would do
really well here,” he says. Every year he goes to the franchise
convention in Las Vegas to extol the virtues of Pullman to as many
vendors as possible.
Often, Brelsford recognizes a need for a type of business in
Pullman and has no choice but to fill the void himself. “My
daughters would go to Moscow to the multiplex,” he says, sitting in
his sun-filled office in the Corporate Pointe building on Bishop
Boulevard, “and we’d worry ourselves sick about them getting home
safely at night.” His daughters’ movie nights made him realize that
Pullman needed its own multiplex so he built the building and
established the company that runs the theater. More recently, he
built and operates the Pullman Athletic Club. Under the umbrella of
Corporate Pointe Developers, Brelsford owns 29 service and rental
companies.
This past December, WSU announced that Corporate Pointe
Developers put together the winning team that will design, build,
and manage a new on-campus hotel and conference center. Brelsford
beat out prominent firms based in Virginia, Chicago, and Spokane.
The estimated $20 million project will go hand-in-hand with the new
golf course. Not only is it the largest project Corporate Pointe
Developers has taken on, but it is perhaps one of the most
important. The hotel and conference center, which will include
condominiums, has the potential to transform how residents and
visitors experience Pullman. “Alumni can come and stay in nice
accommodations,” Brelsford explains, “They can play golf and tennis
in the summer and stick around for the beginning of football
season. All of these state-of-the-art facilities will be within
walking distance.”
It might just represent a turning point for Pullman. Mayor Glenn
Johnson believes it is a precursor of good things to come and that
Brelsford has led the way for others to do business in Pullman.
“He’s shown that developers can make money here. Alumni are going
to see his success and want to do businesses here. Our franchises
are doing well. The Holiday Inn Express is one of the most
successful out there. Same with Quiznos.” As corporate
America finds its way to Pullman, other local developers and
business people have begun to follow Brelsford’s lead, if on a
smaller scale. Mike Yates is turning the old antique mall at the
corner of Main Street and Grand Avenue into sleek apartments with
retail on the first level. He and his wife also opened the Plum
Orchard shop on Main Street in 2006.
With so many businesses for which he is responsible, Brelsford’s
ability to tolerate risk has been put to the test. Every month, the
combined total of his mortgages is millions of dollars. Brelsford
admits to suffering a bit of stress, a feeling that once was
foreign to him. He says he would be willing to sell a company or
two if the right buyers show interest. But, having just turned 50,
Brelsford has no intention of slowing down any time soon. After he
completes the hotel and conference center, he’ll once again turn
his sights to the area that surrounds campus. He owns plots of land
all over Pullman where only he can see the buildings he has yet to
build, and he has much more work to do downtown to make it the
bustling community center he envisions. In the meantime, he’s taken
up yoga at his Pullman Athletic Club.
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