Historic Bank of Newberg Building Sold, Major Renovations Planned

NEWBERG, Ore. — The Bank of Newberg building on the corner of E. Meridian Street and E. 1st Street has a new owner and a new future.

According to Yamhill County records, Sherwood residents Kelly Koch and Steve Everley purchased the Bank of Newberg building, on May 21, 2024, for $689,920.

“We’re pretty excited about this,” Koch said. “I live just outside of Newberg on the Sherwood side, one of my business partners lives in Sherwood, and another business partner lives in Dundee. We know how much Newberg needs something new like this.”

Koch, an area entrepreneur, said he and Everley have big plans for the building. To start, they’re working to restore it to its original appearance from 1888. At the top of the list is restoring two apartments on the second level, which will be turned into short-term rental properties. The two rentals could be open as soon as July.

Then, Koch and Everley plan to rebuild the ground-level retail space by removing the walls between businesses and establishing one large retail space. This space will feature an indoor-outdoor saloon, a speakeasy, and potentially a steakhouse.

“[The building] is the right building,” Koch said. “It’s really amazing and has a lot of character. We want to restore it and bring something fun and exciting to Newberg.”

According to George Fox University’s “Mapping Our History” project, the building has housed several businesses and residents since its opening in 1888, including a bank, a specialty glass retailer, a tax service, and a realtor before becoming Right On Computers. There is a gap in information between 1907 and 1961. Radical Rubies Hair Salon closed its Newberg location on July 5, 2022, and moved all operations to its McMinnville location according to a Facebook post.

The building’s current tenants, Pacific Crest Real Estate Advisors (PCREA) and Right On Computers were given a 30-day notice to vacate at the start of the month. PCREA has already relocated, according to co-owner Philip Higgins.

Shear Expressions Hair Salon owner Devonne Knoch said the salon is moving around the building to the former PCREA (809 E 1st Street) in the coming weeks. The salon will operate in the space for at least a year, Knoch said.

Right On Computers Closes Retail, Retains Services

The 30-day notice prompted Right On Computers owner Bill Berger to reevaluate his business after 30 years.

Berger said a primary reason for the closure of the retail side is the retirement of business partner Clare Zickuhr, who has largely operated the retail side for the past 11 years and recently celebrated his 80th birthday.

“I can’t run both sides without Clare,” he said. “I’ve got to mellow it out here. The business will still be operating, just in a different way.”

As part of the closure, Berger opened the doors to the community to pick through the shop’s remaining inventory. He said there is not a lot of new technology equipment, and there isn’t a significant amount of inventory on-site. But if anyone in the community is a computer enthusiast, they could find some useful pieces of equipment.

“Everything that’s left, come and get it,” he said. “It’s free. There are some full machines, and everything works. We want it to go to someone’s house or business rather than a recycler.”

Berger said he’s going to continue working with his business clients to prevent any lapse in coverage — some of whom he has worked with for the past 25 years. He’s also started mentoring the next generation of computer repair technicians to ensure local companies and individuals have a place to turn to for building networks, debugging computers, and performing routine maintenance to keep machines running smoothly.

“There aren’t a lot of repair shops around anymore,” Berger said. “And definitely not in Newberg or the Newberg area. I want to make sure people still have help if I ever want to retire.”