Seaside’s Carousel Mall for sale

Published 8:00 pm Sunday, June 12, 2016

SEASIDE — The Seaside Carousel Mall is for sale with an asking price of $4.1 million.

An entire city block, bordered by Broadway, Edgewood, Oceanway and Downing streets, is included in the sale, said Thomas McDowell, senior commercial real estate broker at Norris & Stevens in Portland. His listing partner is Raymond Duchek.

The total 33,106-square-foot area contains 21 shops, as well as the full-size carousel for which the mall is named. Current store leases will be maintained and assigned to the new owner, McDowell said.

Zoned as commercial resort, the one-story building could go to four stories if the next owner wants to enlarge it, he added.

Although he declined to reveal the amount of income the mall produces annually, he said it was “very good” and that the mall has no debt. Economic details will be released to a serious buyer after a confidentiality agreement is signed.

The mall will be marketed to investors on the West Coast, as well as nationally and internationally.

Developed by Portland businessman Raymond Arthur Dodge in 1985, the mall stayed in the family even after Dodge’s death last year. The mall was built on the site of the old Bungalow Dance Hall, which began operating in the 1920s and was a draw for big dance bands in the 1940s.

When the mall first was built, a small, “portable” carousel, which traveled occasionally to other destinations, was installed.

Later, however, a Dodge family member, who especially loved carousels, hired a San Francisco company to build a larger, permanent carousel for the mall. It was installed in 1990.

Instead of only horses, the carousel also includes rabbits, cats, reindeer, ostriches, a pig, bear and sea horse.