State grant eases the way for planned Hoquiam B&B

Ginger Mounts of Aberdeen is living her dream to refurbish a century-old Hoquiam building into a bed and breakfast — and maybe more.

The 7,500-square-foot structure at 511 J St. was built in 1923. According to the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (DAHP), it housed several union offices and a church at various points in history. It also was purportedly used to house soldiers during World War II.

Last year, Mounts sold her Hoquiam home and purchased the building for $86,000 with an eye toward fulfilling her lifelong dream of starting up a B&B. At that point, it had been vacant for decades — and it showed. The siding was rotting, the windows were boarded up and the interior was crammed with construction materials and all manner of junk.

“It was literally wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling full. There was one singular path through it all, like 3 feet in width, through the entire building where you could actually walk,” she said. “It took me a year to get it cleaned out and get to this point.”

She’s been working tirelessly on cleanup and refurbishing, with help from her daughters, her parents and a few friends — and, she believes, from above. “God is my right-hand man and my rock through my entire journey,” she said.

Mounts makes it no secret that she’s recovering from an opioid addiction. She’s been clean for more than a year.

“I was ready to change my life,” she said. “The way that everything’s flowed in this whole project, and the way that everything turns out — it’s like it was meant to be. And it makes me tear up because I know it. I have confirmation from God.”

Still, she knew she couldn’t achieve her goals without financial and professional aid, so she kept an ear to the ground for grants that might help with the historical preservation. It wasn’t easy, because she’s a private owner rather than a nonprofit entity.

Finally, on Oct. 30, she saw that the Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation had posted information about funding to be offered through the National Park Service Historic Revitalization Subgrant Program. Mounts applied for that grant with help from her friend Dave Haerle of Hoquiam, and she received it earlier this month — nearly $70,000.

That will get her part of the way there.

“The grant will cover the basics: framing, plumbing and electrical,” said Steve Davis, who’s contributing his business management and construction expertise, plus some of the hands-on work. “But there’s still a fire sprinkler system, there’s drywall, painting and then of course the interior furnishings.”

That’s not deterring her from her goals, of course.

“Ginger’s enthusiasm for this project is quite contagious,” said Haerle, city editor of The Daily World. “When I saw the building and heard her vision for it back in the summer, I simply said, ‘Let me know how I can help.’ I’m both stunned and thrilled that she got (the grant).”

Grand vision

When Mounts learned she’d been chosen to receive funding, she was jubilant — which is only a notch or two beyond the giddiness she radiates whenever she talks about this project.

Her plans include five to seven guestrooms on the ground level, each with a different motif: fisherman, retro, Mediterranean, etc. She’ll also have one big bunk room with a shared bathroom that could either serves as hostel-type accommodations or hold a large group.

Also on that floor, she’s setting aside two common areas for art and music demonstrations, displays and classes. (She said she has several local artists and musicians on board for that, but isn’t ready to name them yet.)

A large portion of the second level was once a ballroom and ceremonial space that could seat 100 or stand 300, she said. The original hardwood floors are mostly intact. She’d like to restore it as a banquet/dance hall, opening it up for community events.

Stacks upon stacks of siding cutoffs and various other wood bits and pieces are still crammed into that room from decades past, and she intends to incorporate them into her décor. She also enjoys restoring old furniture and has dozens of pieces there and in the attic awaiting her touch before they’re placed in the various rooms.

The rest of the second floor will be the living space for herself and her daughters. The original French doors facing J Street have been removed and repainted, and she plans to build a balcony out there. (The original is long gone.) The vast swath of open space has plenty of room for beds, living and dining areas, and of course the kitchen.

The attic level has plenty of floor space and room to walk upright, but is not included in the assessor’s square footage. She has all kinds of ideas for that level — from small apartments to a yoga studio. But it’s near the bottom of her priority list, and it’s serving as a storage area for now.

There’s also a large elevator in the center of the building that will require further funding to restore. “I’m doing research on grants for that specifically,” she said.

“When she pulls this off — and I don’t doubt her wherewithal to do so — it’s going to be an amazing place for both downtown Hoquiam and the Harbor as a whole,” said Haerle.

John Larson, executive director of Hoquiam’s Polson Museum and a member of the state’s Historic Preservation Commission, is “really impressed” with Mounts’ efforts to date.

“Just the work that she’s done so far, taking that building from total derelict with boarded-over windows and crappy old siding that was falling apart … she’s followed all the steps that we at the Historic Preservation Commission would have sought from a business owner with a property like that,” he said. “She gets a big ‘A’ in my book — and that’s reflected in her getting that grant, which shows she’s certainly got approval from the Olympia side of things. They believe in her, too.”

Progress

So far, the change that’s most noticeable to passers-by is the new shingle siding on two of the exterior walls and a few new windows. Mounts has some experience with flipping homes, so she did that work herself. In fact, she’s done most of it on this project so far.

“Mom is an amazing artist, and Dad is an amazing carpenter,” she said. “So I got both of those skills passed down.”

She’s also a trained culinary chef and loves to cook; so, for her, breakfast will be the easy half of this B&B.

With the grant, she’s now able to hire professionals to work on plumbing, electrical and other elements. She put out a request for proposals the week of Feb. 10 and hopes to get that work underway by the beginning of March.

Ideally, she’d love to get the first-floor retail space going by midsummer and open the guestrooms by fall.

“That’s very aggressive,” she acknowledged. “But I’ve planned it out — I’ve put it all down on paper and I’ve done the math. I know how much each project should take, give or take a few weeks. My ultimate goal is no later than Christmas.”

As a professional estimator at Nor-Cat, Davis takes a slightly more conservative view.

“It is a monumental task, but I think she can have it usable by winter,” he said. “She’s probably the hardest-working person I’ve ever met, so if a project can run on time, she would definitely be the one to get it done.”

Mounts grew up on “a tiny little island” in Ketchikan, Alaska, and she said that community is very much like Hoquiam, so she feels very much at home here. She’s visibly excited about the prospect of contributing to her adopted community — and becoming a role model for others who might be struggling with addiction.

“I want to be a good example for other people out there who are having a hard time,” she said. “If I can do it, you can do it.”

Photos by Kat Bryant | Grays Harbor News Group Owner Ginger Mounts indicates the areas being framed for four bedrooms along the north side of the first floor.

Owner Ginger Mounts intends to take siding cutoffs and various other wood bits and pieces left behind and incorporate them into her décor.

The original French doors from the second-story residence have been removed and repainted, and owner Ginger Mounts plans to build a balcony out there.