Building Salem is a regular feature from Salem Reporter intended to highlight planned building projects around the city. Is there a building going up or demolition underway you’re curious about? Let us know by emailing [email protected]. Name: The Cartwright Project type: New construction, residential, retail Location: 1035 Commercial St. SE and 160 Bush St. Estimated completion: Fall 2025 Cost: Property sold for $750,000 in December 2023; developer did not have construction cost estimate. Units: 42 The need: The building is intended to provide apartments as Salem continues to grapple with a housing shortage.  “There’s a huge need for just space for people to live,” said Daniel Roth, an architect with CBTWO Architects in Salem, which is developing the property. Description: The Cartwright will take the place of a lot that’s been long vacant south of downtown, at the corner of Southeast Commercial and South Bush Streets.  The five-story, mixed-use building will include 42 apartments.  Of those, four on the ground floor will be combined living and work spaces along Bush Street. They will provide flexibility for residents to use the space however they prefer – as an apartment, for a small business or both.  Another ground floor unit will also be reserved for retail space, though no agreements have been made for occupying the space, according to Roth. “It’s just a great opportunity right along a well-connected corridor on Commercial to place a multi-family apartment that’s close to downtown, along a pretty common transportation route,” Roth said. A rendering of The Cartwright, a planned mixed-use apartment building south of downtown Salem (CBTWO Architects) The property’s name is a historical nod to a cartwright who once repaired carts and wagons at the site. Arizona-based Coursey Enterprises, LLC bought the property in December 2023 from a company named Customer Care Inc., according to Marion County property records. The new owner then approached CBTWO, saying he was interested in developing apartments at the site. “He saw an opportunity and enlisted us to help with it,” Roth said. Developers started designing the building in early 2024 and began construction that fall. Roth said he expects the apartments to open by October. The complex will be divided into box-shaped chunks, tilted slightly toward views of Bush’s Pasture Park and the Willamette River. It’s also about a mile from Minto-Brown Island Park. The triangular roofs atop the building are designed to blend in with houses in the surrounding neighborhood, according to a project plan. Developers will plant street trees and add a 5-foot wall with decorative metal fencing along Commercial Street. Developers are considering building a small management office on the property, next to the main building, Roth said. December 2024 building statistics from the city of Salem New multifamily building permits issued: 9 permits for 120 units Total multifamily building permits issued since July 2024: 40 permits for 582 units New home permits issued: 40 permits, including 10 duplexes Total new home permits since July 2024: 144 New commercial and industrial permits issued: 13 Total new commercial and industrial permits permits issued since July 2024: 45 Contact reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian: [email protected] or 503-929-3053. A MOMENT MORE, PLEASE– If you found this story useful, consider subscribing to Salem Reporter if you don’t already. Work such as this, done by local professionals, depends on community support from subscribers. Please take a moment and sign up now – easy and secure: SUBSCRIBE. The post BUILDING SALEM: Apartment complex slated to open south of downtown this fall appeared first on Salem Reporter.