New Salem YMCA plan doesn't require IKE Box to move

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified Mark and Tiffany Bulgin. They are the co-founders and co-directors of Isaac's Room, a non-profit organization that runs IKE Box. 

Update 1:50 p.m. July 22

The town hall scheduled for July 25 at IKE Box has been canceled, according to an email from Mark Bulgin, founder and co-director of Isaac's Room. The story will be updated with a new date when details are released. 

Original story

The IKE Box may not have to move after all.

Three Salem organizations — YMCA, Isaac’s Room and Salem First Presbyterian Church — have agreed on a plan to build a new YMCA while preserving IKE Box. 

In the new agreement, the YMCA will sell the IKE Box property and then buy a portion of Salem's First Presbyterian Church's property to use as YMCA's new veteran housing. 

The deal would allow IKE Box, a coffee shop that employs 20 divested youth in the Salem area, to own its property and remain where it is. 

"We are thrilled that a better solution for everyone has emerged as a result of great talks between neighbors," said Mark Bulgin founder and co-director of Isaac's Room, the non-profit organization that runs IKE Box. "As the new kid on the block, we're super grateful that (the YMCA and Salem's First Presbyterian Church) have joined us in an effort to find a solution that accomplishes all respective agendas." 

Since the Y's announcement to build affordable housing on the land used by the IKE Box, Issac's Room founders Mark and Tiffany Bulgin searched for a way to save the century-old building from demolition. 

New building:What the new Salem YMCA will look like

In March, the YMCA agreed to donate the IKE Box building to Isaac’s Room if they agreed to move it off the property.

The Bulgins started working in April to raise $1.5 million to move the building to the property on the corner of Court and Cottage streets NE, which is owned by the Presbyterian Church.

At the time, IKE Box sought a 50-year lease on church property because the sale of the land didn't coincide with the church's strategic plan. 

Now, the church is willing to work out a new plan in which a sale to the YMCA is possible. First Presbyterian Church officials were not immediately available for comment. 

"When it was discovered that the opportunity to buy land was there, we were open to consideration," YMCA CEO Sam Carroll said. "After meeting with Mark (Bulgin) and the Church...we decided it was a win-win-win."

The YMCA will use proceeds of the IKE Box sale to purchase the lot from the Presbyterian Church for purpose of building veteran housing. 

The Y has a history of providing affordable housing since 1926. The Court Street Apartments, which it purchased in 1972 and are part of the existing Y, currently provide 18 units for men and women.

The proposed veteran's housing project is set to cost $5.7 million, Carroll said. The total cost of the Y's project will be $23 million. 

The Bulgins have a letter of intent signed by the Y stating mutual intentions to pursue the sale and purchase of the property of the IKE Box. 

The organizations are waiting on the appraisal of the IKE Box and the church property, which should be completed this week, according to Carroll. 

Supporters of the long-time coffee shop have raised more than $138,000 to date, initially intended for IKE Box's big move. Now, most of the funds, if not all, will go toward the purchase of the building, Bulgin said.    

Leaders of the three organizations will hold a town hall July 25 at IKE Box to discuss details of the new plan with the community.

Statesman Journal reporters Capi Lynn and Jonathan Bach contributed to this report. 

Virginia Barreda is the Breaking News Reporter with the Statesman Journal. She can be reached at 503-399-6657 or at vbarreda@statesmanjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter at @vbarreda2.