Downtown Salem business owners get involved in clearing sidewalks

A fence was installed around the former Nordstrom building in downtown Salem on Friday, less than 24 hours after homeless people were moved off the sidewalk and a city-hired contractor cleaned the area.

Homeless people who had moved across Center Street NE and set up outside the Ross Dress for Less said they were asked Friday morning to move along.

City officials said they are not involved in keeping the sidewalks clear outside of the Ross or the former Nordstrom after the cleaning, but did say, "building owners are required by law to keep the public rights of way, adjacent to their buildings, clean and passable in front of their buildings."

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Property owners for the former Nordstrom building did not immediately respond to Statesman Journal media requests.

Salem Center Mall general manager Dana Vugteveen said mall staff on Friday cleaned debris and trash accumulated around the Ross and other parts of the mall property.

"We’re executing our responsibilities as the building owners to routinely clean the sidewalks from the building to the curb," Vugteveen said. 

"We asked our guest on the sidewalks if they could relocate temporarily so we could execute that cleaning which for the most part they did."

"There’s a great deal of trash and debris left behind after just one day of their visiting," he said.

Sanitation crews from ServiceMaster began a two-day cleanup of downtown Salem sidewalks Thursday morning — first at Center Street NE outside the former Nordstrom. 

Crews returned Friday directing their efforts to Liberty Street NE outside the Rite-Aid.

The people previously set up outside the pharmacy dispersed throughout the downtown before ServiceMaster began sweeping the sidewalk. Attempts to reach owners of the Rite Aid/TJ Maxx property were unsuccessful.

Many who moved Thursday from the Nordstrom property planned on moving back when crews finished cleaning and sanitizing.

But when crews finished around 5 p.m., people remained on the sidewalk outside the Ross department store.

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Private security guards from Prostar Security monitored the sidewalk next to the former Nordstrom store between Thursday night and Friday morning. A guard told the Statesman Journal he was directed by his boss to tell people they could walk down the sidewalk but not stay. 

Virginia Perkins, 25, was one of the many who moved across the street from the sidewalk outside of the former Nordstrom’s building before crews arrived Thursday. On Friday, she was asked to move again.

Perkins said she left her belongings outside the See's Candies temporarily after being asked to leave the sidewalk outside Ross. But she said was uncertain about where to go next. 

In response to Statesman Journal questions, city officials said: "Businesses and other neighbors can encourage respect for property by keeping the area in front of their business or property clean, well-maintained and well-lit. Maintaining their own area encourages others to respect the area.  Additionally, property owners within Salem downtown may apply for grants to projects that address building and property safety and security."

The estimate for Friday's work — before it began — was $4,800, though actual costs will vary based on hours and site conditions, she said. Thursday's estimate was $5,400. 

The most recent effort to address homelessness was a ban on camping in the city that was enacted in mid-December. About 60 people were camped around the ARCHES Project, but when the ban was approved it first pushed people away from there, to a brief stay at the Oregon Capitol Mall and then elsewhere, only to migrate back to the sheltering buildings of downtown.

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Former Statesman Journal reporter Jonathan Bach contributed to this story. 

Virginia Barreda is the breaking news reporter for the Statesman Journal. She can be reached at 503-399-6657 or at vbarreda@statesmanjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter at @vbarreda2.