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PHOTOS BY JOHN LARSON

READY FOR BUSINESS. An open house was held recently for the Three Bridges Building, which is available for lease. (Inset photo) Scott Prichard, left, and John Leitzinger, the business partners in Renovum Property Development LLC, inside their restored building.

Three Bridges Building brings neighborhood icon back to life

By John Larson

Longtime North End residents should be pleased that a building that housed a popular neighborhood business has been restored after 35 years in hibernation.

Built in 1904, the structure at 2624 N. 21st St. was originally home to a store called Franson’s, which sold groceries and gasoline. Later it became Slipp’s, a combination grocery and hardware store. An addition was made in 1924. Slipp’s closed down in the 1960s.

John Leitzinger, a teacher in Tacoma Public Schools, lives in the neighborhood. He has walked by the old building many times in the past 10 years, and often pondered when someone would buy it and fix it up.

He and Scott Prichard, a carpenter, bought and renovated a house in the neighborhood several years ago.

The building was owned by John Slipp, who had worked as a professor at the University of Puget Sound. Several parties had expressed interest in purchasing the structure before

Leitzinger and Prichard, who do business as Renovum Property Development LLC, successfully negotiated a deal to buy it three years ago.

“At the time it seemed like a good idea,” Prichard recalled.

Then they found out just how much work the building needed. Leitzinger said it was packed from floor to ceiling with junk. They found many unusual items, including 25 lawnmowers and canned goods from the 1960s.

As part of his academic research, Slipp collected animal specimens that he kept in jars, which the two entrepreneurs uncovered.

Back in the day it was not unusual for a local grocer to front food to customers, who would promise to come back and pay once they received their paycheck. Leitzinger discovered an old receipt book detailing these transactions. He recognized some of the last names and addresses.

What they thought would take 18 months ended up being three years. They paid $300,000 for the building, plus about $150,000 more on restoration. “It was one of those projects where every time we peeled back the cover there was something rotten behind it,” Leitzinger said.

Many people have stopped by during the renovation to share their memories of buying candy at the store when they were children.

They recently held an open house to show off their hard work in restoring the structure, now known as the Three Bridges Building. They are looking for someone to lease the space. There is 1,500 square feet for lease, plus a small courtyard outside. Leitzinger thinks the space would be ideal for a restaurant. A clothing store is another possibility.

There are two apartments for rent upstairs. The property goes out to the middle of the adjacent gulch, as well as toward the home to the south. The business partners are considering building two townhouses in that space.

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