Camas Hotel is sold for $2.31 million

Entrepreneurs with financial management experience are the new owners of the Camas Hotel.
Dave and Terri Sauer have purchased the hotel and building, at 405 N.E. Fourth Ave., from Tom and Karen Hall.
The property includes 24 hotel rooms, a manager’s apartment, and two retail spaces. Allure Boutique and Miss Nola’s Cafe are leasing those spaces.
The purchase price was $2.31 million, according to the Clark County Assessor’s Office.
Terri said she had been wanting to make a career change for a couple of years. Her background includes experience in operational accounting — most recently as a vice president of finance and corporate controller for a media distribution company, in Portland.
She had been looking at leasing property along the 192nd Avenue corridor, to operate a restaurant, or retail or medical supply business. Then Dave noticed the Camas Hotel and building were for sale.
“This property is a dream,” Terri said. “It fits the commercial real estate investment for Dave, and it allows me to fulfill my entrepreneur dream. I’m excited to immerse myself into the community and become a hotelier.
“I’ll be able to shed that hour commute to Portland each way,” she added. “My new, 10-minute commute will allow me to do so much more. My only challenge now is deciding whether I bike to work or drive.”
The Sauers have lived in Camas for 11 years. Prior to that, they resided in East Vancouver for nine years.
Terri said there are no immediate plans to make changes to the hotel.
“We will be spending the next year getting to know the hotel, studying space usage and functionality before making changes,” she said.
The Halls, formerly of Ojai, California, purchased the Camas Hotel and building for $700,000 in September 2008. Since then, they have invested approximately $800,000 into the property.
The Halls, who are retiring, plan to stay in Camas through October. Then they will spend the winter in Loreto Bay, Baja on the Sea of Cortez.
“We plan to continue to return in the summer for some years as we have two sons, their wives and a granddaughter in Portland,” Karen said. “We enjoy the great camping, fly fishing and hiking that the Pacific Northwest has to offer. We really look forward to doing more travel and exploring in months and years to come.”
She and Tom are thankful for the support provided by Camas Mayor Scott Higgins, the City Council and city departments, local merchants and members of the community.
“Camas is an exceptional place to live and to do business,” Karen said. “We are especially pleased to have been a part of the renaissance that downtown Camas has experienced over the past eight years.”
Dave Sauer’s brother is Jerry Sauer, co-owner of Excavator Rental Services LLC, in Camas, and Wilsonville, Oregon, and Your Party & Event Center, in Camas and Hood River, Oregon.
The Camas Hotel was built in the early 1900s.
Greg Goforth, a commercial and residential real estate broker with Windermere Crest, of Camas, represented the previous hotel owners, Thomas Dean Wallace and Patricia Wallace, in the sale to the Halls eight years ago.
The Wallaces had owned the hotel for more than 35 years.
Goforth, a Downtown Camas Association board member, said the hotel is a landmark for downtown Camas.
He is a member of the DCA’s economic business development committee, and he volunteers as the building coordinator for the “light brigade.”
“Karen and Tom did a wonderful job refurbishing the hotel and for that, we — the downtown merchants and Downtown Camas Association — will be forever grateful,” Goforth said.
This information, originally reported Aug. 18, was updated Aug. 19, at 5 p.m.