What Ridgefield's Unfinished Greely Building Will Hold on Winter Saturdays

"Our focus really is on thoughtful temporary use while we continue planning for the long-term future of the Greeley Building," Port of Ridgefield Executive Director Ethan Perry told The Reflector in February.

This Saturday, November 7, that temporary use opens with a farmers market. The Ridgefield Farmers Market's Winter Market moves into the former garage at 304 Pioneer Street. It runs the first and third Saturdays of each month from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. through April 17. The building was supposed to become a full marketplace with a restaurant, a commercial kitchen and coworking space. While that plan is reworked, the Port and the City of Ridgefield are using the building for something it can handle now, and for the next five months it anchors the City's effort to bring people downtown in winter.

A century-old garage that cost more the closer anyone looked

The Port of Ridgefield dates the Greely Building to about 1920. It started as a garage and showroom for selling, servicing and fueling cars. For several decades after that, the Ridgefield School District used it as the "Bus Barn," a shop for its grounds and facilities crews. The Port got the building in early 2024 through a property swap with the district. That July, the Washington State Community Economic Revitalization Board awarded the project $3 million: a $750,000 grant and a $2.25 million low-interest loan.

Design work then turned up problems. In February 2025 the Port Commission heard the first-phase findings:

• One underground gasoline tank was removed, and no contamination was found from it.
• Indoor air sampling found vapors above safe levels from past contamination.
• The century-old brick walls were in worse shape than expected.
• The preliminary estimate to bring the building up to code and remodel it came to about $7.7 million, with the total project around $9 million.

The Reflector's February 2026 report put the full build-out at $8 million to $9 million. It added seismic deficiencies and a deteriorating roof to the list. Either way, the building would cost about three times the state funding package. According to that report, none of the $3 million has been spent. If the marketplace plan changes, the Port would have to go back to the board with a new plan or return the money. The Port has not set a completion date and says further work depends on future funding and budget levels.

Why a market fits the building's limits

The same assessments found the building safe for limited, short-duration occupancy. A market that opens for four hours on two Saturdays a month fits within that limit. By February, the Port was already talking with the City and Ridgefield Main Street about indoor markets and small public events that stay within safety guidelines.

The City's October 28 announcement explains why it wanted the building. Summer events bring people downtown from across the area, and when the colder, wetter weather arrives, many outdoor activities wind down and downtown sees fewer visitors. The City, the Port, the Ridgefield Farmers Market and other local groups are calling the series Gather at Greely. Its stated goal is to give people reasons to come downtown, shop, and grab a meal or a drink during a slow season.

Winter also limits what the area's outdoor spaces offer. At the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, the Carty Trail from the Port entrance to Gee Creek Bridge is closed October 1 through April 30. From October through April, the River 'S' Auto Tour Route is open to vehicles only, to reduce disturbance to wintering waterfowl. The Oaks to Wetlands Trail stays open year-round, apart from brief restoration closures. The Winter Market's last date, April 17, falls about two weeks before the Carty Trail reopens.

Ten Saturdays and a set of Fridays

The summer market ran weekly from June through September, Saturdays 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Davis Park. The winter version is smaller. It meets twice a month, starts an hour later and moves indoors. Vendors will sell handcrafted goods, plants, flowers, baked goods and prepared foods, with live music. There is no market on December 5, the day of Hometown Celebration, or on January 2 because of the New Year's holiday. That leaves ten market Saturdays:

Friday afternoons are the other half of the series. Local nonprofits host live music and activities there from November through April. The first event is Friday, November 13, World Kindness Day. The Ridgefield Family Resource Center will run a workshop where attendees write cards of encouragement. The cards go into snack bags the center gives to families for their students. The Ridgefield Lions Club has Bingo on the schedule for Friday, February 5, and more events are still being planned. The City posts updates at RidgefieldWa.us/Gather. Nonprofits that want to host can contact the City's Events Team at [email protected]. Parking near the building is on the street.

November 7 runs from the market to the wine walk

The first market falls on the same day as Ridgefield Main Street's Sips of the Season Downtown Wine Walk, held from 3 to 7 p.m. According to Meanwhile in Ridgefield's stop list, the Greely Building is Stop 1. It pours Rose City of Ridgefield and Ridgefield Roundabout Red, a wine made from grapes the City grows in its roundabouts. Here is one way to spend the day downtown, all within a few blocks of Pioneer Street and Main Avenue.

1. Morning coffee at Season's Coffee, Tea & Remedies, 115 N Main Ave.
2. The Winter Market at 304 Pioneer Street, which opens at 10 a.m. and closes at 2.
3. Lunch on Main or Third. Little Conejo Norte is at 206 N Main Ave. and El Rancho Viejo at 122 N 3rd Ave. Sportsman's Public House, at 121 N Main Ave., is open daily.
4. Wine walk check-in at 2:30 p.m. at Overlook Park, 113–131 S Main Ave. Tickets on Eventbrite are $25 for five tastings or $45 for ten. The event is 21 and over, goes ahead rain or shine, and offers no refunds.
5. Back to the Greely Building for the Roundabout Red pour at Stop 1, then over to the Nest Food Cart at 120 N 3rd Ave., a separate food-tasting stop on the route.
6. Dinner or a nightcap. The Neighborhood Refuge, 113 S Main Ave., is a 21+ cocktail-and-food spot open Thursday through Sunday. Ridgefield Craft Brewing's taphouse at 120 N 3rd Ave. is open Tuesday through Sunday, with Nest's food cart parked next door.

Meanwhile in Ridgefield's list shows the route also stopping at Honey Bunny's Tea House with Myrtle's Home Décor, Little Conejo Norte, The Neighborhood Refuge, Ridgefield Craft Brewing, Ridgefield Wine Bar, Ridgefield Mercantile and Sportsman's Public House. It also uses storefronts that don't serve food, including Ridgefield Floral & Gifts and the Raindrop Giftshop at 104 N Main Ave. On November 7, the market in the morning and the wine walk in the afternoon both run through the same few blocks of shops and restaurants that the City says Gather at Greely is meant to support.

The rest of November near the building

The Friends of Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge have a weekday storytime and a Saturday workshop this month. A Refuge storytime runs Thursday, November 12, from 10:30 to 11 a.m., and the Community Nature Center is open to visitors from 10 a.m. to noon for it. A free Mason-bee cocoon-harvesting workshop runs Saturday, November 14, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. The Friends' October newsletter says the Nature Center's hours will vary while it moves to a new visitor experience, so check the Refuge events page before you go.

The second market, November 21, is the last before the calendar shifts to the holidays. On December 5 the Greely Building is skipped in favor of Hometown Celebration, which runs from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Overlook Park. The market returns December 19, in a building that is still unfinished and still waiting on a funding plan. Each market day keeps the room in public use until that plan arrives.

Historic buildings like the Greely show how far a downtown property's real costs can drift from early plans once inspections begin. That gap between the estimate and the finished project is the kind of feasibility question Rebecca Lee Real Estate works through with developers and owners across the Portland–Vancouver corridor. If you own or are considering a property with a long history in Clark County, request a Luxury Consultation & Market Valuation and we will review it with you before the surprises start.