Valleydale, a luxury apartment complex located on Ohio Avenue in Salem, officially opened Wednesday, marking the completion of the first $25 million investment into the project.
Once completed, the total investment will be more like $75 million, developer Ed Walker said. Completion is estimated to happen sometime in 2027, Joe Thompson, a developer with the project, said.
The first of three buildings in the Valleydale community in Salem has been completed.
The celebration and ribbon cutting was jointly hosted by the Salem-麻花视频 County Chamber and the 麻花视频 Regional Chamber.
Walker and his partners purchased the property, which then housed the former Valleydale Meat Products facility, in 2017. The project is the result of a public-private partnership between Walker and his partners, the city of Salem and its economic development authority, Walker said. Three city managers and members of three different city councils were present throughout the process.
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Developer Ed Walker speaks during the celebration of the completion of the first building at Valleydale in Salem.
The luxury apartment complex features a including a rooftop lounge, a fitness facility, an infinity pool, a co-working space and a two-story club room. The 95-unit building is almost fully occupied, with just 19 apartments left to lease, Walker said.
The interior of a two-bedroom unit at Valleydale.
Located in Salem鈥檚 East Bottom neighborhood at 928 Ohio Ave., the development is near the Salem Civic Center, Kiwanis Field, the 麻花视频 River Greenway and the city鈥檚 dog park. Salem Mayor Renee Turk said that she鈥檚 鈥渢hrilled鈥 to see people already living in the apartments. It creates more workforce housing in Salem and adds vitality to the neighborhood, she said.
鈥淭he quality of what you see around you and the amenities that are involved in Valleydale is something Salem, its citizens and the whole 麻花视频 Valley can be proud of,鈥 she said. 鈥淲e look forward to welcoming a large number of people to come and live with us here in Salem.鈥
Salem Mayor Renee Turk speaks during the celebration ceremony for the first completed building in the Valleydale community.
Studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments are available at Valleydale. Two more buildings will be constructed; the next one will consist of 136 units, Thompson said.
The Valleydale Meat Products facility was built in 1936 and expanded in 1948. It employed thousands in the area until it closed its doors in 2006, and then sat empty for nearly two decades before it was demolished in 2023.
Walker and his associates spent several years trying to find a way to save the original building, but it just didn鈥檛 work out, he said.
鈥淛oe Thompson and I have taken some pride in making careers out of trying to do extraordinary projects in unlikely places, and this is an unlikely place,鈥 he said. 鈥淲hat we had to work with was tough, and Valleydale had a lot of mountains to climb to put us to this day.鈥
Transformational developments of this type need 鈥渃ommunity-minded private capital鈥 and great local government in order to happen, Walker said. The city worked with developers in 鈥渁 very expedited manner鈥 to help get this project underway, Thompson said.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a real testament to the quality and vision of Salem鈥檚 local government,鈥 Walker said. 鈥淚t definitely was the home team, from lenders to subcontractors to general contractors 鈥 it was just an incredible home team effort.鈥
Salem Mayor Renee Turk, alongside developer Ed Walker, left, and other stakeholders cut the ribbon on the first Valleydale building Wednesday.
The completion of the first building is a good step, but there鈥檚 a lot more work to do before the Valleydale community will be finished, Thompson reflected.
鈥淭ransformational change like this, it鈥檚 not easy, it鈥檚 definitely not fast, but it is worthwhile. I think it鈥檚 important to remember that,鈥 Walker said.
