MEDFORD, Ore. (Aug. 1, 2026) — A landmark downtown Medford property that served as the home of the Mail Tribune for decades is poised for a new chapter as an early childhood education center.
The Oregon Center for Creative Learning has submitted plans to remodel the former Mail Tribune building at 111 N. Fir St. into a modern educational facility, a proposal that will be considered by the Medford Landmarks and Historic Preservation Commission during its Aug. 4 meeting. The project calls for significant interior renovations, new outdoor learning spaces, accessibility upgrades and landscaping improvements while preserving the building’s compatibility with the surrounding Downtown Historic District.
If approved, the redevelopment would breathe new life into the 33,769-square-foot building, which has sat largely vacant since the closure of the Mail Tribune, while allowing the Oregon Center for Creative Learning to expand its educational programs beyond its current location in the Carnegie Library. The site occupies approximately 0.69 acres and is zoned Heavy Commercial within Medford’s Historic Preservation Overlay District.
According to the city staff report, the project is designed to adapt the existing building for educational use with minimal changes to its exterior appearance. While most renovations will occur inside the structure, several exterior improvements are planned to accommodate the needs of a childcare and early education facility.
Perhaps the most visible change would occur along West Fifth Street, where an existing parking lot north of the building would be transformed into three outdoor classrooms and play areas. The asphalt would be removed and replaced with dedicated learning environments featuring bark surfacing, playground equipment, shade sails and aluminum pergolas.
The outdoor spaces would be enclosed by black metal privacy fencing selected to complement the architecture of the existing building while meeting state childcare safety requirements. Planning staff said the improvements are intended to provide secure outdoor educational areas without detracting from the surrounding historic district.
Additional site improvements include replacing the existing north entrance with a more accessible doorway and ADA-compliant ramp, adding two new windows along the west-facing alley façade, installing bicycle parking near the Fir Street entrance, replacing aging landscaping around the site and installing rooftop ventilation equipment needed for a new kitchen. The rooftop equipment would be required to meet city screening standards to minimize its visibility from surrounding streets.
Although the building is located within Medford’s Downtown Historic District, city planners note that the structure itself is not considered a historic resource.
The current two-story stucco building was designed by local architect Bruce Abeloe and completed in 1995, after the original historic resource surveys of downtown Medford had already been conducted. Because of its relatively recent construction, the building is classified as a non-contributing structure within the historic district and is not individually recognized as historic.
Despite the building’s non-historic designation, the property carries significant historical importance because of its association with the Mail Tribune, one of Southern Oregon’s most influential newspapers.
The Mail Tribune was formed in 1909 through the merger of the Medford Mail, first published in 1888, and the Medford Daily Tribune, established in 1906. The newspaper became the first in Oregon to receive a Pulitzer Prize after winning the prestigious journalism award in 1934 for exposing political corruption involving Jackson County officials.
After serving the Rogue Valley for more than a century, the newspaper ceased printing physical editions in October 2022 before shutting down entirely in January 2023, ending more than 110 years of continuous newspaper operations in downtown Medford.
Planning staff concluded the proposed educational use is consistent with the intent of Medford’s Historic Preservation Overlay because it promotes continued investment in and productive use of an existing downtown building while making only modest exterior alterations.
The staff report notes that the proposed improvements are concentrated on secondary building façades and are designed to remain visually compatible with neighboring historic properties. Because the Mail Tribune building is classified as non-historic, several preservation standards that apply to historic structures do not directly apply to the project, though staff still evaluated its compatibility with the surrounding district.
“The proposal supports those purposes by allowing continued productive use of the building,” planning staff wrote in their findings. “By enabling continued occupancy and reinvestment in the building, the proposal supports long-term health of the structure.”
Staff also determined the outdoor classrooms, fencing and accessory structures are appropriately scaled and use materials already found elsewhere in the downtown area, preventing the project from overwhelming or competing with adjacent historic buildings.
City planners are recommending approval of the project subject to six conditions. Those include requiring the new west-facing windows to match existing windows, ensuring bicycle parking meets city development standards, screening rooftop mechanical equipment from public view, completing all fencing and landscaping before occupancy, limiting construction to the approved plans and obtaining all required permits before work begins.
The proposal is scheduled for a public hearing before the Medford Landmarks and Historic Preservation Commission on Aug. 4. If approved, the project would preserve the building’s commercial presence in downtown while transforming one of Medford’s most recognizable former newspaper properties into a center focused on early childhood education and learning.
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