WorkSource moves into new offices

Employees at WorkSource Vancouver settled into new offices Monday at 204 S.E. Stone Mill Drive, Suite 215, a central Vancouver location that the agency says will offer more space and better access to technology for employees and job seekers than the previous office.

WorkSource relocated 41 employees to the new building. The organization will continue its same hours — 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday.

A partnership of state, local and nonprofit agencies, WorkSource assists individuals in job searches and skills development, and also assists employers in training and finding qualified workers.

The agency’s move from its former site at the Town Plaza, 5411 E. Mill Plain Blvd., was part of a continuing exodus from what was once known as the Tower Mall as the aging center moves closer to a foreclosure sale. The property was to be sold to the highest bidder this Friday at the Clark County Public Service Center. On Monday, an executive at a California company that is managing paperwork on the property foreclosure said the sale had been postponed to Jan. 8.

Legal notices list Tower Mall Holdings LLC as owner of the former mall that evolved into an office building with some small retail outlets. Cherie Maples, vice president of trustee operations for Assured Lender Services, Inc., a Tustin, Calif., firm that is managing paperwork on the property foreclosure, said the debt on the property at the time of the filing for the property sale was approximately $19.2 million, not including taxes.

While a number of small government and social services offices remain in the mall, much of the space is vacant, with “For Lease” signs on some of the spaces. Among the remaining tenants is NAMI of Southwest Washington. Executive assistant Melinda McLeod said the organization, also known as the National Alliance on Mental Illness, had just moved to the large new office space in August. The agency is waiting until the property’s ownership is settled to find out whether it will have to move again, she said.

The building’s property manager could not be reached for comment Monday.