ORW has remodeled one of Downtown Medford’s historic buildings, originally the Westside Livery & Stable, turning it into one of Downtown’s more beautiful buildings. They have been a member of DMA since 2019. David Wilkerson has served on the DMA Board since 2021. All of those make compelling reasons to choose ORW as our Featured Partner for August.
ORW stands for Ogden Roemer Wilkerson, the names of the three partners back in 2005. After those partners retired in 2017, Jeff Bender, Andy Owen and Dana Crawford joined David Wilkerson as partners. They are the third generation of leadership of this firm, whose original name was Afseth Jacobs & Schmitz when it was founded in 1968.
After facilitating the visioning workshops that led to the founding of DMA, ORW had the opportunity to “walk the walk” by relocating from east Medford to downtown. They bought 29 South Grape Street in 2019 to provide more space for staff growth. The building had long been a hub for the design community, formerly housing 29 Design. ORW remodeled the building to provide a more open workspace and larger meeting rooms, in addition to putting their signature on the building’s interior.
ORW has a staff of 18 including five registered architects, four intern architects, and nine support staff. “We are lucky to have a great team of talented folks who work well together,” said David Wilkerson.
ORW designs buildings for civic, commercial, community, health care, education, public safety, and residential uses. “We are proud of all our work and have a passion for projects that strengthen our community. The Lithia Headquarters, Medford Police Station, and People’s Bank Headquarters are a few of the more recognizable projects,” said Wilkerson.
When asked about DMA, Wilkerson said, “I think that in a short time, DMA has accomplished a great deal in advocating for downtown safety, developing our Partnership program and other key alliances, and providing great monthly programs and events to our members.”
In the near future Wilkerson “would like to see DMA support the implementation of an EID (Economic Improvement District) that would allow us to provide more programs and events downtown, including things like a mural festival or other art events, food festivals, and focused efforts on safety and livability.”
“I think that downtown Medford has a great but overlooked resource in Bear Creek, and redevelopment of that area could take our city to the next level,” added Wilkerson.
