Newcomers invest in city, history

Two businessmen with California roots have invested in more than just a couple of Mountain Home business buildings. They have also invested in preserving Mountain Home's history and heritage.

Mirazin Shakoori bought the Benceochea Hotel a year ago after seeing the building in bad shape and thinking someone needed to take care of the building.

He remolded the 14,000 square foot-building but saved as much of the original structure as he could.

He hopes to see the building used as a two-year post-secondary school in the future. Shakoori said the process of bringing a school into the building is still in the idea stage.

Shakoori was interested in remodeling the building while preserving its history for the benefit of the Basque and Mountain Home community.

"Basque people lived there, it has historical value to the community," his business partner, Yev Philipovitch said. "It was built by a Basque architect and we want to be respectful to the Basque heritage and the community."

While neither of the two are Basque, Philpovitch said they were quickly becoming Basque.

"We're friends with lots of Basque folks here, we enjoy their company and participate in their festival," Philpovitch said. "We'd like to see them maintain their culture and heritage."

The two also own the burned-out building on Main Street. The building is currently being remodeled and will have approximately 3,000 square feet of retail space and 1,000 square feet of restroom, storage and mechanical space. Philpovitch said once the remodeling project is finished, they will wait to finish it completely depending on its tenant's needs.

They are retaining the building's historical face and resurfacing the sandstone walls while replacing the roof, floor and everything else.

An asbestos problem caused the project to be delayed for a few weeks until the problem was cleared.

Philpovitch said the building's face was saved out of respect to the Mountain Home community and the heritage of the city.

"It cost substantially more than if we demolished and rebuilt the wall, but it's architecturally attractive and it means something to this city," he said.

Shakoori has lived in Mountain Home for six months at a time for the last three years. Philipovitch, a civil engineer, lives in California year-round.

The pair have invested their time and money into the city because they see the city as having the potential for growth with a mayor working hard to support that growth.

"Mountain Home did not keep up with growth the last few years," Philipovitch said. "We hope it will catch fire and we'll grow with it."

"The new mayor wants to work, he wants to build something," Shakoori said.

"The mayor indicated he really wants the community to grow and he's working hard to promote it," Philipovitch said. "We'd like to be a part of it and we're happy to be a part of his efforts."