By Cathy Ingalls
Albany Democrat-Herald | Posted: Thursday, December 21, 2006 12:00 am
Deborah Lusk of California first fell in love with Albany after taking a tour of the city while visiting a girlfriend.
A registered nurse, Lusk and her husband, a deputy fire chief, both became so taken with the city over four years of visits that the couple are now moving to Albany to open a bed and breakfast in the historic Charles Pfeiffer house at 530 Ferry St. S.W.
"Out of the blue, my husband said he wanted to operate a B&B, something I'd wanted to do for 20 years," she said. "We both thought it was time and we knew it would be fun."
The Lusks needed a conditional-use permit to establish a B&B in a single-family home. This week, the city's hearings board voted unanimously to grant the request.
Janet Morris, a planner with the city, said she believes this will be the third bed and breakfast operating in Albany.
On one trip to Albany, Deborah Lusk saw that the Pfeiffer House was for sale so she toured it. She was looking for a home for her family and one that also was suitable for a B&B. She loved the house and bought it without her husband even seeing it.
"He trusts my judgment, and he's the type who is happy where I am happy," she said.
The Craftsman bungalow-style home was built in 1908 for Charles Pfeiffer, who operated a hotel in town. Lusk thinks it is charming that the newest owners are taking after the original owner by providing housing to those who need it.
The home is one-and-a-half-stories with five bedrooms, a living room, a parlor, a kitchen with eating area, and a formal dining room.
Rather than going downstairs for breakfast, guests staying in the two upper bedrooms can opt to eat on a landing that overlooks the backyard.
If parking becomes a problem, the Lusks have worked out an agreement that guests can park at the nearby First Christian Church.
The Lusks do not plan to make any outside alterations to the house but will add another bathroom upstairs.
June 2008 is the target date for opening. Lusk is not sure yet what the rates will be but she said they would be comparable to those charged at the Train House bed and breakfast at Seventh Avenue and Ellsworth Street.
"We're not doing this to make money," she said. "We are doing this because we enjoy entertaining and having company."
To prepare to be B&B owners, Lusk is reading about how to become an innkeeper, and she and her husband will spend time in the Northeast at a bed and breakfast to pick up a few tips.
The Lusks have three children: Steven, Sandy and Sherry.
Steven, who will graduate from high school in June, will move to Albany with his parents. Lusk said he probably will start college at Linn-Benton Community College.