General notes: In an update to last month’s “General notes” section regarding the new Economic Development web page, Seth has asked Jennifer and I to craft additional concept pages for the Community Development (ED, Planning and Building title page), Planning and Building web pages. The idea here is to get all three department’s pages to tie together a little better through design concepts (same buttons, same basic layout, all necessary information on one page without scrolling, etc) and to possibly serve as a design blueprint for all departments in the future. Design concepts are complete, and are currently awaiting final approval by the Planning Director and City Manager before going live.
On a separate front, work has officially begun on the 2015 City of Sandy Market Analysis! We are currently three weeks into the project, and are just wrapping up the first stage. We have put the Sandy Shopper’s Survey (seeks citizen input on shopping habits and demand for new retail) and the Sandy Business Owner Survey (gauges business-friendliness and input on potential problems and opportunities) out electronically to the community, and have seen a fairly good return. Paper copies of the former have also been available at City Hall, the Library, CCB and Dolly’s for the past three weeks as well. You may check out the surveys here:
- Shopper’s Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SandyShopper
- Business Owner’s Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SandyBusiness
These electronic surveys will close on April 5th. If you didn’t get the chance to fill one out and would like to, print out a paper copy, fill it out and drop it in my mailbox at City Hall. I will make sure your answers are counted in the final tabulation. More on this project as data is tabulated…watch this space.
Finally, I was approached last month by AntFarm board president Kim Wheeler about joining the AntFarm Board of Directors. After a little bit of thought about overextending myself, I threw caution to the wind and accepted their offer. I figured that helping them to get the Farmer’s Market (see below) established could definitely improve retail efforts in the downtown core, and offering what input I can to developing their internal programs to get our youth some job training can only help workforce development in general here in the community
Commercial Properties (vacancies, new businesses, etc.):
Old Ox & Marley space (future home of A Place for Your Face Facial Spa): This business is currently building out their space, and intends to be open for business on April 10th. The new owner is also in the process of becoming a member of the Sandy Area Chamber of Commerce and would very much like to a) do a formal ribbon-cutting later in the month (we’re warming up those scissors for you, Mr. Mayor), and b) become an active participant in First Fridays for the rest of the year. If you happen to find yourself wandering around downtown, check out their interior design as they build it out. They seem to have some flair for interiors just like their predecessors did…
Oregon Trail Chiropractic (formerly Sandy Chiropractic Clinic): Dr. Jonathan Rhue left Sandy a couple of years ago from his Pioneer Blvd location to move his practice to Boring, but has since determined that the potential growth here was just too tempting to pass up. He has purchased the clinic on the north end of the Impact Learning Center building, and is interested in expanding his operations here shortly. He maintains his offices in Boring and Estacada.
Clackamas County Health: I took a call last week from Jo Hobbs over at the Clackamas County offices regarding the possibility of relocation. Their operations have grown to the point that they have seriously outgrown their current location, and are currently looking for about 6,000 square feet of office space to move into. They would prefer to move into an existing building and avoid building on their piece of property over by the theater, but are keeping that possibility in their back pocket in the event that nothing else works out.
The only existing property that would meet their needs on the Available Commercial Properties database is the old Oregon’s Wild Harvest building. Unfortunately, this property will not work for them because it is next door to the PD, and they serve a lot of undocumented migrants who will find this intimidating and will refuse to use their services out of fear.
I gave Jo contact information for the old Energy Unlimited property owned by Tami Lamb and encouraged her to check it out first to see if there’s any way they could make that property work. I then showed her both the Carlson property and the Connelly property on the Commercial Lands database. I also recently spoke with Jerry Carlson directly about another matter, and he stated unconditionally that he would not only consider a build-to-suit project of this magnitude (3,000 – 4,000 SF), but that this might generate a better return on his investment than the current deals that he is looking at for this property. (Build-to-Suit projects are where the property owner builds a building to the specs of a potential renter in return for that renter guaranteeing that they will rent the property at a specific price and term so that the builder may recoup their costs.) I also called the realtor for the Connelly property to ask if they would consider build-to-suit, and he stated that his property owner would absolutely be interested in speaking with her. I also asked Jo to keep me in the loop on this project going forward.
The Elusive Trout Pub: The Trout is under new ownership. Kailene Jones has purchased the restaurant from the previous owners, and has just recently opened the doors to begin serving customers again. There were a few bumps in the road prior to opening, mostly due to some grandfathering that was no longer allowable due to the change in ownership. This added some costs to the project that were not initially budgeted for, but Planning and Building have worked with new ownership to help lessen the overall burden for them.
The menu has some slight changes to it, but the restaurant will still serve all of the familiar soups, salads, sandwiches and burgers the community remembers. The one change that will stick out is that the Trout will now specialize in gluten-free products and will offer a choice for gluten-free whenever they can. In today’s world this is a growing market, and one that will undoubtedly make them money as word gets around. Our gluten-free permit technician and building official are ecstatic…
Magic Bean Bistro: Now open for business (and more importantly, off of the Available Commercial Buildings database!). See the article in the 4/1 Sandy Post (page A10) for more information.
old Organic Sandy building (future home of the Red Shed Public House): This space is mostly built out and is waiting on approval of wet-stamped plans for a new bathroom. The Red Shed Public House is tentatively planning on opening May 10th, and will offer a beer and barbecue in a nice, shiny new interior. They will also be offering their food every Saturday for the duration of the upcoming Mt. Hood Farmer’s Market.
Tovar’s Auto Shop: This business has relocated to a space adjacent to Calamity Jane’s, just outside of city limits. Reason for the move is unknown, but the property his shop was formerly on being put up for sale by the property owners probably had a fair amount to do with the decision.
Sandy Main Street: By the time you read this, the April First Friday will have already occurred. Hope ya had fun! If you have any comments, concerns or (more importantly) ideas with regard to future First Friday events, Jennifer and I would love to hear ‘em. Stop by and see us sometime! (For those of you who don’t know, the Economic Development/Sandy Main Street office has moved back over inside the SandyNet offices in the Wheatland Building.)
If you would like an update on what Sandy Main Street is planning for the next 6 months, give me a call at 503-489-2159.
Project work: The AntFarm has officially taken over the Sandy Saturday Market that has been held at Centennial Plaza and various places around City Hall over the past couple of years. The new endeavor, the Mount Hood Farmer’s Market, will take place every Saturday from May 9th to October 24th from 9am to 3pm, and will be much more of a traditional farmer’s market than in years past (multiple produce vendors along with specialty food products, soap, cut flowers and other naturally made products). It will be located at the AntFarm Outdoors location on the Leather’s lot, and will coincide with repair work and painting on the old barn on the property that has already begun.
If you would like more information on the upcoming market, click on the following link to be connected to AntFarm’s MHFM page: http://www.antfarm-international.com/mount-hood-farmers-market-2/
Conferences/training: None