Commercial Properties (vacancies, new businesses, etc.):

Fastenal Building:  The buildout for Mattress World at this site is complete, and it appears that this store is now open for business.  There will be a request for Mayor King to wield the big scissors again very soon…stay tuned.

Wippersnappers:  I recently ran into Hans Wipper at the Mt. Hood Tourism Studio (see “Project Work” below), and I asked him how business was going.  I have never seen a small business owner light up so brightly….his business is more profitable at this point in its development than any of us had ever dreamed!  To give you an idea of how things are going for them…a few numbers – Hans’ business plan called for 10-12 birthday parties per month in the first 3 months of operation, and even he felt that number might be a little high.  Actual number of birthday parties in their first two months of operation: 22 in December, 36 in January.  They projected having two full time employees at this point, but in reality just hired their fourth.  But most impressively, they just tallied their January gross receipts and came in at almost 70% over projections for the month, and business seems to still be expanding.  And they have done all of this without any advertising!!!

Virtually everyone I know on the City’s payroll that has kids and lives in or near Sandy has had their kids invited to at least one birthday party at Wippersnappers, and everybody (kids and parents alike) I have asked has raved about the business.  Kudos to Hans and his wife for doing their homework, finding an opportunity and chasing it, Mount Hood Economic Alliance for providing the gap funding necessary to make this business happen, Mike Maiden for working with the Wippers to get the building set up for this type of business, and to the citizens of Sandy for patronizing Wippersnappers so heavily and keeping their hard earned money local!

Baskin Robbins: …signed a 5-year extension to their lease with Albanese Cormier, new owner of the Sandy Marketplace, effectively taking this property off of the market.

Mark Benson properties:  After years of no activity here and an obviously frustrated property owner, opportunity now abounds.  I have steered one business on Industrial Way that is looking to expand towards Mr. Benson’s property that is considering building a building in the 20K to 30K SF range on site.  Clackamas County HH&HS is looking to expand in 1-2 years, so I put them in touch with Mr. Benson as well.  We also have a multi-family dwelling developer considering this space for future apartments if a zone change is possible, and are looking at other potential sites for a substantial multi-family development.

I am putting together a meeting at the property owner’s request between my office, the property owner and Web Steel to discuss what types of buildings might work for each application and what kind of ballpark the costs might be in.  Just a 30,000 foot level discussion right now….but could develop into something tangible in the very near future.

Sparky’s Pizza:  …is expanding into the smaller vacant space next to them in Richard Perry’s property.  I haven’t had the opportunity to discuss this expansion with Todd Sparks yet, but his staff at the restaurant tells me that the additional space will be almost entirely dining space, as they are looking to expand their in-house business and to capitalize on First Friday and other downtown events by drawing people in to sit down and eat rather than just take slices to go.

Mr. Perry is quite happy with this development, as you can probably imagine.  This property had been vacant for a very long time.  An interior remodel is currently in-process, and should be completed within weeks.

Oregon’s Wild Harvest building: …has a local business owner interested in purchasing it if the price is right.  The business owner would prefer to remain anonymous for the time being, but he/she definitely has the proper funding to make this transaction happen.  Hopefully more to come on this topic soon.  Stay tuned.

39084 Proctor Blvd, Suite B:  This space had previously been leased for some time by a gentleman operating a medical equipment supply business, but strangely he never moved anything into the office and didn’t seem to use it for anything.  At one point, I called the building owner and asked him if he wanted me to post the property on the Available Commercial Properties database for him, only to be told that the property was actively being leased.  That arrangement ended a few months ago.

This space below SandyNet is now being leased by Lisa Page Music Studio, a business that will be providing private music lessons to clients on a number of different instruments.  It appears that the business will primarily operate after regular business hours.

Trading Post NW: …is in the process of moving inventory into their space in Betty Tee’s building as I write this.  Look for them to be open and operating within the next few weeks.

Project work: 

• City of Sandy Omnibus Bicycle Tourism Proposal: Funding has been slightly delayed due to a lack of communication from the County stemming from a personnel change.  All is well now – we should see a check sometime within the next two weeks.
• CPP grant program: Application period ends 2/19.  Current number of community applicants: 0. Info will be re-distributed to City website, FB page, Chamber FB page, Chamber e-blast, and another story in the Post.  As usual, we have a couple of small city-sponsored projects ready to go in the event that no community members apply, as we certainly don’t want that County grant funding to go unused.
• Vacant commercial buildings: At Seth’s request, I have put together some basic information on an ordinance from the City of San Antonio, TX that regulates vacant commercial buildings.  It requires registration, proper identification of local property managers and regular maintenance performed on all vacant properties in the commercial districts.  An executive summary of the ordinance and a robust discussion are coming…
• Retail recruitment services: Also at Seth’s request, I am currently evaluating a couple of different companies that offer their data gathering expertise and relationships with regional and national corporate businesses to do retail recruiting for a fee. So far the results are mixed – the companies we are looking at do produce results in most cases, but there is considerable risk involved, the costs are substantial and the recruiting targets may not be quite what we’re looking for.  We will share our findings when complete.

Conferences/training: 

Travel Oregon Tourism Studios (Gorge [Jan 20] and Mt. Hood [Jan 25]):  The State of Oregon’s tourism department held two studios in January to kick-start the discussion about the substantial tourism increase in the region over the last few years and address stakeholder concerns.  There is a little bit more money available in the region (annual funding increase from $60K to $125K – provides for full time staff person), and they are trying to figure out how best to spend that funding.  Number one most needed infrastructure asset in both areas: public transportation.  Our input: MHX needs stable funding beyond 2017 and an expansion of the program (it’s growing exponentially right now – go look at how many snowboarders are waiting for the MHX bus in Centennial Plaza during any given day in Feb), and the Gorge needs a similar bus/charter bus/rail line to take traffic off of I-84 and give Millennials a way to see the Gorge without a car.

Sandy was represented quite well at the Mt. Hood Studio.  Thanks to Counselor Exner, Community Services Director Nancy Enabnit, Super-volunteer Kathleen Walker and AntFarm Board member Jay McCrostie Esq. for attending with me.