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

Goodwill Industries site (formerly Oja Lumber):  The walls for the primary building are now mostly complete, and the foundation for the out building is complete.  Looks like the framing for the out building is currently under construction.

[Goodwill Industries projects a December 2016 completion date for both the new Goodwill building and the additional 4,000 square foot retail building.  The retail building has not pre-leased to anyone yet as far as I know – still 100% available.]

9/7 SACC/Sandy PD Forum on Homelessness:  Chief Yamashita led a discussion about homelessness and its impact on the business community in Sandy on the morning of 9/7 at Buddha Kat Winery.  The Chief explained the new category of “travelers” we are starting to see in Sandy, and why this may be contributing to the number of homeless and the number of incidents requiring police response related to the homeless issue.  Some tips were issued (turn off your wi-fi at night, shut off or lock your exterior outlets, trim back your shrubs), and a request was made by the Chief for businesses to begin keeping track of the added expense (having multiple staff open and close for safety reasons, cleaning up messes made by campers, destruction of property, etc.) required to deal with this issue.  We had a number of downtown business owners show, and it was a good, positive discussion all around.

Special thanks to the owner of Mountain Moka (whom I personally invited), who shared the issues they have been facing and has had to add staff to open their store in the morning for safety reasons – her input was very well received by the group.

AEC building:  There have been many changes at AEC HQ recently.  The company is currently moving its employees into the space vacated by Firwood Design to make use of badly needed expansion space.  They also asked me at the beginning of August to add three of their interior offices to the Available Commercial Properties database for lease to outside firms.  Office space is at a premium right now in Sandy, and I can report that one of the properties is already leased (to a law office) and they are close to signing a lease on another.  Mr. Brache is also in the process of upgrading some outdated and inefficient HVAC components in his building.

Carlson property:  Building permits have just been issued to the property owner.  Next step should be paving of the lot.

Potential new business:  I have been approached recently by a specialty bakery that is currently operating in Sandy as a home-occupation business.  This nice young couple would like to move the business out of their parent’s basement and into a brick and mortar establishment sometime in the next few months, and are exploring their options.  They are quite interested in several properties around town, but would be most interested in leasing the old Crawlers space for a multitude of reasons (not really looking to be a retail business – they do mostly wedding/specialty cakes and baked goods for events of that nature).  I have reached out to the owner of that building to let him know that there is interest in leasing that space, and have also pointed them in the direction of a few other properties in the event that the owner of the building at Pioneer and Bluff is not interested in leasing.

Special note:  This couple initially started looking for commercial spaces in east Portland.  They felt compelled to comment on the following when I met with them – they said that their experiences with Multnomah County and City of Portland were abysmal and overly bureaucratic, and that the only thing those governments seemed to be interested in was how much revenue they could squeeze out of them and where to send the checks.  By contrast, they were actually impressed that I sat down and spent an hour with them explaining things, pointing them toward vacant properties and answering process question for them.  They said this made them feel like the City of Sandy actually wanted them to come to Sandy (which we do!), and that this was very, very important to them.

Anna Zell property:  Ms. Zell has asked me to take her property off of the Available Commercial Properties database, as it is now 100% occupied.  Her final practitioner’s space was filled by a hypnotherapist needing a small office.

Project work: 

• City of Sandy Omnibus Bicycle Tourism Project: 100% complete.  Please check out the new kiosk with the City’s bike map prominently displayed.  Many thanks to Clackamas County Tourism and Cultural Affairs for the grant funding for this fantastic new piece of cycling infrastructure.
• City departmental webpages: The Finance and Public Works departments are currently in process – barring any major issues, these should be complete by next report.
• I will be with Seth at the Council Workshop scheduled for September 13^th to discuss economic development incentives. We will discuss the concept of incentivizing business to build in Sandy, look at current Council goals pertaining to the recruitment of specific types of businesses, and analyze current examples of programs offered by other municipalities.
• “Vacant buildings” ordinance: the “Business-friendly” group has reviewed my initial draft, and I am currently incorporating their comments.

Conferences/training: 

Nothing this month.