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

Jean Young Carpet Shop:  This business has moved out of their space on the south side of Pioneer Boulevard, and is looking to re-open shortly in a different location here in Sandy.  The owners tell me that their business has been fairly brisk in the last couple of years and that they serve quite a few people on the mountain as well as in Sandy proper.  They are eager to open their doors again as soon as they can find a space that will fit their needs, and although they haven’t signed a lease yet, I believe they are very close to doing so.  Stay tuned.

Joy Teriyaki:  Work continues as the old Starbucks site in Sandy Marketplace slowly morphs into Sandy’s newest teriyaki joint.  The interior seems mostly done, and permitted work continues in fits and starts.  The PW crew and I are very hopeful that this restaurant will open sometime in the spring, as one can only eat Panda for lunch so many times in a month…

Wendy’s:  This business has been open for a few weeks now and is enjoying the numbers that new restaurants typically do as locals start to include them in their local dining options.  Lines in the drive-thru should die down in the next few months.

Sandlandia:  Another cart has joined the fray down at Sandy’s food cart pod – Breakfast in the Hood is owned and operated by Tina and Shane Douglas, a young, entrepreneurial couple that just recently moved to Sandy.  They specialize in “portable biscuits and gravy” amongst other morning delights.

Ownership of Sandlandia appears to be in the process of transferring from the site’s creator to one of the cart owners as well.  More on this as more information becomes available.

Project work: 

• Facade project – City Hall Stairs: Siefert Concrete of Colton will be pouring the concrete for the stairs on the side of the building before the end of the month – forms are already in place.  In addition to the stairs being wider and, well….new (as in not disintegrating), we are also adding new landing pads at the top and bottom of the new stairs, and standard 2” metal tube railings on BOTH sides.  We are also having the street furniture (metal bench and trash receptacle) sandblasted and re-powder coated to complete the project.
• NorthStar – branding project: We are getting very close to the presentation of the final product.  I am quite optimistic about the new brand.  It is a major upgrade, conceptually and aesthetically speaking.  And the word “gateway” does not appear in it once.

Conferences/training: 

• Clackamas County Tourism Winter FAM Tour (Jan 30): This is the latest of the familiarization tours that CCT does throughout the year.  These tours are day trips along different tourism corridors in the County, with stops at the different tourism draws along the way.  They are designed for tourism professionals (tour guides, hoteliers & restauranteurs, Chamber staff, visitor center staff, local Ec Dev professionals, etc.) to see these draws with their own eyes, experience them and speak with folks that manage them on a daily basis.This trip highlighted Timberline Lodge, Ski Bowl, Sandy the Villages, and Boring Brewing.  My role was to be a walking tour guide to show different things to visit in Sandy (AntFarm Café, the Museum, the food cart pod, Otto’s and their mountain bike rental program (Sandy Ridge!)…..and of course Joe’s Donuts!), and to show our current Americorps staffer from New York what a real mountain looks like.