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

Sandy Marketplace:  Success.  The City’s Planning Department, in response to Councilor Gerberg’s request to address the pothole in front of Clackamas Federal Credit Union, recently sent a letter to the complex owner requesting action on the potholes and destroyed/missing curbs on their property.  Albanese Cormier responded quickly and professionally, and repaired everything we asked them to (and even a few things we didn’t).

New retail space coming:  This project for a new 4,200 SF multi-tenant retail building in the downtown core took a step forward with a pre-application that went pretty well.  The plan for the building calls for approximately half of the space to be set up for a restaurant, and the other half to consist of either one large or two smaller general retail or office spaces.

It was unclear whether the developer has this space reserved for tenants already under contract or if he is actively seeking new tenants – I am actively trying to determine this now, as I have a few locals that might be interested in the space if it is not already spoken for.  More to come.

Chariteas space – future “healthy market”:  This business idea is still under development, but it has morphed slightly in concept into a kind of a cross between a convenience store and a healthy deli.  The idea is to cater to the market of outdoor recreation enthusiasts looking for healthy food and drink alternatives to take with them for mountain activities.  Chariteas teas will be a featured product in this store as well.

Remodeling should be complete by the end of the year, and hopefully this store will open shortly thereafter.  If it’s successful, the concept may become a chain very quickly.  Curious to see if there is a viable market for this concept – very intriguing.

Fleischman properties:  The Planning Department and I have been working with Mr. Fleischman to try and find a solution to ADA access to both of his buildings on Pioneer Blvd.  After a lot of discussion and research, we believe we have found a solution.  In the interest of being “business friendly”, we have offered to contribute some urban renewal funds towards this project to assist the property owner with the expense of this project as an incentive to get the project started as soon as possible. We are awaiting his response to our offer.

Project work: 

• Façade project – Sandy Community Action Center: This project is now, for all intents and purposes, complete.  In addition to the wonderful paint job (so much warmer and more inviting!), we were able to replace the broken front and back doors to the building, replace quite a bit of siding and a few gutter downspouts, and have some bollards added to keep the siding from getting damaged again, along with a plethora of minor repairs.  The Action Center is very happy with the outcome, everything went very smoothly, and the entire project cost the City less than $12,000 – a fantastic value for our urban renewal dollar!
• Joe’s Donuts: We have completed the bidding process and selected a contractor.  Currently trying to find a time to sit down with the owners and sign the contract.
• Sandy Arts Commission: Zach is working diligently on putting together a charter and bylaws for the commission, and is working towards putting together a master plan for the rollout and development of the program.
• NorthStar – branding project: We have received a second set of logo designs from North Star that have been informed by our input, and are waiting to review and discuss as a group on October 17^th.  After a quick glance at some previews of the new logo designs, I think we are in much better shape now…

Conferences/training: 

• ELGL (Emerging Local Government Leaders) Portland Popup Conference (September 22) – This 1-day conference was mostly a networking opportunity for city staff mixed in with some pretty timely programming. Topics included how to understand and build local government equity, case studies of how small Oregon cities dealt with an outsized event like the eclipse, and planning for driverless vehicles in the near future.  Also included a fantastic presentation by Matt Lorenzen, my counterpart in Estacada.  It also offered an opportunity for our new staff (Emily and Emma) to meet our former city manager and some of their peers in nearby cities.
• Oregon Main Street Conference (October 4-5) – Emily and I attended this conference in Oregon City to stay current with the Main Street community and look at some of the things that are driving them here in Oregon. Most of the economic development professionals in the state attended, and it was a good opportunity to catch up with people like Jamie Johnk (former Ec Dev oracle at Clackamas County, now ED Director for Woodburn) and Mary Bosch (principal at Marketek, the company that did our last two market studies).  While we are not currently an active participant in the Main Street program, the state director of the program feels that we might be able to restart Sandy Main Street at some point in the moderate future if the community sees the value in doing so.