{"id":217,"date":"2016-02-04T22:21:42","date_gmt":"2016-02-04T22:21:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/reports.cityofsandy.com\/economicdevelopment\/?p=217"},"modified":"2016-02-11T17:35:05","modified_gmt":"2016-02-11T17:35:05","slug":"economic-development-monthly-report-january-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reports.cityofsandy.com\/economicdevelopment\/2016\/02\/04\/economic-development-monthly-report-january-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"Economic Development \u2013 Monthly Report \u2013 January 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

Commercial Properties (vacancies, new businesses, etc.): <\/strong><\/p>\n

Fastenal Building<\/u>:\u00a0 The buildout for Mattress World at this site is complete, and it appears that this store is now open for business. \u00a0There will be a request for Mayor King to wield the big scissors again very soon…stay tuned.<\/p>\n

Wippersnappers<\/u>:\u00a0 I recently ran into Hans Wipper at the Mt. Hood Tourism Studio (see \u201cProject Work\u201d below), and I asked him how business was going.\u00a0 I have never seen a small business owner light up so brightly\u2026.his business is more profitable at this point in its development than any of us had ever dreamed!\u00a0 To give you an idea of how things are going for them\u2026a few numbers \u2013 Hans\u2019 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.\u00a0 Actual number of birthday parties in their first two months of operation: 22 in December, 36 in January.\u00a0 They projected having two full time employees at this point, but in reality just hired their fourth.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 And they have done all of this without any advertising!!!<\/em><\/p>\n

Virtually everyone I know on the City\u2019s 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.\u00a0 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!<\/p>\n

Baskin Robbins<\/u>: \u2026signed a 5-year extension to their lease with Albanese Cormier, new owner of the Sandy Marketplace, effectively taking this property off of the market.<\/p>\n

Mark Benson properties<\/u>:\u00a0 After years of no activity here and an obviously frustrated property owner, opportunity now abounds.\u00a0 I have steered one business on Industrial Way that is looking to expand towards Mr. Benson\u2019s property that is considering building a building in the 20K to 30K SF range on site.\u00a0 Clackamas County HH&HS is looking to expand in 1-2 years, so I put them in touch with Mr. Benson as well.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

I am putting together a meeting at the property owner\u2019s 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. \u00a0Just a 30,000 foot level discussion right now\u2026.but could develop into something tangible in the very near future.<\/p>\n

Sparky\u2019s Pizza<\/u>:\u00a0 \u2026is expanding into the smaller vacant space next to them in Richard Perry\u2019s property.\u00a0 I haven\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

Mr. Perry is quite happy with this development, as you can probably imagine.\u00a0 This property had been vacant for a very long time.\u00a0 An interior remodel is currently in-process, and should be completed within weeks.<\/p>\n

Oregon\u2019s Wild Harvest building<\/u>: \u2026has a local business owner interested in purchasing it if the price is right.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Hopefully more to come on this topic soon.\u00a0 Stay tuned.<\/p>\n

39084 Proctor Blvd, Suite B<\/u>:\u00a0 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\u2019t seem to use it for anything.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 That arrangement ended a few months ago.<\/p>\n

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. \u00a0It appears that the business will primarily operate after regular business hours.<\/p>\n

Trading Post NW<\/u>: \u2026is in the process of moving inventory into their space in Betty Tee\u2019s building as I write this.\u00a0 Look for them to be open and operating within the next few weeks.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Project work:\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n