{"id":227,"date":"2016-03-21T17:15:05","date_gmt":"2016-03-21T17:15:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/reports.cityofsandy.com\/economicdevelopment\/?p=227"},"modified":"2016-03-21T17:15:05","modified_gmt":"2016-03-21T17:15:05","slug":"economic-development-monthly-report-february-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reports.cityofsandy.com\/economicdevelopment\/2016\/03\/21\/economic-development-monthly-report-february-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"Economic Development \u2013 Monthly Report \u2013 February 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Double D Locksmith property<\/u>:\u00a0 This property has sold.\u00a0 The business inventory was sold to another locksmith that unfortunately decided to locate in Gresham, and the property has reverted back to a residential property.<\/p>\n

update:<\/strong>\u00a0 The Double D van was recently seen roaming around Sandy, so I called the number.\u00a0 The business has actually been restarted under the same name, and while the current owner is located in Gresham, he is actually looking to move the company back to Sandy as soon as possible.\u00a0 He has already applied for a new business license, and should be setting up shop somewhere within city limits shortly.<\/p>\n

Fastenal Building<\/u>:\u00a0 The buildout for Mattress World moved much faster than anticipated, and this business is now licensed and open for business.\u00a0 Store manager Gary Richards tells me that business is popping and already outperforming projections.<\/p>\n

If you haven\u2019t been inside the building, I would suggest stopping by during business hours to check it out.\u00a0 The layout of this store has been carefully considered and they are making maximum use of their space, including using what was originally the inventory space for Fastenal as part of their showroom floor.\u00a0 Very professionally done.<\/p>\n

Michael Maiden properties<\/u>:\u00a0 Mr. Maiden is opening up two other spaces in his pre-fab buildings across the parking lot from the foundry for lease.\u00a0 One is a business that is waiting for another company to lease their space before they move to another location, and one is currently being used for foundry storage.<\/p>\n

I bring this up to illustrate how clustering seems to be working in an unlikely place.\u00a0 I recently nudged the proprietor of a local church basement based pre-school towards Mr. Maiden\u2019s properties when she called looking for an expansion space.\u00a0 She has 25 students and needed a space of a certain size at an affordable rate.\u00a0 I asked her if she was familiar with Wippersnappers, and her response was: \u201cOMG\u2026I could take the kids to Wippersnappers for recess every day!!!\u201d\u00a0 This item alone might make the sale for Mr. Maiden, and I\u2019ve no doubt that a business arrangement could be made between the two businesses that would be mutually beneficial.<\/p>\n

Mark Benson properties<\/u>:\u00a0 According to the owner, there is a ton of activity going on with this property right now.\u00a0 There have been many inquiries into the status of this property since the \u201cFree Land for Brewpub\u201d media circus surrounding this Oregonian story<\/a> \u2013 the property owner says he has fielded calls from \u201cover 100 businesses\u201d since that story broke.<\/p>\n

There are several promising actions being considered on Mr. Benson\u2019s property right now. \u00a0I am working with him right now to determine whether or not the metering of wastewater for a brewery would be a worthwhile thing to look into for marketing purposes, so I would suspect he is at least talking to a brewery or two.\u00a0 I have also participated in a discussion between Mr. Benson and our friends at Web Steel regarding pricing for a building involved in one of those \u201cnon-brewery\u201d concepts.\u00a0 So there are many things going on behind the scenes regarding this property at the moment.\u00a0 More to come\u2026<\/p>\n

Baby Goods<\/u>:\u00a0 We have an established retail store from SE Portland opening a second location here in Sandy.\u00a0 Baby Goods will be moving into the old Curves space next door to the UPS Store in Richard Perry\u2019s building (across the parking lot from the library), and has already received their business license and certificate of occupancy.\u00a0 Lynne Goode\u2019s store buys and sells primarily second hand baby and children\u2019s clothing, which should be a very popular store with young families moving to the area.\u00a0 Many city staffers with small children have told me they are excited to check this store out when it opens at the beginning of April.<\/p>\n

Mr. Perry\u2019s building is now full.\u00a0 This space and the Sparky\u2019s expansion space were the first two properties I added to the Available Commercial Buildings database back when I created it, and they have remained on the database ever since.\u00a0 The fact that these are both now occupied says very positive things about the local economy.<\/p>\n

Oregon\u2019s Wild Harvest building<\/u>: \u2026remains empty for now.\u00a0 Discussions continue between a local Sandy business owner and the property owner, but prospects for a sale and transfer are unknown at this time.<\/p>\n

Trading Post NW<\/u>: This establishment is now open for business.\u00a0 Andrew Booth is the son of TPNW owner Mike Booth, and will be the face of this business in Sandy.\u00a0 There was a little rough water involved with this business in acclimating to a new regulatory climate here in Sandy, but I think we\u2019ve passed the rough patch and are well on our way to developing a good relationship here.\u00a0 Andrew is in the process of organizing a \u201cgrand opening week\u201d, so look for (properly permitted) temporary signage to this effect on site towards the end of March\/beginning of April.\u00a0 Also, the SACC will be hosting a ribbon cutting for this business at noon on 3\/19.\u00a0 [Thank you again<\/u>, Mr. Mayor.]<\/p>\n

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