{"id":52,"date":"2013-06-10T20:01:54","date_gmt":"2013-06-10T20:01:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/reports.cityofsandy.com\/economicdevelopment\/?p=52"},"modified":"2013-06-10T20:01:54","modified_gmt":"2013-06-10T20:01:54","slug":"economic-development-%e2%80%93-monthly-report-%e2%80%93-may-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reports.cityofsandy.com\/economicdevelopment\/2013\/06\/10\/economic-development-%e2%80%93-monthly-report-%e2%80%93-may-2013\/","title":{"rendered":"Economic Development \u2013 Monthly Report \u2013 May 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"

Economic Development \u2013 Monthly Report \u2013 May 2013<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Commercial Properties (vacancies, new businesses, etc.):\u00a0 <\/strong>Last month\u2019s rumor about the Local Cow opening a new restaurant in Sandy seems to be a bit premature.\u00a0 The Planning Desk informs me that the space currently occupied by the Sub Shop will be taken over in an expansion of the Cellular Plus\/Verizon Wireless store which occupies the rest of the building.\u00a0 See below for additional information.<\/p>\n

No word from the local artist I\u2019ve been working with regarding the search for a suitable property for a studio\/gallery in the downtown business district.\u00a0 I have a request for information in with her, and am currently waiting for her to respond.<\/p>\n

I have had a few more inquiries about potential future businesses, including one sit-down visit from a new resident that is interested in opening an organic produce delivery service for the mountain, and possibly a brewpub as well.\u00a0 The local economy continues to show promising signs\u2026<\/p>\n

Sandy Family Restaurant:<\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0Open for business.\u00a0 More reviews continue to roll in.\u00a0 While most people are very impressed with Ria\u2019s remodel job on the restaurant, the food and service have been a little inconsistent.\u00a0 However, some of this is to be expected when ownership of a restaurant changes as the new ownership inevitably changes over to new processes, scheduling and equipment.\u00a0 Hopefully the kinks can get worked out over the next few months\u2026<\/p>\n

The Sub Shop:<\/span>\u00a0 The owner of the Sub Shop would like to re-open in a different location somewhere in Sandy, but needs to find a property that was previously a restaurant of some sort.\u00a0 She has been looking at the vacant property next to the DMV (which has never been a restaurant), but to convert that property to include all of the required plumbing, grease interceptor, fire suppression equipment and the like, she was quoted $18,000.\u00a0 She told me it would take her two years just to make that investment back, and she\u2019s not even sure that her loan application with Clackamas FCU would be approved anyway.\u00a0 I put her in touch with CCB, so perhaps they might be able to help out with financing if CFCU can not.\u00a0 The only available commercial property in Sandy that was formerly a restaurant is the old Paris Caf\u00e9, and while she is considering that property, she is considering it only as a last resort because of the poor location.<\/p>\n

Leathers property:<\/span>\u00a0 Work continues on rehabbing the old Produce Shack and grounds in anticipation of the development of Sandy\u2019s first Farmer\u2019s Market.\u00a0 The shack will be used primarily as the HQ for the AntFarm\u2019s outdoor programs, but the grounds will be configured to set up produce stands similar to the Thompson Farms stand in Centennial Plaza.\u00a0 Damon at the AntFarm tells me that 2 people have already been hired for this project, and they are looking at having the first stands open for business by the beginning of July.\u00a0 They are also seeking more ancillary products to sell, like farm fresh eggs, honey, berries, and the like \u2013 and I will definitely be sending any potential stand owners their way (I have one appointment set up already.)\u00a0 Definitely more to come\u2026.<\/p>\n

* Sandy Antiques & More:<\/span> \u00a0This business illustrates a potential problem with the City\u2019s process for getting involved with new businesses.\u00a0 Before opening, the owner called me to talk about his vision for the business\u2026.a move I wholeheartedly support.\u00a0 Along with selling antiques, he was also very adamant about selling espresso, as he had come across an espresso machine in his travels and wanted to use it in his store.\u00a0 I cautioned him about this for two reasons: a) such a machine would require dedicated plumbing, which would require additional permitting and inspection by our building inspector, and b) serving espresso counts as serving prepared food, which requires the County to get involved on several levels (food handler\u2019s permits, County health inspection, etc.).\u00a0 This was on top of the fact that there were no less than 5 coffee shops within a 2 block radius of his store.\u00a0 He said he understood all of this, but serving espresso in his store was essential to his business and he would deal with all of the inspections and permitting when he was ready to go.\u00a0 He then had the machine plumbed sans permit (by a licensed local plumber (Jeff Newberry) who knew that a permit was required!) and activated without doing any of this.\u00a0 When the building inspector called him on the lack of required permitting, he blamed the City for not letting him know.\u00a0 He was informed about the required permitting\/inspection three times to my knowledge \u2013 once by myself in a phone conversation, once by Noryne face-to-face, and once by Terre during his health\/life safety inspection. \u00a0Apparently he didn\u2019t \u201cremember\u201d any of these conversations.<\/p>\n

The plumber has since been called on the carpet for performing work without a permit, and the proper permit has now been pulled.\u00a0 However, the store owner has not scheduled an inspection yet and is still serving espresso to the best of my knowledge.\u00a0 His problems were compounded a few days ago, as he received a cease and desist order from Clackamas County\u2019s health inspector for serving food without a permit or an inspection.\u00a0 This should be discussed by the various ED committees in Sandy to determine if we can somehow change our process to stop this from happening in the future\u2026<\/p>\n

Public Information:<\/strong><\/p>\n