{"id":56,"date":"2013-07-09T01:10:29","date_gmt":"2013-07-09T01:10:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/reports.cityofsandy.com\/economicdevelopment\/?p=56"},"modified":"2013-07-09T01:10:29","modified_gmt":"2013-07-09T01:10:29","slug":"economic-development-%e2%80%93-monthly-report-%e2%80%93-june-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reports.cityofsandy.com\/economicdevelopment\/2013\/07\/09\/economic-development-%e2%80%93-monthly-report-%e2%80%93-june-2013\/","title":{"rendered":"Economic Development \u2013 Monthly Report \u2013 June 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"

Commercial Properties (vacancies, new businesses, etc.):\u00a0 <\/strong>Once again, we have multiple groups of potential investors currently looking at the viability of a brew pub here in Sandy.\u00a0 The owner of OrganicSandy.com (Jennifer Davis) brought up the idea with me in a meeting recently \u2013 I put her in touch with Jeff Newberry at NW WaterWorks to look at his building as a possible location.\u00a0 She decided that she would look at this possibility a few months later after she has her current business up and running smoothly.<\/p>\n

Not a week later, I was contacted by a representative of an investment group based in Estacada that seems to be approaching the idea with a bit more enthusiasm (read: money).\u00a0 Tracy knows some of the principals in this group, and assures me that they are quite serious about the idea.\u00a0 I also put her in touch with Jeff, and introduced her to Ms. Davis to see if they were interested in joining forces.\u00a0 Also made her aware that there is another possible location for such an endeavor (Wong\u2019s King) if they were interested in checking that space out too.\u00a0 This actually looks promising \u2013 I will be keeping a very close eye on this as it develops.<\/p>\n

White Star Massage<\/span>:\u00a0 \u00a0Sadly, this business recently closed up shop and moved to Gresham.\u00a0 The building that they were located in is owned by the principal at Sandy Family Dentistry, and they tell me that business has been good enough that they are going to expand into the space that White Star was in over the next few months.\u00a0 Whether or not this was the impetus for White Star\u2019s move is unknown at this time.<\/p>\n

The Sub Shop<\/span>:\u00a0 It appears for now that this business is no more.\u00a0 Workers started clearing out the space this business was in to prepare for the Verizon Wireless store expansion at the first of the month.\u00a0 The owner (Jill Eakin) was initially looking at the vacant property next to the DMV, but ultimately decided against reopening the store altogether \u2013 most likely because the cost to convert this space into a restaurant was simply too high for her to recover in an adequate amount of time.\u00a0 Financing was available, and Julie Snell at CCB did talk to her about a loan, but we must assume at this time that the numbers just did not work favorably enough for Jill to convince her to pull the trigger.\u00a0 We also understand that the closing of SHS campus during lunchtime severely impacted her business, and was probably the leading factor in the downfall of this business.<\/p>\n

Paola property<\/span>:\u00a0 Jack and Mitch have filled their last remaining space in the Junker Building, and it sounds like a winner.\u00a0 The name of the store going into this space is Ox and Marley \u2013 they are a retail \u201cvintage home d\u00e9cor\u201d shop selling mostly antiques with a few new items (soaps, candles, etc.).\u00a0 They hope to expand into small furniture as the store grows.\u00a0 The owner I talked to (DeeAnn Fisher) is an extremely high-energy personality, and certainly seems to have the right \u201cdrive\u201d to help this store get off of the ground. \u00a0\u00a0I have already talked to them as a SACC board member about a ribbon-cutting\/grand opening, and they said they would like to do it during the September First Friday!\u00a0 Definitely more to come\u2026.<\/p>\n

[ps:\u00a0 This is EXACTLY the kind of retail store we want to encourage in the downtown core, and will add to the growing antique\/second-hand retail cluster in the area.\u00a0 This store definitely seems to have a vision and a flair for marketing, if the window treatments and current visible merchandise are any indicator]<\/p>\n

The Buzz at Bakers<\/span>:\u00a0 Tiffany Baker will be moving this barber shop from its current location to the old Dotty\u2019s property in the Clackamas FCU complex in the Bi-Mart parking lot.\u00a0 This is due to the coming expansion of the gun store, which will also be dislocating Lori Ryland\u2019s studio on the other end.\u00a0 No word quite yet on dates, but as soon as we know we will forward on that information.<\/p>\n

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Sandy Antiques & More<\/span>: \u00a0I followed up with the Building Dept on this matter, and fortunately this situation seems to have been resolved.\u00a0 The plumbing issues have been corrected and a permit was issued for this work.\u00a0 The Clackamas County health inspector, who had originally threatened this business with large fines for operating without a license, has now inspected all of the work (including the new grease interceptor) and has confirmed that the operators have the proper food handling permits and other licensure.\u00a0 However, I am sure that this has been a very expensive lesson to learn for this business operator, and a rather unpleasant one as well.\u00a0 I have also been informed (admittedly through second hand information) that the owner(s) now believe the City to be the sole cause of all of these problems.\u00a0 Sometimes you can\u2019t win no matter what you do\u2026.<\/p>\n

Rainbow\u2019s End Glass & Gifts<\/span>:\u00a0 As I predicted, this shop went out of business this month due to (one can only assume) lack of customers.\u00a0 Apparently Sandy can only support one \u201chead shop\u201d at a time, and Rip City Glass seems to be a much more professional retail operation (better location, better store interior, better lighting, better advertising, etc.)\u00a0 This property will go up on the available commercial properties database shortly.\u00a0 [ps: we need contact information for the Sahs\u2026I would like to talk to them about how they are marketing their properties going forward.]<\/p>\n

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