{"id":75,"date":"2013-12-12T02:30:14","date_gmt":"2013-12-12T02:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/reports.cityofsandy.com\/economicdevelopment\/?p=75"},"modified":"2013-12-12T22:04:14","modified_gmt":"2013-12-12T22:04:14","slug":"economic-development-%e2%80%93-monthly-report-%e2%80%93-november-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reports.cityofsandy.com\/economicdevelopment\/2013\/12\/12\/economic-development-%e2%80%93-monthly-report-%e2%80%93-november-2013\/","title":{"rendered":"Economic Development \u2013 Monthly Report \u2013 November 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"

General notes:\u00a0 <\/strong>I would like to use this space to talk about a problem that everybody in Sandy knows about, but no one knows how to tackle.\u00a0 We have a problem here that I refer to as \u201cSandy Syndrome\u201d.\u00a0 We have many vacant properties in the downtown business district that could house any one of a number of viable types of business.\u00a0 With the uptick in the overall economy, we are starting to see demand for these properties go up, as have local realtors.\u00a0 You would think that this would be a good thing for our local commercial property owners, as many of these folks are from older generations and would probably like to retire.\u00a0 However, a handful of large downtown property owners are refusing to offer their properties for anything close to market rates, preferring instead to ask for wildly inflated prices reminiscent of 2007.\u00a0 The average asking price for commercial property in Sandy city-wide is between $1 and $1.25 per square foot at last measure\u2026.some of these properties have asking prices well more than twice that.\u00a0 Perhaps the most egregious example of \u201cSandy Syndrome\u201d is the former Sandy River Brewing\/Sandy Lumber property.\u00a0 Scott Lazenby and I were researching this last year, and found the most recent assessed value of that property at $363,432 (building AND land combined – see attachment above this post).\u00a0 The current asking price is $1,200,000 for a 23,400 square foot property with a 6,000 square foot partitioned building that is completely torn apart on the inside, and an exterior yard filled with rotting timber and junk.<\/p>\n

This problem is well-known in Sandy.\u00a0 Up until now, the attitude about this at City Hall has been that we will have to wait for these properties to pass along to the next generation of property owners before we can do anything about it.\u00a0 The problem with that strategy, of course, is that could take 20 years. \u00a0That, and there’s no guarantee that the next generation of owners will view the property any differently.<\/p>\n

\u201cSandy Syndrome\u201d is killing business deals left and right, and if the current economy keeps improving we are likely only a few years away from these properties being the only built properties available downtown.\u00a0 I would very much like some direction on how to approach this problem.\u00a0 One potential solution to this would be to have the City either split the cost with the owners or pay entirely for a commercial property appraiser to give an independent report on valuation of these properties, so their owners can see what reality looks like.\u00a0 They may choose to ignore it or argue with it, but at least they would have an appraisal from an independent professional giving them valuation in today\u2019s terms.\u00a0 This would cost us some money in the short term, but if it means filling a couple of these spaces with active, taxpaying businesses, it would be a fairly good investment over time.\u00a0 Other than that idea I am open to suggestion, and look forward to discussing this with you individually and with the city manager over the next few months.<\/p>\n

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Commercial Properties (vacancies, new businesses, etc.):\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

38250 Pioneer Blvd:<\/span>\u00a0 This is the building on the corner of Bluff and US26 owned by Brian Tolle that currently houses Mad Dogz Hobby Shop.\u00a0 The martial arts dojo next door to the hobby shop absconded a few months back, and several local businesses looked at the vacant space and the building (vacant space for lease\/building for sale).\u00a0 The building will remain in Mr. Tolle\u2019s hands for now, as he has found an auto repair shop in Boring that is looking to move to a more permanent location. (Sorry Bill!) There is a possibility that the building owner might be interested in VOIP phones (definitely) and fiber internet (possibly) in the near future \u2013 I am working with Scott Brown right now to get him some pricing options.<\/p>\n

Country Co. Insurance<\/span>:\u00a0 Work continues on this property.\u00a0 They planned to be open by January 1, but permit applications for some of the work ordered by the Building Official (ADA parking space, fixing life safety issues with internal staircase) were not completed and turned in to the Planning Desk until the 1st<\/sup> week of December.<\/p>\n

Sandy Vacuum property & Great Expectations property<\/span>:\u00a0 An economic development double-whammy!\u00a0 These two properties are being looked at by Carl Jacobs and his wife as potential locations for a new coin-op laundromat (former) and an accompanying caf\u00e9 (latter).\u00a0 They own 3 other laundromats in the metro area (Gresham, St. John\u2019s, SE 142nd<\/sup>), and would like to open one here so they can close the SE Portland location (bad neighborhood).\u00a0 No permits have been pulled on the former, as Carl is waiting for equipment to arrive before arranging the store and the utilities.\u00a0 However, there has been a permit pulled for a grease interceptor for the latter, leading me to believe that this project is moving forward.\u00a0 We have given much encouragement to Carl considering the state of our current laundromat and the sheer number of complaints we receive due to its condition.\u00a0 I have even offered to do some social media marketing for this store in the future if it would help him get established.\u00a0 More to come for sure\u2026<\/p>\n

Bright Beginnings<\/span>:\u00a0 This little day care center at the corner of Bornstedt Rd. and Cascadia Village Drive is looking for a new home, and I believe we may (emphasize \u201cmay\u201d\u2026there are no guarantees here) have found them the perfect one at the corner of Strauss and Hood Streets.\u00a0 This building, owned by Leonard and Elvira Muff, used to be an office building for a church that used to sit where the current parking lot is.\u00a0 The property would be the perfect location for parents who have day-care age kids and kids in grade school, as Sandy Grade School is right across the street; plus, the City would benefit by getting another business along Pleasant Street, helping to solidify that street as part of the downtown business district in the collective mindset of Sandyites.\u00a0 While the asking sale price for the building is currently way, way too high (reason: \u201cSandy Syndrome\u201d!) to consider buying the property, the business owner (currently working with Rich Monnie, developer and owner of the property at 16621 Champion Way) is currently trying to work out a rental contract with the Muffs that will work for both parties.\u00a0 They have also researched the building thoroughly, and although there are a lot of upgrades that will need to take place (this building has been vacant since 1998 to the best of our knowledge), they believe it will work IF they get a rental price from the building owners that they can work with.\u00a0 It is unknown whether or not this will happen.<\/p>\n

We had a pre-application meeting with the business owner and Mr. Monnie at the end of November.\u00a0 The builder told us he was on a strict timeline as the lease on BB\u2019s current space is up on 12\/31, so he had to make a go\/no go decision soon.\u00a0 We have not heard anything since, although I do have an inquiry in with Mr. Monnie as to the current status.\u00a0 I will keep my fingers tightly crossed, but this particular building owner has not been reasonable with asking prices in the past, which is why all but 1 of their commercial buildings in town are currently unoccupied (and that 1 is only 50% occupied).\u00a0 Chance of success: 30%<\/p>\n

U.S. Metal Works expansion<\/span>:\u00a0 With their business starting to ramp up again with the overall economy, Lyle Drucker and company have taken this opportunity to hire some more machinists and build out a new building or two on their property.\u00a0 They are also taking advantage of the Sandy Enterprise Zone incentives to get some of their property tax money back from the County.\u00a0 I have been accompanying Jamie Johnk and the Business Oregon folks to talk to them about this program and collect their paperwork for the incentive.<\/p>\n

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Sandy Main Street:\u00a0 <\/strong>Most of the work Aubrey and I have taken on with regard to Main Street in November was in preparation for the Tree Lighting Ceremony on December 6th<\/sup>. \u00a0Since this event happened in December, the details will be in next month\u2019s report. \u00a0While we had to spend a fair amount of money this year to prepare for this event (including hiring an arborist to help hang the lights), I see areas where we can save money in the future:<\/p>\n