Spit and Polish- Dowtown Palmer

July 27, 2007

By Hannah Guillaume

Frontiersman

PALMER - Looks can be deceiving when walking past the empty, boarded up storefronts lining downtown Palmer.

&#8220I think that's absolutely true,” Palmer Mayor John Combs said. &#8220What a lot of the buildings had to do was remove the tenant to make renovations.”

The city's renovations of sidewalks, lamp posts, benches and plants are leading a growing trend for commercial property owners in downtown, he said.

The sidewalk and lighting do-over cost $380,000, city manager Tom Healy said. The Depot, with its double pane windows, plants and new interior, cost $300,000 in 2003. At least eight new businesses are planned to open in other areas of downtown in October, property owners say.

&#8220You see the shop owners following suit,” Combs said. &#8220It seems like almost every shop has got something new going into it. It's kind of a mess down there right now.”

Richard Stryken of Palmer said he owns nine commercial properties, seven of which he's been remodeling since 2000. His latest is a 26,000-square-foot, or about a block long, building at 550 S. Alaska Way. He said the former bowling alley and Piggly Wiggly, amongst other things since the 1950s, will be the Downtown Palmer Plaza.

Nine tenants, including an antiques dealer, health food retailer and a woman's clothing boutique, have signed letters of intent to move shops in during October, he said. There are 10 other spaces open for rent.

&#8220It was a hideous building and we changed it around,” Stryken said. &#8220We decided to preserve, upgrade and restore it.”

The two-level building is designed to hold retailers on the ground floor and offices on the second, he said. Tile floors, blue-glass windows and tall wood ceilings mark its design.

&#8220When we're done it will be the coolest building in Palmer,” Stryken said. &#8220A lot of it has to do with pride. You don't always get your money out of it. It's a passion.”

Stryken said he has watched a lot of developers come to renovate downtown buildings since he began and is excited to see so many other investors in Palmer.

Mike Madar, a member of Palmer's Planning and Zoning Commission, said some buildings that look abandoned are being used. The Palmer Bar at 828 S. Colony Way expanded its dance floor, using up all the building's space, although it doesn't look like it on the outside.

&#8220I think it's a little bit of a misconception,” Madar said. &#8220The way I see it is that there are more businesses coming into downtown than ever before.”

Madar's only personal concern is developers using cheap construction materials that won't last 50-60 years like most of the buildings currently in Palmer. Madar noted that he doesn't see any developers using cheap materials to renovate now.

Madar prefers to see specialty shops, such as cake bakers and dress makers, moving into Palmer than big box retailers like Wal-Mart and Fred Meyer. Niche shops that don't try to compete with Carrs and Fred Meyer find longer tenures of success.

Madar believes the renovated office spaces will quickly fill with new tenants.

Stan Guthrie, owner of Country Cutts at 432 S. Alaska St., said he stopped renting property for his business in downtown and began building his own space three years ago.

About 14 months after moving in he finds the move rewarding.

&#8220Fabulous. It has changed a lot. We have new clientele,” he said.

Guthrie, who has been running his shop in Palmer for 23 years, said he's watched small businesses trickle in for about 15 years, and the trend is starting to snowball.

&#8220I think it's great,” he said. &#8220I hope they all do well, because more business creates more traffic and more traffic creates more business.”

Special blend businesses, like the ones Madar suggested, tend to do quite well because, &#8220We're not the big box area,” he said.

Sara Jansen, a community development coordinator for Palmer, said downtown is like an ant hill with swarms of activity underneath.

&#8220I've been in Palmer 31 years, and I don't remember ever seeing this kind of investment in the downtown Palmer,” she said. &#8220I think that Palmer is about to go to the next step, if you will. What you see in Palmer this summer is the forerunner of what you will see in Palmer next summer.”

She expects all the renovated properties to fill with specialty shops that preserve Palmer's small-town theme.

She noted Fireside Books at 720 S. Alaska St. and Country Cutts saw more consumers after renovating.

Dan Lucas, a local property owner and resident, said he is renovating a 2,500-square-foot building from 1954 at 728 South Alaska St.

&#8220I decided to go in and make some upgrades, modernize it a little bit,” he said. &#8220I thought it was time. Palmer is growing and it's attracting more interest downtown.”

He said although the building wasn't touched in 30 years, tenants were requesting to move in after renovations finished.

He said a women's clothing boutique and coffee shop moves in Aug. 1.

The property's previous tenants that paid 40 cents a square foot moved out, because they could not afford the rent after renovations: about $1.25, Lucas said. He began renovating with local contractors in April.

Lucas has invested nearly $120,000 to renovate the property into one large, open room with square columns supporting 12-foot ceilings, new windows and epoxy floors in neutral colors.

Loans from Matanuska Valley Federal Credit Union made it possible, he said, adding he did it because &#8220we don't want Palmer to be like Wasilla with nothing but big-box stores.”

Jeff Johnson of Palmer is renovating a three-bay office and storage building and a second commercial office and storage building on South Industrial Way, according to the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority. More than $1.2 million for the project came from the export authority, while $136,875 came from First National Bank Alaska.

Contact Hannah Guillaume at 352-2284 or hannahguillaume@yahoo.com.