Sawyer Village in Maple Valley attracts new businesses

Published 8:36 am Saturday, July 23, 2011

It’s no small feat to open a commercial shopping center but it can be even more challenging to fill one up in the midst of one of the worst economic downturns in nearly a century.

For the owners of Sawyer Village in Maple Valley, finally leasing out the plaza more than three years after it opened, is something to celebrate explained Jeff Potter, director of land development for Curtis Lang Custom Homes.

Potter’s company, which has its offices in Sawyer Village, owns the plaza on Kent Kangley Road and Southeast 216th Street in Maple Valley.

“It means… small businesses must feel comfortable in putting some money together and putting together a business,” Potter said. “In some cases like (Get Hot Yoga) and the bike shop, new business, they feel like this is the time to open up.”

Sawyer Village is a bit different from other commercial plazas in Maple Valley or neighbor Covington in that the buildings face in toward a central parking lot, something Potter said appeals to both patrons and business owners.

And come September when a 1,500 square foot coffee shop Ñ the tenant has yet to be named but will be announced soon, Potter said Ñ with a drive through opens up, Sawyer Village will be 100 percent occupied.

“We’ve got a small commercial center with full occupancy,” Potter said. “In this economy, that’s great.”

He points to the success he’s observed of Get Hot Yoga.

“They seem to be doing really well,” Potter said. “Every time I walk by their parking lot is full and people seem to be walking out with their yoga mats.”

But that’s not the only new business to recently come to Sawyer Village.

Ron Flores, who lives in Covington, opened up his shop Bike Masters and Boards on July 1.

“I actually did a lot of shopping around,” Flores said. “I like Maple Valley. I think it”s very central to the cycling in this area. I like the neighborhood, the kind of small town feel. Sawyer Village is a particularly good location for a bike shop because of the frontage on Kent Kangley. It’s real close to Lake Sawyer and Black Diamond and all the trails mountain bikers go to.”

Flores has been in the bike business for quite a while, so, his experience should help as well as being in what seems to be the perfect location. Prior to opening his shop he had worked for REI for four years, has ridden all over the world and owned an independent bike shop when he lived in California.

For now, customers are finding Bike Masters through word of mouth as well as through connections Flores has made at community events such as the Maple Valley Farmers Market, Maple Valley Days and the Bicycle Rodeo organized by the Maple Valley Police Department.

“With the economy being the way that it is I thought long and hard before leaving a secure corporate job with a company like REI,” he said. “The economy is getting better so I thought now is the time to do it. Everything fell into place, so, I had to do it.”

But he doesn’t want to just run a business. He thinks Maple Valley is on its way to something great.

“Bicycle shops are part of any kind of tight knit community,” Flores said. “I think people should all get together and ride together. This is a great town for (riding). My ultimate goal is to make Maple Valley the most bicycle friendly city in the nation.”

And it seems like he’s found the ideal spot for his grass roots campaign in Sawyer Village.

“That’s a big thing, that people are feeling like things are going in the right direction, albeit slowly, and they want to be on top of the wave,” Potter said. “People are starting to feel more confident.”

And though it was no small feat to find business owners willing to open up in Sawyer Village it seems like it might be a sign things are getting better.

Or, as Flores puts it, “You’ve got to read the sign posts, right?”