Green-light for Beaverton development means new chapter for Southwest Washington retailers
Vancouver-based businesses Big Al's, Inc. and Cinetopia were poised to make their first foray into Oregon with the groundbreaking of a Beaverton development project – a venture which secured final funding last week.
The retailers will anchor the Progress Ridge Town Square project located on the corner of S.W. Barrows Road and S.W. Horizon Boulevard in Beaverton. The shopping center will be built by Gramor Development of Portland.
Big Al's, a bowling and entertainment business with a complex on S.E. 18th Street in Vancouver, first broke ground on the site nearly a year ago in anticipation of the construction of the Progress Ridge project.
A representative of the Kirkwood family, the owners of Big Al's, said that since the company planned to open a Beaverton location since its inception, they wasted no time in developing a site on the south end of the 20-acre development.
"We expect great performance from Beaverton," said Daniel Kirkwood, vice president of Big Al's.
Kirkwood cited the Beaverton location's proximity to the family-oriented neighborhoods of Murray Hill and Bull Mountain as being one cause for optimism.
According to statistics provided by Gramor Development, the Progress Ridge project is 15 minutes from a population totaling more than 400,000 with an average income of $108,000 – all good signs for Big Al's, which is looking to grow despite the crimp on family budgets in a tough economy.
The entertainment center was originally slated to open at the planned West Village Shopping Center in Beaverton, but when the developer's application went inactive in August 2008, the Kirkwood family opted for Progress Ridge as a replacement.
Big Al's at Progress Ridge is set to open for business this month after construction has been finalized and its hiring process has been completed.
Meanwhile, the timeline for Cinetopia's Beaverton location will be a bit lengthier, with its September 2011 debut timed to coincide with Progress Ridge's expected completion date. This will be the second theater built by the luxury cinema, which opened its Vancouver location in July 2005.
Rudyard Coltman, owner and founder of Cinetopia, believes that the two Vancouver businesses will complement each other in their new Beaver State home.
"The more entertainment options, the better the center does," he said.
For both Big Al's and Cinetopia, the planned openings mark a significant step forward in their respective business plans. In a recession where most businesses are more focused on cutting losses, these two Vancouver entertainment venues are concentrating on expansion.
Barry Cain, president of Gramor Development, expressed his enthusiasm for what he believes may indicate an end to the recent trend of stagnating businesses.
"We believe this is the largest retail construction loan processed throughout the Portland metropolitan area since the recession began," Cain said. "This is a clear indicator that we are moving through the recession and opportunities are once again presenting themselves."
Accompanying Big Al's and Cinetopia at Progress Ridge will be almost a dozen other tenants that have signed lease agreements on the property, according to Gramor Development.
Cain believes that the project will provide up to 2,000 regional construction jobs over the next year, as well as between 800 to 1,000 permanent local jobs once the town square is completed.
