On a site with great visibility along U.S. Route 97, a major thoroughfare for traveling from Bend to Mount Hood in Oregon, SimonCRE capitalized on an opportunity to develop a 9,100-square-foot build to suit. 

In the Summer of 2019, SimonCRE had conducted the due diligence and purchased ±1.3 acres of land to construct a 9,026-square-foot building for a Dollar General store location.

The Challenge

The main hurdles to jump over in this project included accounting for additional costs, while meeting specific city requirements. The City of Madras planning team had very particular criteria for the streetscape and overall building appearance.

In fact, the majority of the additional costs were a result of the city requiring full improvements to SW Brush Lane, which was a public dirt road at the time. SimonCRE had to complete concrete sidewalks, curbs, gutters, as well as 100% pave the lane to the next intersection and improve the neighboring apartment’s driveway entrance to Brush Lane.

The Solution

Due to the major costs tacked onto the project from the required off-site improvements, SimonCRE worried the project might end up being economically not feasible. But instead of giving up on the site, SimonCRE worked with the City of Madras Redevelopment Commission and openly discussed the financial situation. The Commission was a big advocate of the project and helped in large part to bring it to fruition.   

Since the city has the same goal of economic growth in depressed areas of the city, it was decided to use some grant funds from its Urban Renewal District, which addresses underutilized and unproductive land and building investments. This allowed the developer to accomplish the right site design and also help fund the power poles under-grounding. 

Since the improved SW Brush Lane not only positively impacted the development, but also many residents and businesses in the area that use it, the city gave its share of funds to make the project economically feasible again. SimonCRE also worked with the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) and Dollar General to bridge the needed gap.

The Result

Working in tandem with the city, SimonCRE was able to effectively align the goals with an incentive program designed to provide economic growth for all. As major problem-solvers, SimonCRE worked tirelessly with the Madras Redevelopment Authority to balance city approval with the tenant’s interests and budget.

Today, the project is right on track to be a well-located Dollar General location that will serve the community for years to come.  

“The main contributing factor to getting this project accomplished was building relationships with all the stakeholders, which enabled us to deliver creative solutions for any issues that arose,” said Joshua Simon, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of SimonCRE.