Local businesses provide employment for area residents and products and services close to home. Mid-county Memo Business Memos celebrate news, advancements, promotions, retirements, expansions and other noteworthy events at these cornerstones of our community. To share news of your business with our readers, Business Memo submissions for the February issue are due by Friday, Jan.15. For best results, e-mail Darlene Vinson at editor@midcountymemo.com. You may also mail submissions to 3510 N.E. 134th Ave., Portland, OR 97230. To leave a phone message, dial 503-287-8904. The Mid-county Memo fax number is 503-249-7672.

Last month, Nordic Motel owner Jay Patel, left, received a $4,000 Storefront Improvement Grant from Historic Parkrose to install stone siding on the motel’s main office. STAFF/2014

Last month, Nordic Motel owner Jay Patel, left, received a $4,000 Storefront Improvement Grant from Historic Parkrose to install stone siding on the motel’s main office.
STAFF/2014

Storefront Improvement Grants go to Parkrose businesses
Historic Parkrose is closing out 2015 with another cycle of the Storefront Improvement Grant Program. This grant program allocates money from the Portland Development Commission to business and property owners in the Parkrose Neighborhood Prosperity Initiative Area. The goal of the Storefront Improvement Grant is to strengthen the Parkrose business district by providing matching grant funds for business owners to invest in making their storefronts more attractive to customers. Improvements funded by the grant include new lighting, paint, signs or bike racks, for example.

Historic Parkrose offered $20,000 in grant funds this year, and businesses could apply for grants between $500 and $4,000. This year, five businesses applied for Storefront Improvement Grants. At its December meeting, the Historic Parkrose District Improvement Grant Committee decided to fund all grant applications, pending additional information.

The first business awarded a 2015-16 Storefront Improvement Grant for $4,000 is the Nordic Motel, 11942 N.E. Sandy Blvd. Owner Jay Patel plans to install stone siding on Nordic Inn’s main office, a project suggested by store design consultant Seanette Corkill of Frontdoor Back. Historic Parkrose hired Frontdoor Back for design consulting for the Parkrose business district along Sandy Blvd.

In addition to the Storefront Improvement Grant for businesses, Historic Parkrose is investing PDC funds in a larger storefront program. Frontdoor Back will provide storefront design consulting, focusing on the south side of Sandy Boulevard between Northeast 105th and 109th avenues. This area, across the street from Parkrose Hardware and the incoming Grocery Outlet, forms what Historic Parkrose envisions as the core of the Parkrose business district. Historic Parkrose plans to work with business and property owners in the coming months to kick off this visioning process.

For more information about the Storefront Improvement Grant program and other Historic Parkrose programs, contact District Manager Mingus Mapps at mingus@historicparkrose.com.