Bypass dirt work has been talk of town
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To provide an immediate answer, no business has signed a deal to locate at that property. That’s according to one of the property owners, Mark Ashburn of Smithville-based HAT Investment Partners.
Mark told me he would love to bring a major retail player to McMinnville, but he would have to wait and see what happens.
‘Ideally I’d like to find a big box, a Target or some type of super store to locate there,’ said Mark. ‘We’re looking at retail, although we don’t have anything right at the moment. We’re trying to get it all excavated and leveled out.’
If you’ve noticed a tremendous amount of ground work taking place at that 21-acre corner lot, get used to it. Crews with G.K. Rogers Construction out of Crossville have already worked two weeks with 10 more weeks to go.
‘They said they could be done in 90 days,’ said Mark.
What has been a hilly and overgrown piece of property will be transformed into a lot that’s ready to build on. But it’s going to take some work.
Much of the dirt that’s currently at the top of the property is going to be pushed down to the bottom. When complete, the land will be five feet above the bypass.
A retention pond will be built on one corner of the property and pipes will be installed to send water in that direction. According to McMinnville Building and Codes director Jim Brock, the storm water plans have been approved by the state.
There are widespread rumors that an apartment or condominium complex is scheduled for the site. I’m not exactly sure how this rumor got started, especially since the property is zoned commercial ‘ not high-density residential.
I’m sure the property could be rezoned, but there’s certainly no guarantee that would happen. Put it this way. If it were my property, I would get it rezoned first, then spend a fortune leveling it.
I would NOT spend a fortune then cross my fingers and hope for rezoning. That’s just asking for trouble. Considering recent decisions by McMinnville’s Planning and Zoning Commission, there’s a good chance any zoning change would be denied.
I tried and I failed
I’m sure there’s a large group out there thinking, ‘Whew, what a relief. It’s great to finally make it through a Business Pulse column without having to endure Clark’s foolishness.’
Unfortunately, I’m here to inform you I can’t stop. I’m sure it must be some form of illness, some sort of ruthless affliction, that drives me to tell silly stories. I just can’t stop, even for one edition.
This week’s theme is judgment calls, something I can relate to because I make dozens of judgment calls each and every day here at the paper. I certainly don’t claim to make the proper judgment call every time, just well over 97 percent of the time.
Here are some folks who could use a little help with their judgment decisions:
‘ Topping the list is Dr. K. Murugesan, a medical professional from the great country of India. I’m sorry I have to be the one to break the news, but Dr. Murugesan was arrested recently for allowing his 15-year-old son to step in and perform a Caesarean section on one of his patients.
For his grand explanation, Dr. Murugesan said he wanted his son to qualify for a Guinness World Record for youngest C-section. What I want to know is who is the genius who dreamed up this youngest C-section world record?
‘ Coming in a close second is New York resident James Mitchell, 48, who used a knife to rob a teen outside a pizza parlor. But this quickly shaped up as no normal robbery.
For reasons still unknown to police, Mitchell wanted only $4. When his victim pulled out a $10 bill, Mitchell order him to go inside the pizzeria and get change. As you might expect, when the teen got change, he also told the cashier he was being robbed.
The teen handed over the $4, Mitchell ran away on foot, and he was apprehended a couple blocks later. Despite the amount, police are treating it as a case of armed robbery. I just have to find out how much time he ends up serving.
‘ Last but not least is Discovery Canyon Campus school in Colorado Springs, Colo., which last week announced it’s banning the playground game of tag.
Apparently, the game showcases how some kids are faster and more elusive than others. It also results in some students being chased against their will.
Folks, when kids can’t chase each other and play tag on the playground, we’ve taken our rules just a bit too far.
Book and record store opens on Main Street
For folks like me who are still using their turntables, the opening of Books & More on Main is like a dream come true. Although, in the interest of full disclosure, I should clarify that I’ve never dreamed about buying used records.
Rock Island resident John Howitt is the owner of this used book and record store that adds a nice touch of character to downtown McMinnville. The books are great, but my main attraction to the store is its selection of over 4,000 albums.
‘There are quite a number of people still interested in vinyl,’ said John. ‘It’s making a comeback.’
John has plenty of classic rock from the 1970s and ’80s, which he says is his best selling music. He has albums from The Beatles, Van Halen and Billy Joel, just to name a few. I left with albums from Lynyrd Skynyrd and Air Supply, yes the super-cheesey Air Supply known for the hits ‘All Out of Love,’ and ‘Every Woman in the World.’ There’s also a wide variety of country, jazz and blues.
If you like books, John has shelves groaning with thousands of hardbacks and paperbacks. He has books from popular authors like John Grisham, Mary Higgins Clark, Tom Clancy and Stephen King. There are also autobiographies from folks like Dolly Parton, Troy Aikman and Nancy Reagan.
‘I’ve read that bookstores can become a center point in town, a place for people to congregate,’ said John. ‘If this is successful I hope to provide coffee down the road. I’d like to set up some chairs and give people a nice place to sit and look through the books before they buy them.’
Hardback books typically sell for around $3, while paperbacks are $1. If you’re interesting in jump starting your album collection but have long since tossed your record player, John plans to sell stereo components like turntables and amps.
John’s journey to McMinnville is an interesting story in itself. Originally from England, he first came to town in October 1991, which is when he first met his wife. That meeting began a transatlantic courtship, and John and Patsy married less than a year later in June 1992. He’s lived in Warren County ever since, although he just returned from a trip to England to visit his 101-year-old mother.
‘After a week or 10 days, you’re ready to come home,’ said John of his overseas adventure.
As for his decision to located downtown, he hopes it’s a wise one. His shop is next to New York Grill.
‘So many people have gone bust downtown so this is a bit of a gamble,’ said John. ‘Hopefully we can make a go of it and help revive downtown.’
Furniture store gets comfortable on N. High
Travis Bain grew up in the furniture business. His parents, Royce and Jan Bain, operated Granny’s Corner many years ago out of the old John Deere building, which is where Wal-Mart is now.
With that bit of history, Travis decided to go into business himself and open Busy B’s Furniture.
‘I liked it when I was young so I decided to get into it myself,’ said Travis, who receives a good bit of help from his wife, Tiffany, and his parents. ‘We have good-quality furniture at good prices. It will probably take a little while for people to know we’re here but I think it will catch on.’
Busy B’s Furniture is located behind Walker Motors on N. High Street. There’s a surprising amount of merchandise packed into what appears to be a small building from the outside.
There’s all sorts of furniture available including sofas, recliners, dinner tables, coffee tables, dressers, lamps and beds. There are also appliances such as washers and dryers, refrigerators and stoves.
New shipments will be arriving weekly. Travis and his parents buy their merchandise from sales in Atlanta, Ohio and Indiana.
‘Once you’ve been in the furniture business you just love it,’ said Jan. ‘You’re hooked for life.’
The business has been open just over a week and operates Monday thru Saturday. The phone number is 473-4800.
We put up a parking lot
On trips down College Street, you may have noticed there was once a house next to the Southern Standard office. Well that house is gone.
Some folks have been asking me what’s going to go there in place of the house so I tracked down the property owner, which just happens to be Standard Publishing.
After being directed through a maze of voicemail, I was finally able to reach editor James Clark who was eager to talk about the development.
‘We’ve decided to make it a parking lot,’ I said. ‘I’m not sure how exciting that is but this area sure needs the parking. Our employees and customers are constantly fighting for parking spaces. When there’s a funeral at High’s, the entire street is flooded with vehicles, sometimes all the way down to First Baptist Church.
‘When the folks at the courthouse heard we were making a parking lot, they were excited about when they could start parking there. So it’s easy to see how badly this parking lot is needed. And the Standard is pleased to provide this valuable downtown service.’
The Standard would love to pave the parking lot, but considering the cost of paving projects nowadays, we’re rethinking this idea. According to my preliminary calculations, all we have to do is sell 93,300 extra copies over our normal circulation figures to come up with the money.
That’s all folks
There you have it, all the business news that’s fit to print. If you have any ideas for next week’s column, you’re welcome to give me a call. The number is 473-2191.
I’m toying with the idea of charging 99 cents per call. All proceeds would go toward the newspaper’s Pave the Parking Lot Project.