Some local businesses on East 13th Avenue say they are affected by the construction of new student housing but are looking forward to the increased business it may bring once it is completed.
The Duck Store and the deChase Miksis development firm have moved forward with their construction plans for Flock 13, a new seven-story, transit-oriented development on East 13th Avenue.
This plan included the demolition of East 13th Avenue’s Toxic Wings X-Press, Bobahead, Caspian Mediterranean Cafe, Oregon Colors Boutique, Simply Mac and the former location of Dudley’s Kampus Barber Shop. The floor plan for the Flock 13 project consists of a ground floor with restaurants and retail stores and student apartments on the above floors.
There is construction work on East 13th Avenue that has taken up much of the street, which has affected traffic, students walking and some businesses on the avenue.
“We have definitely seen a slight decrease in business, as fewer people have been choosing to walk through 13th Avenue onto campus,” Espresso Roma barista Corey Sharr said. “It has brought less attention to our coffee shop.”
Most of the sidewalk on Espresso Roma’s side of the street is blocked off with high fencing due to the construction.
Sharr said the construction has caused major traffic issues and the elimination of parking on the street as a whole. However, once the construction is finished, Sharr said he thinks it will bring more attention to Espresso Roma.
Since the construction is only occupying one side of East 13th Avenue, some of the businesses on the opposite side are experiencing an increase in customers due to their perceptible availability.
“Since the construction is on the other side, people tend to come to our side of the street more and come in our stores,” Nekter Juice Bar shift leader Jasmyn Anderson said. “We have been getting more customers, and it’s been a little busier.”
Anderson said she expects the completion of the student housing building to improve the business of Nekter Juice Bar and other retailers significantly because of its convenient location. Students living in the new housing will benefit from its proximity to campus, restaurants and stores, Anderson said.
According to The Duck Store CEO Arlyn Schaufler and The Duck Store Marketing Director Eric Breitenstein, The Duck Store Board of Directors had been in contact with the deChase Miksis development firm to best utilize their project proposal without taking away business from The Duck Store’s neighboring retailers.
“We do not have any complaints,” Schaufler and Breitenstein wrote in an email. “While we hoped that street parking on East 13th would remain during construction, we understand the need for the protected pedestrian path to keep the area safe for students and others visiting the University District.”
The remaining retailers on East 13th Avenue are holding on to the hope that once the limitations from the construction are completed, the business in their stores will increase significantly.
