REDMOND BUSINESS
Employees build HVAC cooling and clean room systems at the BasX manufacturing site in Redmond.
Flourishing
amid change
and growth
BY LIZ O’CONNELL
For the Redmond Spokesman
rit and perseverance helped Redmond businesses
navigate the pandemic, and as restrictions have
been removed, many are ready to flourish.
Redmond Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Eric
Sande noted the Redmond business community has faced
challenge after challenge since he joined the chamber over
30 years ago, showing that grit and resilience each and
every time.
Back in the 1990s, downtown Redmond was completely
different. Highway 97 ran right through town, bringing along
loud, heavy traffic that clogged streets. It was an uninviting
place for locals to shop, or visitors to stop and get out of
G
Dean Guernsey/The Bulletin
their cars to wander
around.
A major project for
revitalization was the
highway getting relocat-
ed to the east. But just
as it was completed
in 2008, the economy
took a tumble. Time for
more grit and persever-
ance and the business
community bounced
back.
Since then, there
have been façade up-
grades and a major wa-
ter line improvement for
By Liz O’Conell/For the Spokesman
the downtown business
Eric Sande, Chamber of Commerce.
district, which Sande
said has made it more appealing to business owners. But
just as business was ramping up again, the pandemic hit.
Luckily, businesses are back in swing and empty shops
are once again being filled. Sande estimates there is only
about a 15% vacancy rate in downtown, a healthy number
that encourages growth and opportunity.
Not only are new businesses popping up frequently, but
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