Shoppers visiting Mountain Valley Center in North Bend over the past

few weeks have undoubtedly noticed a fair amount of construction and

maintenance projects. The most visible, of course, have been the repaving

and restriping of the parking lot and the new construction at the west end

of the complex.

For owner and developer Richard Zemp, the work is a sign that the

still- young shopping center is healthy and growing. He also feels that’s

indicative of a positive climate for business in North Bend, and a commercial

boon to area citizens.

“We just spent about $30- to $40,000 restriping and recurbing

the parking lots,” said Zemp last week. “We also are putting in a new

roof. The original contractor and his subcontractors had some problems,

so we’re spending about $60,000 to repair the initial roof installation.

“This is family-owned with me, my wife Roseanne, and our

children. We’re not a cut-and-run developer; we’re trying to keep it up as well

as we can.”

Zemp added the new construction will eventually house a chain

auto parts store. Originally, it was scheduled to become an Al’s Auto

Supply, but Shuck’s Auto Supply bought out that company.

“Our assumption is it’s going to be a Shuck’s,” he commented. “No

franchisee has been named yet, to my knowledge. I talked to the

contractor yesterday, and he said if the city continues to cooperate, they should

be able to open in a month.”

North Bend currently has two auto parts stores: North Bend Auto

Parts, at 1120 E. North Bend Way, and D&M Auto Parts at 119 W. North Bend

Way. When asked about the prospect of a competitor, D&M owner Don

Oster responded, “I’d just like to welcome them to town.”

Concerning the open land east of the construction, Zemp said he

was considering several options, ranging from a major pharmacy to “other

services that we think a community needs in a growing economy.”

“We’ve always tried to preserve the kind of services the

community feels they need,” he added. “We’ve

had a lot of inquiries.

“Talk to Safeway or Blockbuster or the others out there. All of

their businesses are improving monthly, and that’s not uncommon for what

we call a `green center.’ It takes five years to mature.

“Incidentally, none _ zero _ of those public improvements out

there _ water, sewer, streets, streetlights _ have been paid for by the city of

North Bend or the taxpayers,” Zemp concluded. “We’ve created over

1,500 jobs … that assists valuation and benefits everyone in the entire Valley.

It’s been a long, ongoing personal commitment.”