So, when is PUMP'd going to open? Pt II

I wanted to send a quick update today saying that we had another round of "Comments" against our site plans.

The good news this time is that it was a single comment.

Our architect was lightning quick to revise and print off a new set of plans. Lori and I then dropped them off to the Planning Desk (Hello Sofia and Trish...again).

As luck would have it, Dale (Building Inspector) was there and made it sound like we "Could" have our permits on Thursday.

FINGERS and TOES CROSSED

The Toddler Room

We designed the Toddler Room specifically for our younger guests -- who might not be ready to tackle the giant inflatables with their older brothers, sisters or friends.

The Toddler Room will be filled with soft play toys such as over sized building blocks, teeter-totters and a foam house that can be built, knocked down and rebuilt. We also have a 9 foot tall playground climbing structure and slide. At the very heart of the room is the whimsical mural pictured above.

We contracted Arturo Thomae to create a mural that captures the essence of living on the central coast from a child's perspective.

Arturo has created many of the public murals we see in Santa Cruz County, including: The Beach Street Revival mural at the Boardwalk, the Exquisite Design's showroom building in Watsonville and a project at the La Selva Beach Firehouse.

He knew exactly the look and feel we were going for and captured it perfectly!!

We can't wait for our guests to experience this area of PUMP'd for themselves.

So, when will PUMP'd be open?

Alot of people have been asking us when we plan on being open. Unfortunately, we don't really have an answer for them/you.

At this very moment our architect and electrical engineer are updating our floor and electrical/lighting plans for submittal to the city. This will be our 3rd attempt at submitting plans for the ever elusive BUILDING PERMIT. This reminds me, I need to call our architect to find out if the plans are ready to be delivered to the city planning desk. The folks at the desk know me by name now (Hi Sofia and Trish) and are as eager for us to open our doors as we are.

Without the permit, our general contractor (Rod) and the sub-contractors are limited in what they can do for us. The good news is that alot of work has already started. The bad news is that we'll be losing momentum unless we get the permit(s) to complete the job(s).

Each time we have to re-submit our plans, the checkers have 5 business days to review and accept or issue "Comments". We have received 2 sets of comments so far. We hope these will be the last.

Rod assures us that once we have the permits that it'll take roughly 3 to 4 weeks to complete the job. Which puts us around Halloween, assuming there are no more comments after this round.

We'll include some pictures with upcoming posts so that you can see how the transformation is coming along.

Update: The new plans have been submitted. Fingers crossed

It's Takes a Village

While most people think that Lori and I are the one's bringing PUMP'd to life, we wanted to take a quick second to give a shout out to the people who are at our building, transforming what used to be a funiture store into something much much more special. Literally, without these people we would be nowhere:

Elaine Kiernan @ Financial Resource Associates (Santa Cruz)

Kristen Macken @ M Commercial (Santa Cruz)

William Ow @ Ow Properties (Capitola)

Bob Corbett @ Robert Corbett Architecture (Watsonville)

Rod Markell @ REM Builders (Santa Cruz)

Michael Serafin @ Serasoft, Inc (our website guru)

Arturo Thomae, Muralist (Aptos)

Marty Ackerman, Bradley Olin & everyone at the Redevelopment & Planning Dept with the city of Watsonville

These good folks are the one's that are truly bringing PUMP'd to life. If any of our readers find themselves wanting to start their own business, we suggest you "Google" anyone on this list.

The History of PUMP'd -- Condensed Version

The evolution of PUMP'd can be traced back to 2004. Lori and I have always wanted to start our own business that was centered around family entertainment.

At first we considered getting into the bouncer rental business (which we actually did for a short while). After some deep soul-searching and a meeting with our financial planner, the idea for PUMP'd was born.

We were referred to a commercial realtor and the hunt for properties began. We searched up and down Santa Cruz County (at roughly 7 buildings) Our requirements were pretty unique -- We needed a combination of space and ceiling height. Very few buildings had both.

Flash forward to April '08, we signed a lease for 555 Main Street in Watsonville. This used to be the home for Chavez Furniture, Heilig Meyer's and other furniture retailers.

Our section of the building is roughly 9,300 square feet. The majority of the space has a great barrelled roof architecture from the '30s. At center, it's 22 feet high. This is a PERFECT height to accomodate giant slides and obstacle courses!!

At this very moment there is a talented crew of electricians, plumbers and contractors working to make our space perfect for when we open our doors.

Welcome to our Blog

The management team at Pump'd is starting this blog in an effort to keep our future customers up-to-date on all things Pump'd.

The blog will be updated regularly, so please check back often. There's alot of great stuff going on & we want all of you to be included.