Sandpoint thrift store closes after notice of rent hike

The Sandpoint thrift store run by senior citizens will close today and move all its inventory into storage while volunteers search for a new place to rent.

The 3,000-square-foot building Sandpoint Senior Thrift has occupied for nearly two decades on Lake Street and Highway 2 was recently sold to local commercial property investment company Bookpoint, which sent a letter to tenants stating its intent to increase rent from $780 per month to between $2,250 and $2,700 per month.

Bookpoint owner Bruce Pedersen said the rent rates are not set in stone, and he is willing to work with thrift store volunteers to come up with a plan that will enable the store to stay. But allowing them to pay dirt cheap rent in a building he just purchased for top dollar just isn’t reasonable, he said.

“It’s just pure economics,” Pedersen said, adding that his proposed rental rates are still below market value.

He called the thrift store’s decision to move out “ridiculous.”

“I can’t begin to tell you how sensationalistic this has become,” Pedersen said. “We’re really not bad people. We want to help.”

Pedersen said the letter sent to tenants informing them of the proposed rent increases was meant to start a negotiation process between his company and the building’s current tenants.

“I can’t stress enough – completely negotiable,” Pedersen said.

Sandpoint resident John Elsa said after talking with store volunteers, Elsa decided to help the store find a new operating place.

Litehouse Foods Inc. offered a trailer for the thrift store to keep its things in while Elsa and store volunteers look for a new place.

“They’ve got a couple of options,” Elsa said.

Proceeds from sales at the thrift store benefit a variety of charity organizations in the Sandpoint area, such as the Sandpoint Senior Center, the Bonner Gospel Mission and Kinderhaven.