During the weekend in May when Johnson’s celebrated its grand opening in its new building with twice as much space I tried to get a few minutes with Brad Johnson, who owns and operates the store with J Johnson.

He was understandably busy, and unfortunately, we have not connected since then to talk about the new store. My husband works in retail, has been with one company for 15 years, so I get how hectic it must be to do what the Johnsons did in April and May. Sometimes I have to step away from a great story because it’s not the right time.

As Four Corner Square, which is owned by Indianapolis-based Kite Realty Group, continues to change and expand I have wondered what else is coming. And recently I conversed with someone who heard rumors about businesses that have signed or might soon sign on the dotted line. The kinds of businesses people in the community will want to patronize.

While I am excited about the new Walgreens opening up where Johnson’s was previously located — my husband works for Walgreens — and am pleased the community will have some new or refreshed dining choices I look forward to the next step of economic development.

In order to help transition this community from a place where people come to sleep and grocery shop to one where they live, play and work, companies need to come in which offer high wage jobs to match the knowledge base we’ve got here. I’ve talked about this before. And it’s the kind of thing Maple Valley city officials say they would like to see, particularly in the Donut Hole, which may well happen now that the Tahoma School District is moving forward with its plans to buy 35 acres in that 154-acre chunk of land owned by King County.

The district’s vision — which can only become reality if a construction bond measure is approved by the community, but, that is another column for another day — is to create a regional learning center on that property which would be home to a new Tahoma High School but also a space for not just district students but community members to pursue additional education. It’s a vision Kent Valley businesses are interested in supporting and partnering on, State Sen. Joe Fain, R-Auburn, told me in June as he worked with his colleague Sen. Mark Mullet, R-Issaquah, and Rep. Pat Sullivan among others, to get $4 million into the Senate’s capital budget to help the district buy that property.

Fain, who represents the 47th District along with Sullivan, told me that part of the reason he supported the allocation for Tahoma was because it could have a ripple effect well beyond Maple Valley into the region’s economy.

The idea of public-private partnerships which would connect students with job training and companies with potential future employees is great. It could bring in jobs, too, the kind of daytime population needed to bring in the other kinds of businesses residents of Maple Valley want to see here.

A constant refrain is Trader Joe’s. Not yet. Three different developers have told me that Trader Joe’s has told them this area is not in the plans for the next five to 10 years. The company wants to locate in areas with a more urban feel. We don’t have that out here at this point and it will take some time. And let me tell you, there is no other reason than that for Trader Joe’s not opening here, it simply isn’t in their short or long term business plan. That’s it. If you’ve heard anything else, it’s not true. Ignore the whispers and the rumors, especially the ones which throw other businesses and their owners under the bus. Anyone who is willing to run a business in this community deserves our support.

Patience is important. Economic development has been on the brains of city officials — elected and appointed — for close to a decade as it became clear in at least 2005 that once all the houses that could be built were built, that the 26,000 or so people who could live here were moved into the 5.8 square miles of Maple Valley, revenue had to come from another source.

That would be businesses. New businesses. The kinds of businesses which would employ people here. The sort of places where people who typically dwell in cubicles in Seattle, the Eastside or the Kent Valley commute to today.

It could happen. If all these visions come together and mesh, it could happen.

Then maybe we could see more family entertainment options. Maybe we could even at long last get a Trader Joe’s, or my preference, a Whole Foods. It would be great to have a movie theater or a bowling alley. I would be thrilled if a nonprofit like the YMCA could find a way to make a location here pencil out, too. I’m sure all my mom friends would be excited as well. Of course, we wouldn’t want that to drive out the Greater Maple Valley Community Center, which serves an important role here.

Maple Valley is still a young city out on the edge of civilization. With thoughtful conversation, planning and effort, as it moves into adulthood our community could have many — but not all — of the amenities of urban life we gave up when we moved here a year, two or even nine years ago as I did.

It’s an exciting time. It’s a nerve wracking time. It’s the edge of a precipice where we can build a bridge between our existing community and the one we wish to have, complete with all the services, amenities and perks, or we could fall off. I think the former will happen.

And all the better, too, for existing businesses such as Johnson’s which has been a cornerstone of the community’s economic engine for so long.

It would be better for Brad Johnson to always be too busy to chat with me than not.

Here’s hoping that’s always the case.