Friday, October 19, 2012

Vancouver USA Receives Industrial Park Grant



The Port of Vancouver USA has been awarded a $5.7 million grant for the development of almost 60 acres of the port’s Centennial Industrial Park.

The grant agreement between the port and Washington State Department of Commerce was finalized in September and announced Oct. 16. The funding was provided through the Washington State Legislature’s “2012 Jobs Now Act,” a $1.1 billion capital budget package aimed at stimulating the state’s economy.

The project was of a set of port infrastructure projects put forth by the Washington Public Ports Association. It’s expected to attract an estimated $100 million in private-sector investment and create as many as 500 new jobs for the local community.

Centennial Industrial Park, which is situated in Southwest Washington, encompasses 108 acres zoned for light industrial use. It has proximity to a deep-draft shipping channel, key freeway freight corridors, and dual-carrier rail service by BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad.

“There’s good reason for the Columbia River Economic Development Council’s designation of this property as a development of county-wide significance. It’s one of the most development-ready light industrial sites in Clark County,” Curtis Shuck, the port’s director of economic development and facilities for the port, said. “And thanks to the grant funding we can fast-track our site improvements to meet growing market demands, which is especially important now that the port’s industrial occupancy rate is 99 percent.”

The port says grant funding will be used to make infrastructure improvements to the first 58 acres of the park, which will support future development of about 550,000 square feet of manufacturing, production, warehouse and ancillary office space. Specific improvements include final site preparation, installation of underground utilities, construction of roadways and sidewalks and the creation of a new storm water management system.

The current site plan divides the property into seven buildable lots ranging from five to 11 acres, with the ability to be assembled into larger parcels to accommodate marketplace needs. According to the Washington Public Port Association, infrastructure construction is expected to begin later this month and be complete in July 2013.