News
With Land in Hand, Port Moves Forward with Blue Mountain Station Project
by Ken Graham
As it completes the purchase of the "Bell Property" on October 30th, the Port of Columbia is proceeding with engineering and a site plan. It will begin infrastructure development for Blue Mountain Station in the spring of 2010.
Above: Port Manager Jennie Dickinson and the future home of Blue Mountain Station.
The Port of Columbia has completed the purchase of 28 acres of land along Highway 12 on the west edge of Dayton, which is to be the site of the proposed Blue Mountain Station project. The property was purchased from Delbert and Kay Bell for $735,700.
"I'm very excited to take the next step and begin moving dirt," says Jennie Dickinson, the Port of Columbia Manager. Dickinson says that site and engineering plans for the first phase of the project should be completed in early 2010, and groundbreaking is slated for late spring. The Engineer for the project is USKH, Inc., of Walla Walla.
Blue Mountain Station is envisioned as an ecologically friendly "value-added" food products manufacturing center, focusing on sustainable organic and natural processed foods. The Port plans to recruit existing businesses and provide state-of-the-art facilities for them in the new development.
The proposal for Blue Mountain Station was created after an extensive "Columbia County Marketing Plan", initiated by the Port of Columbia in 2007. "We set out to listen to the community," says Dickinson. "Our goal was to create jobs that ‘fit' Columbia County." The Port hired consultants Gary White and Dennis Miller of Kennewick to develop the plan. White and Miller spent nearly a month in Dayton in the fall of 2007, talking to community leaders and business people and researching the business climate in the city and the county. They also researched business categories to find a niche that is growing and seeing increasing demand from consumers.
Above: Artist's rendering of Blue Mountain Station.
"Gary and Dennis presented a terrific plan," says Dickinson. "They recognized that two of the strongest characteristics of Columbia County are its agricultural heritage and its strong entrepreneurial tradition. Blue Mountain Station takes full advantage of both."
The Port's initial marketing study was funded by a $22,000 grant from the Washington Trust for Rural Development, along with matching funds from the City of Dayton and Pacific Power. In July, the Port received a $1 million financial package from the Washington State Community Economic Revitalization Board (CERB), for property acquisition and infrastructure development. The funding includes a $200,000 grant and an $800,000 interest-free loan.
The Port and its consultants did extensive research of land along Highway 12 west of Dayton and concluded that the Bell property was by far the best suited for the project, particularly because it allows access to City of Dayton water. Dickinson says that an independent commercial appraisal was conducted on the Bell property, and the purchase price is in line with the appraised value.
The CERB funds will pay for the land purchase and installation of roads and utilities for the first phase of the project. The Port is currently seeking additional funding for marketing and construction of buildings. "Next year we hope to begin serious recruiting," says Dickinson. She says that subsequent buildings will be built in the project as businesses commit to locate there.
Dickinson acknowledges that there are many inherent risks as the Port moves forward with development of Blue Mountain Station. "We've heard from a few community members that Dayton can't handle this kind of project, or that we won't be able to get businesses to move here," she says. "We certainly can't guarantee that this will work, but we definitely won't bring jobs to Dayton if we don't try." Dickinson stresses that the Port and its consultants have spent two years doing extensive research and developing a detailed plan for Blue Mountain Station. "We didn't slap this together in a hurry," she says.
Dickinson also pointed out that the Port has a clear back-up plan for the Bell property if they are unable to recruit businesses for Blue Mountain Station. "In the early 1980s, the Port purchased what was known as the ‘Oliver farm'," she says, referring to Port property that runs from Dayton Tractor and Machine, east along the south side of Highway 12 and Cameron Street almost to the High School athletic complex. "Over nearly three decades, that land has been nearly filled up." Dickinson says that the Bell property is ideal for additional light industrial and commercial development by the Port, even if its use is other than what's planned for Blue Mountain Station.
In October, Dickinson met with neighboring landowners to discuss their questions and concerns about Blue Mountain Station. "I think we helped most of them feel better about the project and addressed as many concerns as we could," she says. We'll never make everyone happy, but the citizens of Columbia County have stated clearly that they want new jobs. We think it is our duty to try."