Developers and port will split profits 50-50
Riverwalk developers are looking to create a waterfront vision that will last for the next 100 years. And those developers have set up the project in a way they hope will still be beneficial to the community at that point.
Riverwalk LLC entered into a long-term lease opportunity with the Port of Camas-Washougal that guarantees the developers will lease port property for what principal Mark Benson calls next to nothing. The LLC will then pay for all vertical construction, and after debt service, will split all proceeds with the port equally.
The baseline lease will be negotiated when the developers exercise the lease, said Riverwalk LLC principal Rick Bowler, who added that it will be a no-net-loss agreement for the port.
The rare agreement only stands to be beneficial for both parties, Bowler said.
Because the developers are not strapped into paying the up-front costs of purchasing a large chunk of land, they will be able to focus on what is best for the community long-term rather than on what will provide the quickest return on their cash.
It’s less restrictive, and will allow for more open spaces and parks that might have otherwise been filled with revenue-bringing retail spaces or condominiums, said Riverwalk LLC principal John McKibbin.
Plus, in the end, the port will still be the landowner, which really means the public will own the development, Bowler said.
"The community will always own the asset," he said. "Eighty years down the road, the community will still benefit from half of the income stream. And these are new dollars. These aren’t dollars that are shuffling from one hand to another today."
So what’s in it for the developers? A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Bowler said.
"We had a vision that we could do great things for the communities of Camas and Washougal," he said. "We had the chance to do something. I think we’re all under the same banner of trying to leave the world a better place and be passionate about our work. To be able to make the community a better place and make money is the best possible situation."
At this point, the port owns just more than half of the 65 acres of property developers would like to transform into a waterfront paradise. The port is working with the private landowners there to potentially become part of the project.
"We’ve looked at other waterfront developments, and we’re convinced this could be The Pearl of Southwest Washington," Bowler added. "It’s going to be a huge, huge benefit to the community, and I’m frankly surprised nobody thought to do it sooner. … But we wanted to do it right, rather than right now." — Megan Patrick
