The north bank of the Columbia River is on the precipice of history.
Largely devoted to industrial uses for much of the last century, the riverfront may be only a few years from becoming a far more economically diverse center of shops, restaurants and housing units – in no small part because of a sea-change in attitudes toward development on the part of the region's ports.
Port projects haven't traditionally affected city-based residential or retail development. However, with a comparatively small land swap in 2006, the Port of Vancouver may have helped initiate the largest urban mixed-use project in Southwest Washington's history.
We're referring of course to Vancouver's proposed Waterfront Redevelopment, which cleared a major hurdle when the city and private developers drafted an agreement last week on the estimated $1.3 billion effort.
But it was back in April 2006 that the project really got its first big boost when the Port of Vancouver designated 2.9 acres of its 800 acre-plus property as surplus – i.e. no longer needed for the port's operations. Conveniently located adjacent to the proposed waterfront project, this small parcel became an instrumental part of a plan to alleviate logistical issues, with a part of the port's rail system preventing the redevelopment of a site formerly owned by pulp and paper company Boise Cascade LLC.
"This is really an agreement that is bigger than the sum of its parts," said Port of Vancouver Executive Director Larry Paulson. "Without this land exchange, it would have been significantly more difficult and expensive to remove the rail spur from the Boise property so that it could be developed."
The exchange better served the port's estimated $100 million West Vancouver Rail Access project as well as helping developers Columbia Waterfront LLC by eliminating the rail spur on the Boise Cascade site. In addition, the swap will ensure future residents won't be startled by locomotive horns coming to and from the port. The West Vancouver Rail Access project will also reduce rail congestion by about 25 percent.
"It serves the port, our partners, our customers, and the community," Paulson said.
Though the Port of Vancouver's land swap is set to create big dividends for itself, private developers and the city, another important port hasn't been nearly as successful.
Four years ago, the Port of Camas-Washougal began exploring the feasibility of a 65-acre mixed-use project similar to Vancouver's proposed Waterfront Redevelopment. The proposal included plans to acquire 38 port-owned acres for an upscale mix of retail, restaurants, offices, condominiums, lodging and a marina, according to Scot Walstra, director of planning and development for the Port.
In this case, the Port of Camas-Washougal entered into a partnership with developers RiverWalk LLC, the company proposing a $350 million project dubbed RiverWalk on the Columbia.
"Anytime you have drop-dead gorgeous water frontage on the Columbia River, I think there's always going to be people wanting to talk to you about development," Walstra said. "I've lived here for 35 years and I've seen a lot of waterfront get converted from empty beaches and railroad frontage into condos and restaurants, so I think that will be a trend going forward."
Walstra said that the RiverWalk project suffered after the developers declined a substantially downsized parcel and tried to continue with their original plan. An arbitration panel awarded $607,852.67 in legal fees to the Port last August as a result of its disagreement with RiverWalk LLC.
Though Camas-Washougal's plans of introducing a riverfront mixed-use project have been put on hold for now, the trend toward finding new uses for port property continues.
The region's ports are public enterprises motivated by profit, with powers granted by the state Legislature to promote economic growth and create "family-wage" jobs.
To that end, the ports have not only been looking to stimulate mixed-use developments but to harnessing new streams of revenue in a diversifying economy. One good example is the Port of Vancouver's effort to create "green" jobs with the newly constructed Terminal 5 – planned to be a major gateway for a growing trade in energy-generating wind turbines.
Terminal 5 will also enable the Port of Vancouver to construct a critical section of the West Vancouver Rail Access project, eventually creating up to a thousand new jobs, according to Nelson Holmberg, a Port of Vancouver spokesman. "We work very closely with folks that are interested in operating at the port to make sure that we're not only meeting our mission, but also serving the community in the way we intended to," Holmberg said.
In total, the Port of Vancouver has 800 acres of developed industrial and marine property. In addition, they oversee another 1,080 acres of land for future development (including 1.5 miles of waterfront access). Managing these assets and their development are the port's main focus, according to Holmberg.
"We don't think of it as excess land," Holmberg said. "It's all land that will be developed in the future. It's all planned for."
The Port of Camas-Washougal is also actively planning for the future of its assets with plans for its East Industrial Park – a 127-acre parcel. In addition to this plot, the Port of Camas-Washougal has 33 acres for development, with a portion potentially put aside for a new road providing waterfront access.
"I won't doubt that there will be other proposals to do mixed-use out here because of the highway commercial, riverfront status," Walstra said. "The public will always want to be close to the water, so the idea of bringing shops and residences toward the water isn't out of the question."
The Port of Vancouver has its own shovel-ready plans, but views their role in local development in a more traditional sense – one that puts priority on industrial uses.
