DATELINE: VANCOUVER, WA. OCTOBER 2004 –The economy is still licking its wounds from the dot-com bubble bursting a few years earlier; Clark County seems perched on the ledge of a market boom like none it’s ever seen; the business community shows signs of pent up demand with key attractions for business in place: commercial lease rates still moderately low, available land for development, population still growing at a 3 percent + annual rate, transportation hub for highway, rail, water and air…
Sounds eerily familiar, does it not? When the current uncertainty resolves itself – and most believe it will – the market is once again poised to break out and be the growth center it once was. While the population growth has slowed considerably, the percentage of the workforce currently unemployed might well be the best educated and motivated to work of any in the region’s history. There is no denying we’re all still licking the wounds inflicted by the Great Recession resulting in that same sort of pent up demand for both businesses and consumers alike.
But what of the past seven years? It was in October, 2004 when Brown Warrior Publishing LLC first acquired the Vancouver Business Journal, and anniversaries provide that unique opportunity to look back with a measure of perspective that helps put into context the challenges and trials of the present day. So what have those seven years meant for our company, our community and our region?
The first three and a half years saw one of the strongest booms the county and region has ever seen. The population in the fall of 2004 was nearly 390,000. Today, the estimate is closer to 430,000, or a 10.25 percent growth in seven years. However, population isn’t the only growth that has occurred in that time. We have been witness to a new hotel and conference center in downtown Vancouver, a second hospital (Legacy Salmon Creek) as well as an expansion to SW Washington Medical Center, the expansion of course offerings at WSU Vancouver to a full four-year undergraduate program, a new retail and commercial center at Battle Ground Village, the development of Columbia Tech Center including the CTC building housing the east Vancouver presence of Clark College and the 192nd corridor development.
In seven years we’ve also witnessed the coming of numerous companies in Southwest Washington, including Ryonet, MindLightning, Fisher Investments, Xiotech, Charter Communications, a Wells Fargo’s call center, the sale of New Edge Networks to Earthlink, the arrival of major retailers once believed to be interested only in sales tax-free Oregon such as Best Buy, World Market, Costco and others. Then there is the expansion of the entertainment arena (Cinetopia, Big Al’s) and the “auto mall” along Fourth Plain Boulevard and SR-500 (Carr and Alan Webb).
We haven’t been without our losses during this period. We saw the rise and fall of Gekkotek, Bank of Clark County, Warner Chevrolet, Geo Schmid & Sons and a significant portion of the residential and commercial construction community.
We’ve seen our own challenges and accomplishments at the Journal. Having taken over when the Journal itself was twice a month, we initially took it to every other week and in early 2009 began publishing weekly. Keeping with the changes in print, we introduced North Bank Magazine to the market in 2006 as the only lifestyle publication focused on Southwest Washington. Initially a twice yearly publication, we converted to quarterly in 2007. We also brought to the market our annual Health Resource Guide – the only local directory offering both traditional as well as alternative medical services providers in one source. Last year we were excited to focus on business women with the first Women in Business Directory in the entire metro area.
On the digital side of our business, we’re in our third iteration of a website and will be introducing the fourth and most robust version to you soon. We introduced email, such as this one (Just Business) as well as our Breaking News notifications. We’ve added video and podcast to our digital offerings and have more planned in the future.
