Four-acre parcel available for business development
Port of Vancouver Commissioners approved the purchase of Cadet Manufacturing’s electric heater production facility in Vancouver for $5.4 million.
The purchase includes 11 acres of land and a 75,000-square-foot building located on Fourth Plain Boulevard adjacent to existing port properties. Operations at the manufacturing plant will continue, with Cadet leasing the building and seven acres back from the port. Cadet has agreed to a five-year lease at the site with two additional five-year options.
The remaining four-acre parcel will be available for new business development at the site. The sale is based on a settlement agreement, signed by the port and Cadet last February and approved by federal district and bankruptcy courts in March, which resolves a multi-year lawsuit over liability for the cleanup. Under the agreement, the port will take over responsibility for completion of the environmental cleanup project at the Cadet site.
To help fund the cleanup, the port received $6.5 million from two Cadet insurance carriers and the right to seek recovery of an additional $14 million in insurance claims.
Contamination at the Cadet site, and also at property owned by the Port of Vancouver, was discovered during the construction of the Mill Plain Extension project in the late 1990s. Since 1998, Cadet and the Port have been working individually to clean up the sites under separate Agreed Orders with Ecology.
In other news, the port approved the purchase of the largest mobile harbor crane in North America to increase its ability to handle large scale cargo and to continue positioning itself as a “premier” cargo port, according to a statement from the port. The machine, costing more than $3.2 million is capable of hoisting up to 140 metric tons, almost double the lifting capability of the port’s largest crane.
With 80 wheels on 20 axle sets, the LHM 500S crane can maneuver in any direction, and can be positioned along the port’s marine terminals, cargo storage areas, or rail yards. The crane weighs close to 500 tons, has a tower height of 116.5 feet, and a boom length of 174 feet. The crane is powered by a 12-cylinder MAN diesel engine and is biodiesel-compatible. Port officials expect delivery of the new crane in late September.
–from Port of Vancouver statements
