ROK RIDGEFIELD INDUSTRIAL plans construction of up to 110,000 square feet of industrial buildings on this 10.5-acre site purchased May 8 from the Port of Ridgefield. It could create up to 175 new jobs, according to ROK. Photo courtesy of the Port of Ridgefield.
The Port of Ridgefield has announced the sale of 10.5 acres of industrial-zoned land that could lead to an estimated 175 new jobs in the city.
The sale for $1,271,952 was finalized May 8, port Director of Business Development Randy Mueller said in a news release. ROK Ridgefield Industrial purchased the land, which sold for about $4 per square foot for the property’s developable area, according to the release.
The property is west of the current terminus of South 11th Street in Ridgefield, near Parr Lumber and Agave Jeans. ROK provided the port with plans outlining construction of 90,000 to 110,000 square feet of industrial buildings at the site, Mueller said.
ROK is negotiating with two potential tenants – a distributor and a light industrial enterprise, according to the release. Collectively, the two operations could bring up to 175 new jobs to town, the release added.
“If our negotiations are successful, these two tenants would take up about 60 percent of the industrial space to be constructed, leaving room for the addition of more businesses in the future,” said ROK’s managing member, Elie Kassab, president of Vancouver-based Prestige Development.
Construction is scheduled to start in late spring 2015 after the port completes construction of an access road to the site, the release said.
Kassab explained that Ridgefield’s location made the property attractive.
“In addition to having industrial lands available, Ridgefield is extremely well-located on I-5, and has easy access to I-205,” he said. “From Ridgefield you can get to PDX quickly, north to Olympia and Seattle, and south to Portland and all the way to Mexico. You’re not out there all by yourselves. There are other neighboring businesses, yet there’s still room for expansion.”
Prestige Development has done projects in Sandy, OR, and Independence, OR, but this is the firm’s first venture in Ridgefield. Kassab said more development there is likely.
“I see Ridgefield as a growing community, and a place for us to lead a new wave of development,” he said. “Historically our development efforts have been to fill a need in the community, and we hope to do this in Ridgefield.”
Port CEO Brent Grening called the sale a continuation of the port’s effort to spur business growth in the industrial park area. He said demand remains high, and the port commission supported the sale because commissioners liked the potential for new jobs and that it could generate additional business activity in Ridgefield.
“The investment risk taken by ROK with the purchase of the property, and its plan to build new industrial buildings, indicates that Ridgefield is on the map when it comes to development,” Grening said in the news release.
The Port of Ridgefield purchased a 78-acre parcel of land in 1984 to create the Ridgefield Industrial Park. The industrial park and adjacent development is now home to about two dozen businesses that provide hundreds of jobs, according to the port.
