(Contributed photo courtesy of Blue Turtle Pro Media) An aerial view of Port of Camas-Washougal properties includes the marina (left) and Washougal Waterfront Park and Trail (right).
Walkers and their dog enjoy a stroll at Washougal Waterfront Park and Trail. Local residents have expressed interest in seeing restaurants and coffee shops, as well as office buildings, a performing arts center and a specialty grocery store open near the waterfront. (Post-Record file photo)
The Port of Camas-Washougal has received submittals of qualifications from four companies interested in commercially developing up to 26.5 acres of land near Washougal Waterfront Park and Trail.
Port Chief Executive Officer David Ripp said port staff reviewed the proposals from RKm Development, Project ^, Williams/Dame & Associates, Inc. and Terra Pacific Development, LLC, and all four firms will be interviewed.
“After the interviews, we will hopefully choose one or two developers to continue more discussions on the development of the site,” he said.
The goal will be to make a recommendation to the port commission to agree on a joint letter of intent or memorandum of understanding with one of the developers, Ripp added.
Brian Vanneman, principal of Leland Consulting Group, in Portland, said he and Leland Senior Advisor Wally Hobson, along with Port of Camas-Washougal staff, will interview the development teams.
“We will talk with them about their vision for the waterfront and how we might work together to develop the vision … how that fits with the vision that the community and the port have defined to date,” Vanneman said by phone Monday, Feb. 4.
The waterfront property, zoned highway commercial, is located on part of the former Hambleton Lumber Company property, at 54 S. Second St., Washougal.
Port of Camas-Washougal commissioners approved a $137,092 contract with Leland Consulting Group to review developer qualifications, solicit developer design proposals and negotiate a preliminary deal and support the negotiation of a development agreement. Leland will also provide a market analysis summary, public buildings analyses of a cultural center and public market and a return on investment analysis.
Leland Consulting Group provided similar services for the Port of Vancouver, interviewing developers for the Terminal 1 waterfront project on 10 acres in Vancouver. The consultants worked with the Port of Vancouver and NBBJ Architects to complete a master plan, recruit an AC by Marriott Hotel and bring the restaurant, Warehouse 23 to Terminal 1.
Vanneman said Leland Consulting Group has worked on public private partnerships since it was founded in 1989. Previous Leland projects include Riverplace, in downtown Portland; the Everett Marina District Master Plan for the Port of Everett, in Everett, Washington; the Eugene Riverfront Master Plan, in Eugene, Oregon; and Independence Landing, in Independence, Oregon.
Waterfront Wishes
Meanwhile, people who live near the future Port of Camas-Washougal mixed-use development and within walking distance of Washougal Waterfront Park and Trail have a variety of opinions regarding what they would like to see built in that area.
John Hynds has lived along the waterfront for 21 years, and he likes the trail. Preservation of the waterfront for people to enjoy is important to him, and he would not mind seeing apartments located on top of businesses.
Hynds said he would prefer a performing arts center, rather than a community center or convention center, be located near the waterfront.
Nathan Leek, a 15-year Washougal waterfront resident, would like to see an upscale food market, such as Whole Foods or New Seasons, open in a future mixed-use development near his house.
Mike and Merry Marquand, of Washougal, waterfront residents for 20 years, live several houses down from where Washougal Waterfront Park and Trail end.
They attended a Jan. 22, Port of Camas-Washougal commission special meeting for a waterfront property discussion and update.
Merry Marquand said the future connection of Washougal Waterfront Park and Trail to Steamboat Landing will benefit a waterfront mixed-use project.
High-end residences will be constructed on parcels at the east end of the waterfront property, located adjacent to the port’s pedestrian waterfront trail and a future natural play area. The Killian Pacific residential project is expected to include 150 to 250 units, potentially developed in phases.
Dick Nathan, a Washougal resident who has lived in the Granite Highlands area for 12 years, said Saturday, Feb. 2, while walking along the Washougal Waterfront Trail that he puts in four miles a day there, rain or shine.
He wants places, such as coffee shops, to eat at along the trail.
“This is my favorite place to walk,” Nathan said.
