Pendleton pitches development on 63 acres in downtown Washougal

Pendleton Woolen Mills is proposing to construct a mixed-use development featuring commercial, industrial, recreational and residential uses on 63 acres in downtown Washougal. Pendleton has applied to the city of Washougal for a development agreement for the project, which was presented to the Washougal City Council by City Community Development Director Mitch Kneipp during the Council’s Jan. 13 workshop. The Washougal City Council will hold a public hearing at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 24, to review the development agreement. “This is pretty exciting to be able to move forward,” Washougal City Manager David Scott said during the workshop. “Pendleton has been iconic in our community for a long time, and great partners … in lots of other different ways, so it’s been great to work with the family. Now (they) get to have a stake, not just as one of our largest employers and an iconic thing in our community, but to shape the future of what it’s going to be.” The 15-year development agreement includes information regarding environmental land-use regulations and transportation trip thresholds. “All of you are well aware, if you want specialty retail, restaurants, things like that ... you’ve got to have rooftops to support them,” said Pendleton representative Randy Printz, a Vancouver real estate attorney. “In short, that’s sort of what this development agreement proposes. When is this going to happen? That’s always what everybody asks — when’s the ground going to get broken? And the answer is always the same — when the market will support it happening.” The City and Pendleton “recognize the importance of jobs and residential densification within the City and particularly within the area that includes the property,” according to the agreement. “In furtherance of the desire to implement the City’s Town Center zoning and comprehensive plan designations, including the desire to provide residences within walking or short commute distances from downtown employment centers as they are developed, the parties wish to plan for the development of this area and increase predictability for each of the parties regarding the future development of the property,” the agreement states. The property is owned by Pendleton and consists of 10.1 acres where the current Pendleton building sits, 17.6 acres of mixed-use area on the east and west ends, and 21.1 acres of residential area in the center, including an area south of state Route 14, according to a City staff report. “I’m very excited about this,” Washougal City Councilmember Michelle Wagner said. “If it’s going to look like this plan, I’m very excited about the open space you designated, and I’m excited that the City’s come to an agreement, and that we’ll finally move forward in the future. Everything seems to flow really nicely and logically, so I really appreciate the thoughtfulness that went into this.” The existing Pendleton Woolen Mills building at 2 Pendleton Way will remain in place, according to a City staff report. The Washougal mill manufactures wool textiles for use in blankets, men’s and women’s clothing and upholstery. The company was founded in 1909 in Pendleton, Oregon. Pendleton’s master plan includes approximately 175,000 square feet of neighborhood retail space and 190,000 square feet of office space, and provides connector trails integrated with on-site open space, as well as other amenities, according to the staff report. Additionally, the report stated that about 780 multifamily residential units “are possible under the conceptual master plan.”. Kneipp said all of the proposed uses are consistent with the city of Washougal’s Town Center Core and East Village zoning districts, as well as the Town Center District Transportation and Infrastructure study conducted in 2017. The City mailed a public notice to property owners within 500 feet of the property on Jan. 7, and will soon issue its State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) determination, according to Kneipp. “I’m just excited to see this start,” Councilmember Molly Coston said. “I know it (could) take several years before it becomes financially feasible to really start cranking on it, but I’ve been on the Council a long time, and I remember a decade ago ... when this idea was (first discussed). We knew that it would happen right at some point in the future, so I’m very excited. I’ve lived here 24 years, and I moved here because I felt like it was a diamond in the rough, and it has a lot of amenities that are staying with us forever. But I’d like to see it, of course, more developed.” Linda Parker, Pendleton’s director of corporate communications, did not respond to The Post-Record’s request for comment in time for this newspaper’s print deadline.

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