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.”