Pendleton Woolen Mills and Washougal reach dealSubscriber Exclusive

Pendleton Woolen Mills has reached an agreement with the city of Washougal to develop 63 acres of its downtown property for industrial, recreational and residential uses. “The key points of this agreement, and any development agreement, are to create predictability, both for the city and for the property owner or the developer as to what’s going to go there,” said Pendleton representative Randy Printz, a Vancouver real estate attorney. “We’re really just trying to create a blueprint for what might go out there.” The Washougal City Council “finds that approving the development agreement is in the public interest, and it benefits public health, safety and welfare by providing for housing, long-term economic benefits, public trails and park amenities to the city,” according to an ordinance that was approved by a 5-2 council vote during a Feb. 24 meeting. “I’m really excited about the future of Washougal, and this is going to be a big part of it,” Mayor David Stuebe said. “We just need to make sure we do it right. We have to grow. We have to become more dense. But if we do it the right way, and we take care of our city, and we look out for all the things that we want Washougal to be, (this is) a great opportunity.” 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 Highway 14. Pendleton’s master plan includes approximately 175,000 square feet of neighborhood retail space and 190,000 square feet of office space and 780 multifamily residential units, and provides connector trails integrated with on-site open space, as well as other amenities. “We want to bring people to Washougal by giving them a place to live and a place to work and a place to shop,” Pendleton CEO John Bishop told the Post-Record. “Exactly how that breaks down will be determined by what people want and what people need. We haven’t really tried to analyze that yet. The development agreement gives us some flexibility — it’s a big piece of property, and it’s going to evolve over time.” Bishop said that Pendleton started talking to city officials about the development “quite a long time ago” but hasn’t “been too anxious to move forward with the development agreement because it seemed like the market wasn’t ready for any development.” “But now, you see the buildout that’s been heading east from Vancouver, and to my eye, it looks like it’s reaching Washougal,” Bishop said. “It’s exciting to see all that activity in Washougal, and we need to offer something that builds off that. It’s all about timing, and the timing seems right.” The city received verbal and written comments from residents, who expressed concerns about the plan including the removal of some baseball and softball fields; the desire to develop additional retail spaces when existing spaces remain vacant; potential soil contamination at the site; the development’s impact to schools, police and fire services; and traffic congestion, among others. “The people concerned about the project itself, it’s hard to respond to them. They’re jumping the gun. We’re not ready. There’s nothing to respond to, really,” Bishop said. “But it’s their community, and they want something that benefits their community. In general, I thought the concerns were well placed and completely reasonable.” Bishop also addressed a rumor that the Washougal mill, which has manufactured wool textiles for use in blankets, men’s and women’s clothing, and upholstery since 1912, will be permanently closing soon. “Unequivocally, there are no plans to shut the mill down,” he said. “We have an overage of blanket inventory, the mill is slow right now, and people put 2 and 2 together and come up with 5. It’s not illogical; we have two things going on at the same time. We had to lay off some people, and when people hear about layoffs and the development agreement, they think, ‘Is that a coincidence? Probably not.’ I understand that. But in this case, it’s a coincidence.” Doug Flanagan: 360-735-4669; doug.flanagan@columbian.com

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