Port wants food businesses in Dayton

By Drew Foster, Herald staff writer

DAYTON -- The creation of a new business park during an economic downturn is a welcome sight for folks in Columbia County, where the unemployment rate was 10 percent last spring.

The Port of Columbia Commission unanimously approved buying 28 acres in Dayton that, if the deal goes through at the end of October, will become the Blue Mountain Station -- the port's long-term business strategy to develop a food processing park.

Port Manager Jennie Dickinson declined to say how much the port will pay for property until the deal is done.

She hopes the food processing park will build off Columbia County's agricultural history by adding another outlet for area farmers and food vendors.

"It adds value to stuff they have here," she said. "Really, it's kind of like going back to the days of prosperity."

Dickinson wants to attract artisan, or small-market, food producers from around the Northwest to Dayton. She's already identified 9,000 businesses nationally that meet her criteria. She's added 1,000 businesses to her mailing list, which she's using as a recruiting tool.

"Our business model is to recruit first," she said, adding that once the initial development takes hold, other businesses may begin calling the Port of Columbia.

Before the Blue Mountain Station can become a reality, a cultural resource study is needed to make sure the area is not culturally sensitive to the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Dickinson thinks that can be done by mid-October.

If nothing culturally sensitive is found and the sale goes through, the port will begin building infrastructure -- roads, sewer, power and water -- on the 28 acres. The port was approved for a $1 million financial package from the state in July to help pay for the project.

Dickinson said the first phase of development will include three 10,000-square-foot buildings, one 15,000-square-foot building and one 5,000-square-foot building.

She hopes to create 52 jobs during the first phase and about 300 jobs within 10 years.

The prospect of adding jobs to Columbia County's lagging economy, where unemployment was 10 percent in June and 8.8 percent in July, excites Lisa Ronnberg, executive director of the Dayton Chamber of Commerce and managing director of the Southeast Washington Economic Development Association.

"I am hoping this will actually bring living-wage jobs to our community and, as a result, boost our schools and boost our downtown," Ronnberg said. "... I would love to see them come in with 30 to 50 jobs to start off with."

The port will either build buildings and rent to businesses, allow businesses to build buildings then lease them or sell lots to businesses.

Among the companies it hopes to attract are the growing number of organic and artisan food companies.

The Dayton area already has attracted some culinary tourism venues, such as the French-inspired restaurant Patit Creek and artisanal cheese facility Monteillet Fromagerie.

The existing Rock Hill Industrial Park has been developed over the past 30 years in Dayton and is near capacity. Of its more than two dozen lots, two are available.

"It's definitely going to be a different focus," Dickinson said.

-- Drew Foster: 585-7207; dfoster@tricityherald.com

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Friday, Sep. 11, 2009

Port wants food businesses in Dayton

By Drew Foster, Herald staff writer