Cold storage company spends $1.1 million for land to build new facility in Pasco

A Tri-Cities freezer and refrigeration storage company plans a major expansion in Pasco.

Kenyon Zero Storage is buying 21 acres from the Port of Pasco for about $1.1 million to expand its cold storage capacity at the Foster Wells Business Park.

And two other companies are close to closing deals with the port for land at the 50-acre light industrial area.

The Foster Wells Business Park is currently home to Second Harvest, Rock Placing Company, Volm and Teton Gold.

Pioneer Packaging and PECCAS, a local landscaping company, are expected to buy land there, as well.

Pasco-based Kenyon intends to build a 202,000-square-foot storage facility next year, with construction to start in the spring.

“One of the main deciding factors in constructing our cold storage facilities at the Port property was the proximity to the many existing food processors at the Pasco Processing Center, the diverse agricultural crops grown in the Columbia Basin region, and the ease of access to major transportation routes to the Pacific Northwest,” Kenyon president Scott Wingert said in a news release.

The company currently has storage facilities in Pasco, Prosser and Grandview. The 410,000-square-foot Pasco storage facility was expanded in 2015.

Growth in the cold storage and food processing industries spurred the port’s recent $6.5 million purchase of 300 acres north of the Pasco Processing Center for a new industrial area.

“We have sold nearly all of the vacant land at the Foster Wells Business Park,” said Mayra Reyna, the port’s director of properties.

The Pasco Processing Center — a partnership with the city, port and Franklin PUD — is full, and the port has just two lots left for sale at its Foster Wells park, she said.

Reyna said port officials soon will begin working on the master plan for the new Reimann Industrial Center.

“Kenyon Zero’s expansion demonstrates the success of our economic development strategy,” port Executive Director Randy Hayden, said in a news release.

“We were not only successful in recruiting food processing to our region, but also companies serving that industry, like Kenyon Zero. The strategy helped bring new jobs to Pasco,” he said. “Kenyon is one of the top 10 taxpayers in Franklin County which helps support local governments and local schools.”

Kenyon tries to recruit prospective clients to its Pasco facility’s by promoting its quick access to area highways, airports, sea ports and rail lines.

New industrial park

Last month, the port announced buying 300 acres from Balcom and Moe for the future industrial center off Highway 395 in north Pasco.

The port will keep the property in agricultural production as it works on the project. The process could take up to 20 years.

The port received a $2.25 million loan from the Hanford Area Economic Investment Fund Board to buy the land.

The balance came from the port’s Economic development Opportunity Fund.