Complicated $30M land swap to double Pasco industrial site
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Port of Pasco executed a $30M property swap to add 320 acres to Reimann site.
- Expansion targets firms needing 100+ acre sites with rail, roads and utilities.
- Port industrial site expansion aims to anchor shipping hubs and ease port congestion.
The Port of Pasco is doubling its Reimann Industrial Center as it works to build on the success of the $1 billion Darigold plant that began processing milk there in June.
This month, the port initiated a complicated property swap worth about $30 million that will add 320 acres to Reimann, its prized development park in north Pasco.
Adam Lincoln, the port’s executive director, said there is a shortage of larger sites for industrial development, particularly ones with roads, infrastructure and rail service.
“We get a lot of inquiries for people who need upwards of 100 acres plus at a time. We don’t have any letters of interest or contracts. But we know there is a lot of interest, especially in rail,” he said.
The expanded Reimann could anchor growing interest in creating shipping hubs with the Mid-Columbia ports of Pasco and Walla Walla to relieve congestion at the Northwest Seaport Alliance terminals in Seattle and Tacoma.
Jobs, property taxes
Reimann is a 300-acre industrial park established in 2019 on former farmland north of the Pasco Processing Center.
The port and regional partners, including Franklin County, the city of Pasco and state of Washington, invested in new roads and utilities to support its mission: Attract business, boost the property tax base and create jobs.
Success arrived in 2021 when Darigold Inc., the marketing and production arm of the Northwest Dairy Association, picked it for a massive milk-processing plant. The project was billed as a $500 million undertaking, but swelled to more than $1 billion.
Reimann’s acres were quickly acquired by additional developers, notably Darigold’s milk-hauler. Lynden Transportation Inc., the Seattle-based company known for its “Milky-Way” tankers, made a deal with the port to create a trucking station at Reimann.
The port ran out of land to sell, but the phone calls kept coming.
Shopping list
That sent it searching for ways to expand Reimann.
Balcom & Moe’s farmland to the east was the obvious candidate.
The Pasco ag company led by Jared Balcom, was open to selling. There was a catch.
The business would sell the acres next to Reimann, but needed to replace them elsewhere to maintain its size. That sent the port scouting farmland in Franklin County.
It found the solution in the form of the 142-acre Peterson farm on Dogleg Road. It entered an agreement to purchase the property with the intention of transferring the deal to Balcom & Moe.
The property satisfied Balcom & Moe and the swap went when the “i”s were dotted and “t”s crossed.
$30M property swap deal
Balcom & Moe paid $3.8 million for the Peterson property on Nov. 11, Franklin County property records show.
The port paid Balcom & Moe $7.2 million for the first 73 acres near Reimann on Nov. 17.
The remaining acres will be purchased in two stages.
The agreement gives the port up to 2 1/2 years to close a $13.2 million transaction for the next 165 acres, and five years beyond that to pay $6.9 million for the remaining 86 acres.
The purchase price began at $99,000 for the first part and $80,000 an acre for the remaining land, with prices increasing at 2% each year.
Port officials said the land prices are based on fair market appraisals.