Waitsburg Gets Biz Park

WAITSBURG - After nearly 20 years of little to no activity at the 10 acres of property the Port of Walla Walla owns in Waitsburg, the piece of farmland will soon become a light indus- trial park.

Jim Kuntz, the execu- tive director of the Port of Walla Walla, said the port obtained about 16 acres of land east of the city through donation from the city of Waitsburg and through a land sale in 1993 and 1994. He said the land was always planned for a future light industrial park. Small infrastructure improvements were made in 1998, and after the flood of 1999, the port sold 3 acres to Walla Walla County to build its shop.

Now, Mark Johnson, the owner of Harry Johnson Plumbing and Excavating, is interested in moving his construction business onto the land. The land will be divided into seven lots and after Johnson moves in, Kuntz is hoping for more interest from other busi- nesses looking to move to Waitsburg.

"Waitsburg is a good place to have your busi- ness," Kuntz said. "I think it will spur some interest. It was always a piece of farm ground with a vision."

He said the reason the land sat for so many years is because there simply wasn't demand for that kind of business space in the Waitsburg area.

"Anytime you develop a business park property it's a demand issue," Kuntz said.

The port's budget for this project is about $382,000 that will pay for improve- ments necessary to make a business park, including road access, sewer and wa- ter hookups.

Johnson will first lease the property from the port and then he is expected to purchase it, Kuntz said.

For Johnson's business, the plan is to construct a building and a storage yard. And the project is expected to move quickly, weather per- mitting. Kuntz said the port's part of the improvements will go out to bid in the next 30 days. The final designs of the building are being finished up and the construction of the building should begin later this fall, he said.

Kuntz said he is "cautious- ly optimistic" about the project and he hopes that having one business at the park will bring in others. He called the recent development a "market validator," meaning that others should begin to see that Waits- burg is a great place to bring your business. He's looking forward to getting the land ready to accommodate what he sees as a future demand.

Johnson said he will keep his business office at the cur- rent Walla Walla location on Isaacs and will conduct the service end of his company at the new property in Waits- burg.

"It's a new challenge," he said.

The reason for the new shop is all about location. Johnson does a lot of con- struction work in Whitman County and moving to Waits- burg will reduce the commute a bit. He likes the port's prop- erty and working with the port staff and commissioners on this project, he said.

And while the building won't be up immediately, Johnson is planning to build a 4,000- to 6,000-square foot shop with some nice landscaping. He hopes other companies follow suit and move into the other lots soon after.

Johnson, whose mother was born in Waitsburg, knows that his business will help the overall economy in town through gas and other related purchases by his company. And he just hired a Waitsburg resident last week.

"It just makes sense," Johnson said of the devel- opment in Waitsburg. "And it's kind of going back to where (we) started."