Biz Park Breaks Ground In Jan.

WAITSBURG - With the first tenant already in hand, the Port of Walla Walla plans to break ground for its new Waitsburg Business Park north of town in January, according to Jim Kuntz, the agency's executive director.

"We think it's going to be a magnet for other busi­nesses," Kuntz said in a presentation last Tuesday to members of the Waitsburg Commercial Club. "We're excited about it."

The 12.6-acre industrial site will have seven lots of varying sizes. The first order of business is the construc­tion of utilities and a cul- de-sac road off Mill Race Road called E.J. Hays Place, named after former longtime Waitsburg City employees Elmer and Joan Hays.

Lot 1, on the corner of Mill Race and the future Hays Place, will be built out by Harry Johnson Plumbing & Excavating. The Walla Walla construction company wants to put a 10,000-square- foot shop on that corner and use a portion of the 1.5-acre lot for storage.

Kuntz said the port has approved $400,000 in its 2013 budget for the park's infrastructure development, a contract for which has been awarded to Culbert Con­struction of Pasco. The park will be done and ready for tenants in early May, he said.

Located within several blocks of Highway 12 and offering affordable real estate prices, the port expects the Waitsburg Business Park to be of considerable interest to additional tenants who are looking to establish or grow their presence in Walla Walla County.

The types of business potentially interested in the park include light manufac­turers, wineries (possibly with a tasting room), craft breweries, electrical and plumbing contractors, ware­housing and distribution companies, Kuntz said. The typical workforce for such businesses is 5-10 employ­ees. Johnson is expected to employ at least three work­ers, Kuntz said.

In addition to preparing the park's infrastructure, the port may also consider erect­ing "a development build­ing," a turnkey or "plug and play" structure for businesses interested in an existing space to move their enter­prise, he said.

With real estate values lower in Waitsburg than Walla Walla, port clients with an eye on Walla Walla county for a new location will be drawn to the park's afford- ability and the city's quality of life for their employees, the port's top official said.

Waitsburg is also a good location for companies serving a larger region. Johnson, for instance, does a lot of business in the Lewiston- Clarkston area, Kuntz said.

Once Johnson Plumbing & Excavating is settled in north of town, the port will be able to showcase the park to new clients, he said. "We want (the building of owner) Mark Johnson up and looking good. The Waitsburg Business Park will be the most competitive in our port- folio."

Kuntz credited former Port of Walla Walla Com- mission President Ken Jantz with the vision to buy the city property for eventual development. The port did so almost two decades ago through a combination of direct purchase and taking over land donated by the city at a time when former Times Publisher Tom Baker was mayor.

Port Commissioner Mike Fredrickson, whose district includes Waitsburg, was credited with advocating the property's development after Johnson showed interest in locating there. After the 1999 flood, the port sold 3 acres of the original 16 acres to the county to build its public works shop.

Kuntz and Fredrickson gave Commercial Club members a further update on the port's general growth. Founded in 1952, the agen- cy's mission is to foster economic development in the county and promote the creation and retention of family-wage jobs.

Its projected revenues for 2012 are expected to reach more than $15 million. Businesses assisted by the port in one form or another through location or transportation fa- cilities employ 5,602 people, accounting for nearly a quar- ter of the total wages paid in the county.

Those port-assisted companies pay nearly $5 million in property taxes. Seven out of the county's 20 largest taxpayers are among these companies, Kuntz said. For every dollar the port takes in taxpayer support, it gener- ates $3.32 in property tax revenues for county services.

One of its biggest projects is the construction of the 500,000-square-foot at the Dodd Industrial Park near Burbank for the rail-based storage and transportation of wine.