Roads and utilities--a $7 million piece of the puzzle--are slated for completion in the summer of 2002, as are the development's first 200,000 sf of buildings, according to Jim Edwards, Birtcher's vice president of development and marketing. Edwards works out of offices in AmberGlen Business Center, a 213-acre Birtcher development in Hillsboro that is going gangbusters with three light industrial buildings and one class A office building currently under construction and largely preleased.

Birtcher Business Center will have a similar campus feel, says Edwards, but its zoning will dictate more of a single-story, light industrial feel than AmberGlen, which incorporates mid-rise class A office buildings into the mix. Birtcher has hired the Vancouver-based consulting firm JD White Co. to take the first phase of Birtcher Business Center through the master plan approval process.

"We expect the uses to be heavily oriented toward technology manufacturing, which is similar to AmberGlen," says Edwards. "Cascade Microtech, a manufacturer of computer testing equipment, is a tenant of AmberGlen and a perfect example of what we expect (for Birtcher Business Center)."

In a recent industrial property survey, 140 acres of the 220-acre property were described as prime industrial property. It is not yet know what percentage of the property will be set aside for wetland protection and, therefore, how much building square footage can ultimately be developed. The company expects to have the phase-one master plan approved "late this year and have product under construction shortly thereafter," says Edwards.

Speaking to the agreement with Keller Trust, Edwards acknowledged that "there is a price to that transaction," but says Birtcher is "not divulging any of the economics." Generally, he says Birtcher holds a long-term contract to develop lots on its own as well as sell lots to users."

Jack McConnell, a broker with the Vancouver office of Norris Beggs & Simpson, has the marketing contract for the property. It's a big win for the Portland-based real estate services company. It entered the Clark County market in 1985 and rapidly gained a better part of the business before some of its key producers went out on their own in 1997, taking some business with them. About 10% of the 6.5 million sf of space NBS manages is located in Ssouthwest Washington.

Roger Qualman, the NBS principal heading up the Vancouver office, says increased activity in the Vancouver area is rapidly creating a bigger pie, and NBS should be growing with it. To that end, Qualman plans to increase the number of brokers in the office from six to 10, expand its offices in Downtown Vancouver's CenturyTel building to make room and generally increase the company's exposure in the community.

"We need to regain market share because of the increased activity," Qualman told GlobeSt.com earlier this month. "We need to grow and we need to do a better job not only of selling services across the board, but also in our property management and real estate finance operations."

Instant Insights /

Birtcher Real Estate Prepares to Seek Approval for 220-Acre Light Industrial Park

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