The cost and term of the lease was not immediately available, but it was well below market rents in the area, says Colliers International's Scott Fraser, who brokered the deal. Newer space in the area goes for between $0.35/sf NNN and $0.40/sf NNN, says Fraser, and at 40-years-old and counting, LakeRiver Industrial Park would come in well under market. "The Port of Ridgefield is excited to have this leased," said Fraser.
One of Clearwood Processing's neighbors in the park will be Tualatin Valley Builders Supply, which moved its wall panel system plant from a property near the Portland International Airport about a year ago. They lease only 25,000-sf of industrial building space, but use a significant portion of "the yard," said Fraser.
Ridgefield, located north of Vancouver, has the largest inventory of undeveloped, industrially zoned land on either side of the Columbia. The City of Ridgefield recently annexed 1,800 acres, the bulk of which is designated in the city's comprehensive plan to be zoned for industrial or business park developments.
As a result, there's been a fair amount of real estate activity in Ridgefield. Pacific Detroit Diesel recently purchase land for a development and the Schuck Corp. of Colorado just acquired control of 240 acres to which it plans to install infrastructure and then sell off lots for development.
Companies' interest in the property is in part due to the tax advantage of operating a business in Washington as opposed to Oregon. People may be thinking about where they want their business to be located when they sell it, because Oregon's income tax is much more onerous than Washington's business and occupation tax, which is based on revenue, not profitability.
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