The outdoor clothier is negotiating with ADC Telecommunications,a Minneapolis company that consolidated its operations last yearand left behind 188,500-sf of space in three buildings on 7.82acres adjacent Sunset Park High School on the eastern edge ofBeaverton.

The property would provide Columbia twice the office space andquadruple the off-street parking of its existing headquarters inNorth Portland. Columbia spokeswoman Emily Kaplan tells GlobeSt.comthe deal will not close until any and all zoning, engineering andenvironmental issues are resolved. If all goes well, the companycould be relocated by next summer.

GlobeSt.com broke the news of Columbia's search for spaceseveral weeks ago. The company, which has grown its US employmentfrom 551 in 1995 to 786 today, was considering building anew on a6.6-acre parcel in the Central Eastside Industrial District,adjacent to the Willamette River and KPTV Channel 12. The ADC siteis an easier, less expensive transition, thanks to existingbuildings that may not even have to be renovated.