WOODLAND, Wash. (AP) - A $3 million federal grant awarded Thursday will help the Port of Woodland build a new industrial park, add hundreds of jobs and generate millions of dollars in private investments in the community.
The Daily News reports the grant, from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration, will fund a “substantial” portion of the port’s Rose Way Industrial Park, said Jennifer Wray-Keene, port executive director.
That project aims to build six buildings for light industrial and manufacturing businesses on about 12 acres. The park could support 375 to 425 jobs, Wray-Keene said. The total number depends on which companies lease the buildings, she said.
The port is waiting to sign letters of intent with renters until building designs are finalized, Wray-Keene said. However, several current port tenants and other businesses are already asking about leasing space, she said.
“As we always say, we have a waiting list on Down River Drive (Industrial Park). So if we had all six buildings built, we would likely have them full right now,” Wray-Keene said.
Costs to construct the first building, a 23,000-foot-structure, will be covered by the grant. That building alone is expected to create 126 jobs and generate more than $6.4 million in private investment, according to the Department of Commerce.
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