Peter Powell, CEO and founder of Powell Development Company and Centralia Station Project leader, discusses how Fred Meyer’s building will look as well as the surrounding area on Monday, April 10, 2017, at the Centralia-Chehalis Chamber of Commerce luncheon in Centralia.
A rendering from 2013 shows what Centralia Station might look like.
The developer behind the Centralia Station project is moving forward with plans to bring Fred Meyer and dozens of other businesses to the planned development near Mellen Street in Centralia.
Peter Powell, of Powell Development, told a crowd of local business leaders Monday that as long as a federal permit for Interstate 5 access is granted and the company is able to successfully work with the city of Centralia on utilities and road issues, the development will become a reality.
The 43-acre multistore center south of Mellen Street will be focused around a 127,000-square-foot Fred Meyer with a gas station, garden center and drive-through pharmacy. As the project leader and CEO of Powell Development, Powell estimates there will be 30 to 40 storefronts ranging from 2,700 square feet to 40,000 square feet. Powell Development is the owner of the center and has been working with Fred Meyer, the Port of Centralia and the city of Centralia since purchasing the property from the Port of Centralia, which has spearheaded the development over the last several years.
“We see it as a joint effort between the port, us, the city and Fred Meyer,” Powell said while addressing business community at the Centralia-Chehalis Chamber of Commerce monthly forum Monday at The Gibson House Events Center. “No one entity can do it alone.”
The port’s role was to acquire the property and find a developer for the project. Powell Development was chosen last month.
“Bottom line, we are here to create business and industry opportunities,” Port Commissioner Dan Keahey told The Chronicle. “If this goes through we will have accomplished our goal.”
Cooperation also came from the state Legislature with Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, helping to earmark $4.53 million for a new access point from Interstate 5 at the rebuilt Mellen Street overpass, Powell said.
“Improving access to this new development will support significant economic development and create job opportunities benefitting area residents,” Braun said. “Centralia Station is a great example of private development and government working together to help meet the current and future needs of our community.”
Permits for the new ramp are pending approval from the Washington State Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration. The Port will also need to extend Yew Street into the center, Centralia city manager Rob Hill said.
“Without that access, we go away,” Powell said about the freeway ramp. “We have the funds. We are now waiting for the permits.”
Aside from the Fred Meyer, the center will have a hotel and several other shops ranging from box stores to locally owned businesses. Local restaurants and fast food chains are also likely.
“We definitely want a local flare to this, then have some national (chains) around it to give it a nice flare,” said Josh Parnell, leasing specialist from First Western Properties, the property management firm overseeing the leasing.
Once ground has been broken, Mike Brehm, vice president of Powell Construction, expects the project will take between 16 and 18 months to complete.
“Our goal is to have everything done when Fred Meyer opens,” he said.
A few tenants will still be moving in and setting up their businesses, Brehm said. Construction on other aspects of the center will not be going on after Fred Meyer opens.
Brehm said he is planning on hiring local contractors, ranging from plumbers and electricians to masons and carpenters. In total, he expects around 200 local jobs to be created by the construction.
“It is hard to pinpoint the exact number,” Brehm said. “We always want to hire local people. There always seems to be a better talent pool locally instead of bring people from afar.”
The Fred Meyer store will create around 200 to 225 full-time, year-round jobs, Powell said. The store is expected to annually generate over $300,000 in tax revenue for the city.
“It is very helpful,” Hill said. “Anything that brings jobs to the city we are excited about.”
The aspect Hill likes most about this project is improving the Mellen Street gateway into the city. The property values will increase and it will have a more inviting feel, he said.
The center itself will be owned by Powell Development for the long term, Powell said.
“We don’t give you the taillight guarantee,” he said. “Once you stop seeing our taillights we don’t care, that is not us … we are going to be here a long time, we want to be part of your community.”
Centralia College was previously discussed as a potential tenant at Centralia Station, but Powell said no one from the college has come forward to request space. He said the company is openly accepting recommendations for what businesses the community would like to see open in the development. Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Alicia Bull said the chamber will soon announce a way for residents to submit their suggestions.
According to a report released by ECONorthwest last year, once Centralia Station opens at full capacity, the businesses would employ 535 people in Centralia, earn $118 million in annual sales and pay almost $7.1 million in state and local taxes.
