Industrial property in Winlock is ready for development, the Lewis County Economic Development Council announced Monday.
After years of attempts to develop in Winlock, the Benaroya Company is finally moving forward with its industrial site.
The Benaroya Pacific Northwest Regional Logistics Center is a 320-acre industrialized zone near Winlock. Up to 5 million square feet of buildings can fit on the property, but Benaroya is still preparing the site for tenants.
“No tenants have committed to the site at this point,” said Matt Matayoshi, Lewis County Economic Development Council executive director. “We’re doing the pre-work to get the site ready to attract clients … We continue to market the property. I would say on average we have a couple site visits or interested parties per year. It’s a unique site, so we’re looking for the right clients.”
Matayoshi said he has seen interest from companies seeking a site for a distribution facility, for example.
Benaroya Company Manager Larry Benaroya did not respond to request for comment on Monday afternoon. City of Winlock Mayor Don Bradshaw would not respond to request for comment.
“We think this site is a great opportunity for future industrial development due to its convenient central location between Portland and Seattle and the fact that SEPA has been completed and utilities are now available to the site,” said Larry Benaroya in a press release from the EDC.
Bradshaw did not comment on the Benaroya project during the Winlock City Council meeting on Monday evening and would not take questions after the meeting adjourned. However, Lewis County Commissioner Bobby Jackson attended the meeting and addressed the council. He said that he and Bradshaw met with Rep. Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama, several months ago regarding the industrial site. Jackson said that he and Bradshaw hope for another $5.5 million in state funding from the next legislative session to continue developing the site.
“What he (Bradshaw) has shared with me is that he has a three-year plan not only to get the water out there, but to get the road built, get sewage out there, and then they can begin looking for business to come in, industry, whatever that might look like,” Jackson said after the council went into executive session.
Said Bradshaw in a press release from the EDC, “The construction of the waterline this summer will move us one step closer to having the site shovel ready for a future manufacturing or distribution facility. We are open for business, we want people to know that we welcome new investment.”
Lots on the site are available for sale or lease. In addition, the Benaroya Company will build buildings of practically any size for sale or lease, according to the press release.
In the last legislative session, Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, helped secure $1.5 million to bring water to the industrial site. This money will fund a 1.3 mile waterline extension.
“We have that $1.5 million that’s going to build water to the site, so we see the community of Winlock reinvigorated and ready to help,” Matayoshi said. “Benaroya is putting effort into developing the site as well. So things are moving ahead … We’re encouraged by the progress and Braun’s work to get the funding for water.”
Matayoshi was reluctant to give an exact number of jobs the site will bring to the area, but noted two to three jobs per acre after the property is developed would be on the conservative side. That puts the number at between 640 and 960 jobs if every acre on the property was developed.
Benaroya Company, which is based in Bellevue, purchased the site in 2006. After years of attempting to move the project forward, it attempted to auction off the site in 2015. While the opening bid was set at $2.5 million, the property did not sell.
