Port of Centralia Executive Director Kyle Heaton speaks at a Centralia-Chehalis Chamber of Commerce Forum in 2019.
Adjusting to a changing retail market was one of many topics broached by Port of Centralia Director Kyle Heaton during Thursday afternoon’s Centralia-Chehalis Chamber of Commerce forum at O’Blarney’s at the Gibson House.
Heaton said the organization is primarily committed to creating jobs and increasing the local tax base.
The guest speaker’s summary of the past, present and future of the Port of Centralia’s two industrial parks (Park I and Park II) and it’s latest mixed-use development (Centralia Station), included a report on the highly-anticipated construction of a WinCo Foods store slated to open during the second quarter of 2021.
“Everybody wants WinCo, we know,” Heaton said. “As far as grocery chains go, believe me, we’ve heard all about them on social media. They are tremendous employers and they have tremendous loyalty out of their employees.”
He said the employee-owned supermarket franchise is expected to deliver 150 new jobs.
He also gave an update on another Centralia Station tenant, United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI), saying the distribution company is continuing to “ramp up” operations on 4002 Galvin Road, and has been actively conducting business for the past two months.
On that subject, Heaton addressed traffic concerns that distribution centers like UNFI may pose for the surrounding communities by explaining to those in attendance that large trucks typically make their deliveries very early in the morning, with peak times between 1 and 3 a.m. The commercial vehicles, he added, usually complete their return trips by 7 a.m.
“They don’t want to get hung up in traffic anymore than you do,” he explained.
Heaton also discussed the construction of the Truss Company’s 80,000 square-foot manufacturing facility, which will ultimately create 80 job opportunities and possibly more with the addition of a third shift, he said.
Other projects that the Port Commission is “excited about,” he continued, are the expansion of Who Dat Towers, a fishing tower and custom trailer manufacturer, and diesel exhaust fluid manufacturer the Musket Corporation, which will be “growing’ and creating 20 new jobs in the near future.
What’s more, the Port of Centralia director briefed listeners on a commission hearing earlier in the week to approve the expansion of Cascade Mental Health for an intake and evaluation center that will be built sometime in 2020. An estimated 40-50 new jobs will reportedly result from this endeavor once its completed.
In addition, Heaton mentioned forthcoming infrastructure work in the Centralia Station area. The $800,000 undertaking will reportedly bring in a slew of utility services to the site.
Heaton later reflected on some setbacks and challenges his group has faced since launching the Centralia Station venture in 2012.
“When we began this project in 2012, what we were looking at was primarily a retail site with Fred Meyer as an anchor. And, you know, you’ve heard us say this: time kills deals— and it does. The longer permitting drags out, the longer these unknowns drag on,” he said. “The market doesn’t sit and wait for you. The market has changed.”
Heaton delved into the changing landscape of retail and how businesses must adapt to newer generations of shoppers.
“Retail as we’ve known it through our adult lives is over. It’s not going to be the same. My kids are 20-somethings and they don’t go to a store; they buy it all off a smart phone and it all shows up on their doorstep and that’s what they know. That doesn’t bode well for a lot of our ‘Shop Local’ campaigns,” said Heaton.
He added: “But I think that our local businesses can adapt just fine because they can provide something you can’t get from Amazon and that’s customer service.”
Any while new shopping habits have dissuaded many mid-box stores from expanding, it was noted, the Port Commission is in fact adjusting by focusing on “responsible industrial development” in the form of light manufacturing and distribution and shying away from welcoming in any form of “heavy smokestack” types of operations.
