A new warehouse development is in the works near the Port of Centralia’s Industrial Park I, but it isn’t on port property.
During an Independent Development District public hearing held by port commissioners and staff ahead of their regular meeting on Wednesday, April 2, Port of Centralia Executive Director Kyle Heaton announced the completion of a property sale with Centralia farmer Manuel M. Roco near the industrial park in Fords Prairie. But the port wasn’t the buyer.
“Over the past several years, the port has continued to work in this area, Park I, and for the past several months, our neighbor’s to the north, the Rocos, entered into an agreement to transfer property to Logistics Property Company — who has graciously agreed to attend here today,” Heaton said. “They have been working with the port with the property they’re building to the north of us to make sure that it works with port development and partnership. We’re excited to consider a much larger partnership with them.”
Logistics Property Co. is an industrial real estate development firm headquartered in Chicago with developments across North America accounting for 23 million square feet of logistics space, according to its website, and has market value just under an estimated $3 billion.
Logistics Property Co. Executive West Region Vice President Dennis Rice, who works out of Southern California, attended the meeting to talk about the company and its development plans in the area. He was joined by several of his associates along with other regional development partners. Roco was also in attendance.
Some of the corporate partners who lease warehouse space from Logistics Property Co. include Boeing, Amazon, Ikea, Home Depot, S.C. Johnson & Son, Nike, Smuckers, Pepsi, Sketchers, Ace Hardware and more.
Rice reviewed the details for warehouse developments already in use by their partners in the region, including one in Frederickson that currently houses Boeing, Ikea, Ace Hardware and more.
“Total size is just under 3.1 million square feet, and they’re all state-of-the-art, modern buildings,” Rice said.
According to Rice, the company currently has plans to expand its portfolio to 39 million square feet across 76 industrial sites across the country.
Rice and his associates have also already been working with city and county officials to ensure their new Fords Prairie project is up to City of Centralia and Lewis County codes.
For the land in Fords Prairie, Logistics Property Co. has dubbed it the Fords Prairie Industrial Park. The first planned structure will be a 604,854-square-foot building on the 31-acre lot, located at 2717 Harrison Ave.
The sale price was not disclosed but, according to the Lewis County Parcels website, the property’s assessed value in 2024 was $544,900.
“This is our first building that we’re going to be doing on the property we purchased from Manuel there,” Rice said.
During public comment, the overwhelming sentiment among those speaking was in support. But, while he did welcome the company and its planned development, Centralia resident Brian Dow asked to ensure that the company keeps the wellbeing of the employees working in those warehouses in mind.
Centralia resident Gary Odegaard also raised concerns about potential traffic increases. The property’s seller, Roco, also spoke during the meeting.
“The care they (Logistics Property Co.) put in, and the amount of integrity they bring, it took a long time to get this to work,” Roco said. “It feels good. I can tell you they’re real people that really care about the community and their project. And that’s why I felt good enough to do this. It’s hard to sell your property, and I’m gonna live right there, but I’m still supporting this. I know them all by their first names … They are partners in this. They’re not just people trying to make a buck.”
Roco, who was born and raised in Centralia, told The Chronicle after the meeting the land was originally purchased by his parents and, during his life, he raised a variety of livestock and grew crops on it.
To learn more about the Logistics Property Co., visit the company’s website at https://logisticspropco.com/.
