A $21 million agreement to purchase the property southeast of Fourth Plain and Stapleton Road seemed all but certain two and a half years ago. That deal, at the heart of plans to revitalize the blighted Fourth Plain corridor, never closed, in part because of VHA environmental and financial concerns.

Tonight Vancouver City Council will vote to reclaim community renewal authority for the corridor, a move that will put city leaders at the forefront of efforts to make better use of the property.

“It makes sense to step aside and let the city progress with negotiations,” said Roy Johnson, VHA executive director.

Vancouver does not plan to take on VHA’s original ambitious plan to buy and develop the Kyocera property, said Pat McDonnell, city manager. The city does hope, he said, to work closely with any future owner of the site, which includes a 95,000-square-foot manufacturing building that has been vacant since AVX Corp. shut down in December 2001.

Minimal progress

Before the $21 million sale fell through in 2006, the VHA wanted to set aside 6.7 acres for multifamily housing and a child care center, and another 27 acres for business use. The agency planned to draw on its experience with Esther Short Commons in downtown Vancouver and Anthem Park in Uptown Village to revitalize an area that suffers from higher poverty and crime rates than the rest of the city.

But three years after the city council empowered VHA to guide redevelopment along a dilapidated stretch of Fourth Plain Boulevard from St. Johns Boulevard east to Andresen Road, there has been little tangible progress.

Vancouver officials hope that changes soon.

Moving ahead

They are already reviewing code changes aimed at revitalizing the Fourth Plain corridor. The rules, not yet approved, aim for a more walkable street, with large buildings close to sidewalks, inviting front windows, and parking pushed to the rear. The city is also considering temporary property tax waivers to encourage the development of owner-occupied housing.

Kyocera officials say they look forward to working with Vancouver as they actively seek a buyer, though they have also not ruled out developing the land themselves.

The chemical contamination that worried VHA has been traced to an off-site source, Jay Scovie, Kyocera spokesman, said in an e-mail.

“What is important to Kyocera is not the past, but the future,” Scovie said. “Any outcome will have the objectives of the Fourth Plain corridor in mind.”

VHA’s role

The VHA would still like to assist with the development of affordable housing in the area, Johnson said.

The housing agency is not getting out of the community renewal business, despite its step away from this particular project, Johnson said.

“The housing authority is designated as a public development authority,” he said. “I have a very strong interest in being a tool for redevelopment, and the board supports that as well.”

The VHA must now decide what to do with 1.8 acres near Kyocera that it purchased for $2.1 million in January 2006.

The agency bought the land, home to a Jiffy Lube and Authentic Mexican Food, when it looked as though the Kyocera deal would go through.

“We have no plans for that site at the moment,” Johnson said. “During some upcoming strategic planning with the board, whether that should be retained or not will be one of the items we discuss.”

COURTNEY SHERWOOD covers the Vancouver Housing Authority. Reach her at 360-735-4553 or courtney.sherwood@columbian.com. JEFFERY MIZE contributed to this story.