Farwest Steel Corp. and the Port of Vancouver expect to complete a deal this month that would pave the way for the company to build a fabrication, warehousing and distribution facility at the port, a project that could eventually employ 225 people, some in jobs transferred from elsewhere in Vancouver.
Although a date has not been set, the port’s Board of Commissioners may vote during its July 13 meeting on a purchase and sale agreement that would hand 22 acres to Farwest for roughly $5 million.
“It’s my understanding now that the lawyers for both parties are working towards a purchase and sale agreement,” said commission President Jerry Oliver. “The negotiations have been very reasonable, and we’ve reached this point where we’re 98 percent of the way to the goal.”
Meanwhile, more details of Farwest’s plans emerged Thursday, when company leaders sat down with city of Vancouver officials to review the building standards the company must comply with to win a building permit. Eugene, Ore.-based Farwest — a distributor, processor and fabricator of specialty steel products — proposes spending roughly $30 million to build:
• A 347,107-square-foot building that encompasses 232,683 square feet for warehouse and distribution services, 60,000 square feet for fabrication, 44,779 square feet of loading areas and internal maneuvering areas, and 8,645 square feet for truck fueling and maintenance.
• An 18,000-square-foot office building.
Farwest CEO Patrick Eagen said that Thursday’s pre-application meeting with city officials was positive and that he wants to move forward with the project quickly.
Yet to be determined is how much parking Farwest must set aside at the site. The city wants Farwest to provide 236 parking spaces. Farwest says 177 is enough for now.
The company would need to seek a change in the parking requirements to build the number it wants, and that would trigger a public hearing, said Jon Wagner, senior planner for the city. Wagner said it will be at least two months before the city receives a formal request from Farwest for a building permit.
Expecting growth
Construction of Farwest’s project could begin in the second quarter of 2011, according to the company and port officials. Under the company’s plans, it would relocate 100 jobs to the port from its facilities in Tualatin, Ore., and from Vancouver’s Columbia Business Center, and eventually add 125 new workers.
Eagen said it’s difficult to say when the additional 125 jobs would come on line. However, he said, “if we combine and consolidate operations to that facility in Vancouver, I think it further cements our position in supporting manufacturing in the Northwest. Our growth will come as a result of the manufacturing footprint in the Northwest continuing to grow.”
Farwest, founded in 1956, serves a wide variety of markets in the region, Eagen said, “whether it’s a manufacturer in Portland or somebody that’s reselling steel in a very small market” such as Newberg, Ore., or Molalla, Ore.
Farwest has been involved in many construction projects in the region, including several bridge retrofits.
Eagen said he’s confident the Port of Vancouver’s Board of Commissioners will approve a purchase and sale agreement, which is expected to include provisions requiring Farwest to maintain a minimum of 100 jobs at the site and giving the port the option to buy back the land if Farwest decides to sell it.
“Once we have finalized an agreement,” Eagen said, “we need to complete our due diligence work on the site and, beyond that, just continue moving forward in the direction of construction.”
