Onslow praised the Port of Ridgefield for continuing to market developable land and draw new businesses to the city, especially near the I-5 junction. He referred to a deal that landed PeaceHealth with a 75-acre property near the junction in 2006 and a more recent deal for 60 acres of land where Clark College plans to someday build a campus.
He also said several companies plan to build new offices and distribution centers near the junction this summer. Some have already begun construction.
Allied Fittings, a steel fabrication company, will open a new facility in the area within the month, Onslow said. Portland-based Alliance Industrial Group, which also manufactures steel products, plans to open a new 80,000-square-foot property in the city this fall. And ICD Performance Coatings — which makes coatings for glass, metal and other substrates —broke ground on a new facility in Ridgefield last month, he said.
“These three companies will employ more than 400 workers,” Onslow said.
Construction will also begin this week on a new park-and-ride lot on the east side of the I-5 junction, next to the Country Café. Officials expect the spot to be a hub of activity with its location near the city’s expanding business district and the future sites of the Clark College and PeaceHealth facilities.
Overlook Park served as a fitting location for Onslow’s speech, as he often directed the crowd’s attention to the east bank of Lake River, behind him. The city worked for years to clean up the area — once a heavily contaminated industrial site — in hopes of breathing new life into its downtown with inviting development projects along the river.
“For the first time 100 years, this waterfront can be enjoyed by the public,” he said.
Redevelopment along the waterfront will ramp up as crews finish building a new overpass crossing the railroad between downtown and Lake River, Onslow said. A second phase of construction on the overpass began this month, and the city and the Port of Ridgefield are working on securing the last $7 million needed to complete the final span over the railroad.
“This will truly serve the redevelopment of the waterfront,” he said. “And near this ramp will be a new sewer lift station — that’s right down over the hill — that will serve the floating home community, the development at the port and the future of our city.”
