In Our View: High Hopes in Lower Grand

A new federal grant could prove to be an important catalyst in Vancouver’s next notable development while further strengthening the economic core of the city.

The $200,000 grant, announced last week by city officials, will go toward cleaning up and improving infrastructure in a 173-acre area immediately east of Pearson Field and north of state Highway 14. Known as the “Lower Grand Employment Area,” the region long has been on the radar for city leaders. A 2008 action plan examined the possibilities, pointing out the proximity of Highway 14 and the site’s location as a gateway to the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site. The plan also spelled out a timeline for potential development and noted that the area is “one of the primary entrances to Vancouver.”

The vitality of the Grand Central development, which is anchored by a Fred Meyer store and has attracted numerous thriving smaller outlets, has demonstrated that the Lower Grand area has commercial potential about as vast as the name of the federal grant: An Environmental Protection Agency Brownfield Area-wide Planning Grant. “Brownfield” refers to a property where redevelopment might be complicated by pollutants or the potential for pollutants, and the area’s history of heavy industry suggests that might be a problem. In addition, the Lower Grand area is beset by a need for street improvements and by localized flooding caused by poor stormwater drainage.

As the 2008 report said, “Despite potential for additional development and employment activity, the area has been stagnant for many years. Current property and business owners are concerned about poor drainage, deteriorating streets, utility services, crime and complications from increasing traffic as the commercial area is developed.”

Those concerns remain, but the opportunity to commercially develop portions of the Lower Grand Employment Area is an important one for the city. While much of the development in the Vancouver area over the past two decades has been to the east along 164th Street and 192nd Street, or north in the Salmon Creek area, one of the most visible portions of the city has languished.

Vancouver has addressed its central planning over the past 15 years by redeveloping much of the downtown core, and the strength of the Grand Central development has extended those improvements to just outside of downtown. While the outlying developments have mirrored the population growth, the economy of a city is only as strong as its center.

The Lower Grand Employment Area is inexorably tied to Vancouver’s history. During World War II, the land was used for temporary housing for Kaiser shipyard workers, helping Vancouver grow from a burg into a city. Following the war, the temporary housing was removed and the area was converted to industrial use; now it is worth exploring repurposing the land again.

The danger, of course, is that Vancouver’s commercial core could expand more than necessary. Many businesses in the revitalized downtown core near Esther Short park have struggled, and a proposed waterfront development on the former Boise Cascade site could again alter the equation.

Yet the $200,000 federal grant to improve the Lower Grand Employment Area will be valuable for the city. The potential of further commercial development along Highway 14 near the Interstate 5 interchange is too great to be ignored. And if now is not the proper time, the city is wise to be prepared for the future.