LONGVIEW — A new large industrial park planned for south Kelso has begun the permitting and approval process.
The development, called the Mid I-5 Industrial Park, is being pursued by the real estate development company Trammell Crow on the land along Talley Way southwest of the I-5-state Route 432 interchange.
The city of Kelso announced a determination of nonsignificance for the project Monday, meaning it will not have a major environmental impact. The public will have a chance to comment about that finding through Sept. 12.
According to permit applications filed with Kelso, the industrial park would center on a 55-foot-tall, 1.4 million-square-foot industrial and office building. The full park would include 460 parking spaces for cars, 540 storage spaces for trailers and more than 200 loading and unloading docks.
The land being developed is owned by Segale Properties and was originally approved by the Kelso City Council for a retail development in 2010. Talley Way was built out for the retail stores, but the development fell through.
In May the Kelso City Council approved a zoning change to move the land from commercial use to light industrial to allow for new development.
A traffic impact analysis conducted for the project in July estimated that the site would generate around 1,700 more vehicle trips during the peak evening hours. The application mentioned that the traffic impact was significantly lower than the projected traffic generated by a retail development.
Records show the site will be developed over four phases of construction, which Trammell Crow said will be timed out “based on market demand.” Filings state the goal is to have the park open for business in 2024.
Trammel Crow’s project manager for the industrial park declined to comment Wednesday. Kelso Planning Manager Mike Murray said city departments were finishing their reviews of the project and likely would approve the development soon.
