After decades of cleanup, the Port of Ridgefield is eyeing economic renewal on waterfront

“This was a 20-year project,” Mueller said. “Some of this was essentially an unofficial commitment by the Department of Ecology and their leadership who knew this would take more than two years.”

The waterfront property lies along Lake River, which connects to Vancouver Lake to the south and the Columbia River to the north and is adjacent to downtown Ridgefield. Lake River passes through the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, one of the city’s major tourism drivers.

Plume of pollution

The port began looking at redevelopment possibilities in 2001 with the adoption of its Comprehensive Scheme of Harbor Improvements, a policy and planning document similar to growth plans used by cities and counties.

Before redevelopment could begin, though, the port had to undertake extensive cleanup.

Ridgefield Veneer Co. set up shop along Lake River in 1956. In 1963, it merged with Pacific Wood Treating Corp., which pressure-treated telephone poles and railroad ties with chemical agents. The plant closed in 1993, leaving the soil tainted by pentachlorophenol, creosote and copper-chromium-arsenate.

“Everyone wants something different,” he said. “Some want more shopping. Some people want more dining. Other people want a bigger park, and some want more boat launch parking.”

Waterfront access

But there was one key takeaway from the survey, Mueller said, and that was the desire for a waterfront park with public access.

Work on the waterfront park is now proceeding separately from the other waterfront development efforts. The port and the city of Ridgefield are coordinating efforts to get needed permits approved. With that community input in mind, the port next focused on creating a business plan. Once that was in place, the port issued a request for proposals from developers. Among the uses to be considered were recreation, commercial activity, public spaces, residential areas and light industrial use.

The port’s vision is for a mixed-use development, Mueller said. One example would be two-story buildings with retail and commercial space on the first floor and housing on the second floor. However, housing won’t be the main driver for the development plan. Mueller said the port’s mission is to drive job creation and economic activity.

“The port’s relationship with residential development as a use is complicated,” Mueller said. “On one hand, we get that if you want to have a successful development, residential does need to be a part of it. Every successful waterfront we’ve ever looked at, they all have some sort of residential piece to them.”

He said it also is important to remember that Palindrome’s proposal is just that — a proposed plan, not the final development plan.

“Essentially, it’s us coming to terms on what they will build,” Mueller said. “We really liked a lot of the elements in their plan — obviously, because we picked them — but of course, there are still things we need to work out.”

This includes the details of what the port wants built, as well as what the city, and likely the state, will issue permits for.

Craft vs. industry

What will the port take into consideration for the development plan?

“It’s going to be the things like the number of jobs on the ground floor, how much sales activity is going on during the year, things like that,” Mueller said. “Those are the things we care about.”

What residents won’t see on the waterfront property is a return to the heavy industrial use that is part of the area’s history.

“Imagine smaller, almost craftlike industrial spaces like coffee roasting, bicycle manufacturing, fishing rods, different kind of industrial uses,” Mueller said.

The port isn’t ready to break ground just yet. Mueller said he expects the next two years to be spent on finalizing negotiations with Palindrome, creating an approved development plan and getting all needed permits.

“You’ll really start to see a public process over the next two years where folks can comment on different pieces of it as they come forward,” he said. “That will be the opportunity for them to chime in about the things they like and the things they don’t like.”