By Jennie Dickinson
Manager, Port of Columbia

Big news for our project!

The Washington State legislature, as part of a “jobs bill,” has awarded $750,000 to the Port of Columbia for construction of the first building at Blue Mountain Station!

Many smaller processors that can’t afford to build their own facilities have expressed interest in our site. It was determined that grant funding would be needed to keep rents low enough for these entrepreneurial businesses, but no source of grant funds for this type of construction was found during an extensive search. So, a proposal was made to the legislature for funding to construct a multi-use building that will create jobs in the community.

This type of building was proposed for a later phase of the project as a “roundhouse” style building, so we may continue with that idea but locate the building in the first phase of the project. The Port of Columbia will contribute $200,000 to the cost of the building, and it is estimated businesses will invest $50,000 in equipment and fixtures for a total project cost of $1,000,000.

The building will house a commercial kitchen, a small flour mill, a shared retail area, and several small processing spaces. Please have a look at Dennis’ article for more elaboration on the building concept.

Kudos to the Washington Public Ports Association and our local legislators, Representatives Terry Nealey and Maureen Walsh and Senator Mike Hewitt, for championing this and other Port job-creation projects and getting much needed funding into our communities. And special thanks to the citizens of Columbia County who contacted our legislators to let them know how important this project is to our community.

We look forward to working directly with the businesses interested in locating in this new building as we work on design. Please contact me if you or someone you know would like to learn more about leasing space at Blue Mountain Station.

All aboard!

By Dennis Miller (Dennis@Artmil.com),
President/Creative Director, Artmil

The train is leaving the station.

As I said in the last newsletter, 2012 looks to be a great year for Blue Mountain Station. We have somegreat opportunities developing.

The first question we get from people we talk to about locating their food processing business in Blue Mountain Station is, “do you have anybody there right now or do you have a building up yet?”

In the very near future the answer to both of those questions will be yes. Jennie’s article explains about the $750,000 we now have to go forward with our first building. Our vision has always been to form a cluster of natural and organic artisan food processors. We have wanted to have a way to help smaller local entrepreneurs become established in this growing market. This grant is going to set Blue Mountain Station in motion. We will be able to have a multi-tenant building that offers smaller spaces from 500 sq. ft. and up. This building may look similar to a old railroad roundhouse.

Roundhouse multi-tenant building concept*

With the interest that has already been generated, this building will fill up fast. If you have been thinking about getting more information about Blue Mountain Station, or have been waiting to see if this was really going to happen, now would be a good time to check us out. Leases will be very affordable and if you commit soon you will be able to have input into the direction of the project and first choice for space.

Our location enables us to supply local foods to the Portland, Seattle, Spokane,  Tri-Cities and Yakima markets. Located in the Walla Walla valley and Washington’s best agricultural region, Blue Mountain Station is a great home for natural and organic food processing.

If you are interested in discussing the Blue Mountain Station business opportunity for artisan food processors and co-packers, contact me at 509-551-1913 or dennis@artmil.com. I would enjoy discussing Blue Mountain Station, and am waiting to hear from you!

* This is an initial conceptual image; the final building may be different in both size and design.