Port wants to ‘reintroduce’ public to waterfront plan

New marketing brochure shows vision for Parker’s Landing; first phase of construction to begin in 2022

By Doug Flanagan
December 2, 2021 10:16 am
Business, Latest News, News

An illustration shows a future vision of the Port of Camas-Washougal's waterfront development. The first phase of construction on the Parker's Landing project is set to begin in the fall of 2022. (Contributed illustration courtesy of the Port of Camas-Washougal)

The Port of Camas-Washougal completed a lot of “behind-the-scenes” work on the Parkers Landing Waterfront Development in 2021. Now it’s ready to reintroduce the project to the public as it looks forward to the first construction phase starting in 2022.

The Port recently released a marketing brochure featuring updated renderings of the development, created by Portland-based YBA Architects.

“We wanted to keep the community engaged and updated on the progress of the project and keep the excitement going because it’s been quite a while since we last engaged with them in terms of getting the surveys out like we did in 2019,” Port community relations specialist Sadie Prodanovich said during a Nov. 3 virtual commissioners meeting. “Now we’ve got the renderings from YBA and we wanted to showcase them and keep everyone excited about what’s going to be going on at the waterfront.”

The brochure, which can be found at parkerslandingwaterfront.com, highlights the development’s location, views, river access, proximity to the Columbia River Gorge, walkability and more.

“We’re behind the scenes and we know what’s going on, but the public doesn’t, so we’re trying to keep the ‘buzz’ going, and we felt that was the way to do it,” Port Chief Executive Officer David Ripp told the Post-Record. “(RKm Development owner Roy Kim) wants to go back out and engage the community with updates, and he’ll start that this summer as well.”

The Port and Portland-based RKm Development came to terms on a master lease agreement in March. The project proceeded “smoothly” in 2021 and didn’t face any unexpected challenges, according to Ripp.

“(RKm and YBA employees) started the engineering design work and architectural design, building layouts, and work on the permit process,” he said. “We haven’t had anything dramatic (happen) or anything like that. I can’t think of anything negative. It’s just been a process. We’ve been meeting our timelines.”

RKm will submit its site plan review to the city of Washougal next week and is working with the Port to finalize a lease agreement for the $90 million first construction phase, which is set to begin in the fall of 2022.

“Phase one is going to be four buildings and a lot of infrastructure — water, sewer, streets, sidewalks, all that fun stuff,” Ripp said. “It’s been a long haul, and it’s exciting to see this finally come to fruition. For so long we’ve been looking at this (property) as just a lumber mill and (talked about) beautifying it and improving it. It’s pretty cool to see the changes that have taken place. I think people are excited to have access to the waterfront, somewhere where they can come and have an ice cream cone or dinner outside and engage in the natural beauty of the Columbia River and the Gorge.”

Killian Pacific, a Portland-based real estate developer, has started construction on the Ninebark apartment complex on a 9-acre site a short distance east of the Port. The development will include parking, private open space, interior sidewalks, landscaping, site lighting and a 7,000-square-foot clubhouse.

Killian Pacific also plans to develop a 53,312-square-foot area along the south boundary of the site into a public park, bordering the existing Washougal Waterfront Park and Trail.

“Seeing it becoming what it’s becoming is awesome,” Ripp said. “The Killian project is going to benefit not only the community, but our project as well.”

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