Crane arrives at Washougal’s waterfront

Construction on the Hyas Point mixed-use development on the Washougal waterfront hit a public milestone last week with the May 13 arrival of a tower crane.

“When people think of construction, they think of cranes,” Port of Camas-Washougal CEO Trang Lam said during a May 6 port commission meeting. “It’s exciting.”

The crane reflects a turning point in the development’s construction, said Keela Garrigues, a senior digital marketing manager for Portland-based Central Bethany Construction, the parent company of Hyas Point developer RKm Development.

“This marks a significant milestone for the project,” Garrigues said. “The arrival of a tower crane signals a shift from the preliminary construction phase of site work and foundation preparation to the more advanced state of structural erection.”

The crane — visible from the Washougal Waterfront Trail, state Highway 14 and nearby neighborhoods — will support the lifting and placement of key construction materials as the project continues to move forward, Garrigues said.

“Cranes are essential for lifting and positioning large, heavy structural components such as steel beams and concrete precast elements, which are crucial for the buildings’ structural skeleton,” she said. “The crane can also lift heavy loads at high altitudes, allowing crews to work more efficiently and speedily as the buildings take shape.”

The first phase of construction will build several new streets, including a thoroughfare stretching east to west along the Columbia River, and four mixed-use buildings with 276 apartments and 71,500 square feet of retail and office space.

RKm Development broke ground on the project in November, after the Port of Camas-Washougal completed soil remediation work on the site, located just east of the port’s headquarters.

“Over the past several months, the community will have seen large equipment rolling into the site, prepping the site for vertical construction,” Garrigues said. “This part is not as exciting, involving dewatering efforts, underground utilities trenching, structural geo-piers installation and a lot of excavation.”

Construction teams are preparing building pads for foundations, Garrigues said.

“There is a lot of concrete on the way in the weeks ahead,” she said.

Framing work on the buildings is expected to begin this summer, Garrigues said, and the public may soon notice “a lot of activity on site as the buildings get taller and taller.”

The project’s second phase of construction, which is slated to begin after the residential-commercial buildings and streets are in place, will include a senior living center and full-service athletic club.

Once complete, Hyas Point will include “a mix of residential living, office spaces, retail opportunities, and community gathering areas, all within walking distance of the river and public open space,” according to a news release issued by Central Bethany Construction.