Certification gives land an edge
For 25 years, 205 acres of prime industrial land sat on the market in Lebanon, Ore. While a few nibbles came and went over the years, extensive wetlands issues scared potential buyers away from the property for more than two decades, says John Hitt, the city administrator for the northwest Oregon town.
It wasn’t until the city teamed up with the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department (OECDD) that the property finally sold. The property found a buyer through the Oregon Industrial Site Certification program, which helps facilitate the sale of industrial land by providing purchasers with the important information they need when researching locations for their companies.
Certified in 2004 by OECDD, the land sold in only six months. The buyer was Lowe’s, the national home improvement store company. Lowe’s is building a 1.3 million-square-foot regional distribution center to serve the northwest. Plans are to expand the center to 2.1 million square feet in the future. When it’s up and running in 2007, the center may employ as many as 400 employees. That’s a welcome addition to a town of 13,000 people, says Hitt.
The city chose to participate in the state’s industrial site certification program to get local officials seriously focused on selling that property, Hitt says. The process forced the city to do its due diligence and address the wetlands issues. The state was able to help the city come up with a delineation plan for potential buyers.
In fact, Lowe’s officials couldn’t have been happier with the maps, surveys and other documentation provided by the certification process, Hitt says. Many times, officials referred to the 5-inch thick, three-ring binder that was the result of the process. “I don’t know how many times Lowe’s said this was a big help to them,” he says.
The Lebanon property was one of the first industrial sites certified in the state through this unique program (www.econ.state.or.us/IC). Since 2004, 41 sites have been certified throughout Oregon. Eleven of those sites have been sold, creating 1,850 new jobs, says Bev Thacker, industrial land specialist with OECDD.
Modeled after similar programs in New York and Pennsylvania, the certification program is one of the first established in the nation. The program is a marketing tool for Oregon; it shows developers the state is open for business and ready for development, Thacker says. It’s also a way of getting a better picture of what land is available for industrial use in the state, she adds.
Through the program, OECDD staff work with property owners, realtors, cities and state agencies to compile a comprehensive site certification notebook containing documentation for each site about water, sewer, electricity and other utilities available at site; local workforce availability, easements and liens, and any improvements on the sites as well as any state or local development incentives. State agencies also provide clearances for environmental contamination, wetlands, endangered species and cultural resources. Local governments provide assurances that the industry certification profile conforms to local zoning regulations and that there is local support for the development.
When the information is compiled, a site-selection consulting firm from New Jersey looks over the information to ensure it’s accurate. The two-year certification means the land can be built on within 180 days after it’s purchased.
The information contained in the certification notebooks has proven invaluable to site selectors looking to locate or expand a business in Oregon. Because this is material a company would have to compile anyway, having it readily available, along with government assurances about its accuracy, saves a company time and money, Thacker says.
For example, a project of the magnitude proposed by Lowe’s typically requires months, even years, to become project-ready. Completing the process in advance saves a prospective company millions of dollars and months of lost production time.
For a list of certified sites, visit www.oregonprospector.com.
