Story Photos
 Two plans for townhouses on dredge spoils along the Cowlitz River in South Kelso face access problems. Bill Wagner / The Daily News
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Keen hopes for five large local developments blunted by reality
Sunday, November 9, 2008 9:12 PM PST
By Amy M.E. Fischer
Printable version
E-mail this articleOver the last couple of years, The Daily News has written about several major development projects planned for the Longview-Kelso area that haven’t yet come to fruition. The projects include an ethanol manufacturing plant, three housing developments, a new public library for Kelso and a major shopping center.
All have been delayed by reasons unique to each project, and all represent the frustration unforeseen circumstances can cause.
Government regulations, bureaucratic red tape and the banking crisis have played a role in why construction projects announced with great fanfare and optimism months and even years ago have shown no visible progress. The public may have forgotten about some of the plans, but rest assured, the projects’ masterminds have not (with one possible exception).
Here are the stories behind the vacant land carrying promises of big things to come.
Ethanol plant
The construction date for an ethanol manufacturing plant at Longview’s Mint Farm Industrial Park has been pushed back to spring 2009 because a redesign of the factory to improve air emissions has taken longer than expected.
"We still very much have our sights set on the ethanol plant in Longview. We still remain very excited about that ... and continue to push forward with those plans," said Tawni Camarillo, chief of staff and vice president of Makad Corp., the parent company of U.S. Ethanol.
The company’s original plan was to begin producing corn-based ethanol at the Longview plant in June of this year. But no work has taken place at the 31-acre site since December 2006, when U.S. Ethanol broke ground on the $100 million project and did some grading and filling.
Northwest Renewable LLC, a subsidiary of U.S. Ethanol, is in charge of construction.
Back at its Vancouver offices, Makad Corp. has been working with its main engineering firm to redesign the ethanol plant to comply with Washington’s strict air emissions laws and incorporate the latest technology, company officials said in July.
"There’s not much to update," Camarillo said last week. "We’re still working on that."
The plant is expected to produce 55 million gallons of ethanol a year, employ 41 people and pump about $25 million annually into the economy.
Related article:
Ethanol plant construction at a standstill, but plans remain (July 24)
Solo Mountain Estates
For more than two years, Longview developer Charles Blevins worked to gain the city’s approval to build a housing subdivision at the foot of Mount Solo.
Now it appears he may have abandoned the project.
Longview Community Development Director John Brickey said he hasn’t been able to get in touch with Blevins since the city green-lighted the project last year.
Blevins’ dream of building "Solo Mountain Estates" was fraught with setbacks. After a geotechnical analysis revealed the rugged hill is riddled with landslides, Blevins was forced to scale back his original plan for 180 housing lots bit by bit to avoid unstable ground. To make the best of the situation, he decided to leave the steep hillside open space for public recreation, even discussing trail plans with the city parks director.
In October 2007, the Longview Planning Commission approved Blevins’ proposed plat application for a 41-lot development.
The city hasn’t heard from him since, Brickey said last week. Even Blevins’ former business partner says he doesn’t know where Blevins is, calling the situation "totally bizarre."
In June, The Daily News interviewed Blevins for a story about high gas prices. His phone has since been disconnected.
Brickey said the subdivision plat approval is effective for five years.
Related articles:
Slides shift Mount Solo plan (Oct. 9, 2007)
Mount Solo housing project stalls (May 1, 2007)
Kelso Public Library
A Kelso resident’s offer to build the city a new public library as part of a retail and condominium project has been shelved for the time being.
Last week, developer Tim Sparks said banks quit loaning money for developments several months ago, causing him and his partner, Michael Waddington of Washougal to put the project on hold.
"We’ll just wait until it loosens up again," Sparks said of the financial markets. "We still intend to do it — it’s just a matter of when the time is right."
In January, elated Kelso city officials announced Sparks’ offer to build the library and lease it to the city for $1 a year. The city has long been searching for a suitable location for a new library, saying the PUD building the library has used since 1959 is outdated and inadequate. Because it’s two stories, the library requires more staffing and is difficult for people in wheelchairs to enter. It lacks an elevator and a parking lot.
Throughout the city’s quest to replace its aging library, no one had come up with a plan for how the chronically cash-strapped city of 12,000 residents would pay for a modern facility.
Sparks’ proposed development, called "MacTavish Square," would be built on 8 undeveloped acres along the Coweeman River and Grade Street near 13th Avenue. It would include a 15,000-square-foot library, a community room and retail space for a coffee shop, bakery, restaurants and a day-care center. Four floors of condominiums — 258 units in all — would be built above the library and shops. Parking garages for the condos would be underground.
The library was to be designed in a Northwest Craftsman style by Portland architect Bart Jankins, who trained under Frank Lloyd Wright. A 100-foot "nature zone" was to remain untouched along the river’s edge across the length of the development.
Sparks, a 1974 Kelso High School graduate, said he offered to build the library because his company wanted to give back to the community. In January, he predicted the library would be built by Thanksgiving or Christmas.
This year, the city annexed the 8-acre parcel, changed its land-use designation in the Comprehensive Plan and rezoned it for the project. The next steps include reviews of the building plan, site plan and environmental impact, Kelso Community Development Director Mike Kerins said last week.
Related article:
Library in Kelso for $1 a year? (Jan. 4)
South Kelso condominiums
Plans in the works for two years to build a 54-unit townhouse development near Three Rivers Golf Course in Kelso have come to a standstill, snared in the red tape of bureaucracy.
"The project is not going forward," Joel Davis, one of the developers involved, said Thursday. "Our desire is for it to go forward, but there’s a lot of bureaucracy and a lot of ‘he said, she said’ with government agencies."
The townhouses, called "River Bend Place," were to be built on 6 acres along South River Road between the Cowlitz River and the golf course.
Last week, Community Development Director Mike Kerins said the developers are in litigation with the diking district, which won’t allow them to cross the dike with water lines or sewer lines. Davis said there were potentially three entities involved in the legal struggle, but he wouldn’t provide details.
In May 2007, The Daily News reported the project was hampered by the city’s concerns that South River Road had only one entrance that met fire district access standards, and unfortunately, railroad tracks crossed that entrance.
The city asked developers to create an emergency access plan for fire trucks and ambulances to reach South River Road residents if a train blocked the main crossing at Yew Street. The city also required developers to build a right-turn lane on South Pacific Avenue to keep cars waiting for trains to pass from blocking traffic.
In May 2007, there were 63 homes on South River Road and its side streets. The addition of 54 homes would increase the total by 86 percent, leading fire district officials to expect more calls from the area.
At the time, John Backman, one of the developers involved in River Bend Place, said his group hadn’t decided how to resolve the problem, but that he hoped to fulfill the city’s requirements and break ground within 45 days. The Kelso City Council had just approved River Bend’s preliminary plat application.
Now the development’s fate is uncertain.
Another townhouse project planned in the vicinity of Three Rivers Golf Course also is in limbo due to concerns about South River Road’s access.
Developer Todd Nicholson’s original vision for "Fairway Vista on the Cowlitz" featured 240 condominium units on 9 vacant acres of riverfront property across from the golf course. The city agreed to sell him the land for $1.1 million after deciding against converting it into soccer fields. The sale closed a few weeks ago, and Nicholson sold his interest to developer Harry Henke.
Henke could not be reached Friday.
According to Kerins, the developers are wrestling with how many and what type of units to build. Because South River Road is a one-lane road with one entrance point, the area has limited capacity for new residents. If a new development exceeds that capacity, the developers must make significant improvements to the roadway, Kerins said.
Fairway Vista developers submitted plans for a multi-unit apartment complex at their last pre-application conference with the city, he said.
"I’m sure they’re trying to go back to the drawing board," Kerins said last week. "I can’t imagine they’re going to sit on this for long. They’ve invested a lot of money in that property."
River Bend Place has already gone through the review process and is "vested," meaning the project is on the books and represents the capacity. Additional construction could force Cowlitz Vista to make significant road improvements.
Related articles:
Developers must tackle emergency access plan (May 4, 2007)
Kelso clears way for condos on the river (March 7, 2007)
Condos in Limbo (Jan. 21)
Longview Wye/ I-432 interchange
The state’s plans for a massive redesign of the Interstate 5/State Route 432 interchange at Exit 36 are on schedule, and construction should start in early 2010, Washington State Department of Transportation officials said Friday.
The $45 million interchange will improve safety, create better connections to existing roads and ease congestion, WSDOT says. Ramps on the interchange, known as the "Longview Wye," are considered substandard and dangerous.
The city of Kelso views the project as the key to unlocking the city’s economic fortunes because the new interchange will open a large swath of industrial land for development. This could bring the city tens of thousands of dollars in tax revenues annually.
Segale Properties, a company from Tukwila, Wash., intends to build a commercial development on roughly 100 acres just south of SR-432 that would include at least two "big box" stores and retail stores in an outdoor mall configuration. The site is known as Metroland, named after the Segale subsidiary company that owns the land. Segale had wanted to begin construction this year, but it looks like the retail center won’t open until fall 2010, said Don Wagner, regional administrator for WSDOT’s Southwest Region.
Getting to the point where WSDOT allows Segale to execute its vision is complicated. There are two problems with Segale’s plan, Wagner said Friday.
WSDOT engineers designed the upcoming interchange project several years ago based on the surrounding land’s light-industrial manufacturing zoning. That design allows for up to 10,000 vehicle trips per day. However, Metroland’s retail development would generate an estimated 25,000 to 30,000 vehicle trips daily. This would cause the interchange to wear out much faster than anticipated, WSDOT engineers say.
Segale has offered to pay the state to redesign the interchange to handle the additional traffic. He’s also offered to pay for the extra construction costs, as the design is more complex, Wagner said. The state has agreed to these terms, he said.
"I need to assure two things — commitment to citizens to improve the 432 interchange. And anything that gets added to the project in additional cost because of the development is something the development should be paying for," Wagner said.
The upgrades include a T-shaped intersection with a traffic signal at the end of the southbound I-5 ramp off of Talley Way and the road from Metroland, he said.
The existing access to Segale’s property is restricted to farm use and one single-family resident. However, Segale’s owner believes the company is entitled to any access necessary to develop whatever it wanted on the property, Wagner said. Segale and WSDOT are in negotiations over the access issue, which could end up in court if the parties can’t resolve it, Wagner said.
WSDOT will use its contractors to perform all the work on the interchange, including Segale’s improvements. Because Segale is not permitted to begin work on its part of the project early, detours of industrial traffic through Kelso to enter I-5 at Exit 39 won’t be considered, Wagner said.
Segale also must work with the city of Kelso to extend sewer and water lines to Metroland before WSDOT begins the interchange upgrades, Wagner said. City officials say Segale hasn’t filed applications for development yet.
Related articles:
Kelso council supports shopping center (Oct. 3, 2007)
Retail center in limbo: Longview Wye redesign won't accommodate major development (Sept. 16, 2007)
Billy Hill wrote on Nov 9, 2008 12:19 AM:
niceolady wrote on Nov 9, 2008 12:22 AM:
Kelso WA wrote on Nov 9, 2008 8:38 AM:
Still not a fan of the type of development at the Longview Wye. It's not what we need. "
kelsograd wrote on Nov 9, 2008 9:23 AM:
Viewpoint wrote on Nov 9, 2008 10:39 AM:
cheney119 wrote on Nov 9, 2008 10:55 AM:
Rural Citizen wrote on Nov 9, 2008 11:33 AM:
Northwest Renewable, LLC - Longview, Washington, USA
How many of the people who work for the City of Longview, or its citizens realize the moniker "LLC" means "LIMITED LIABILITY CORPORATION"?
That means if they cause harm they have already told the community that the extent that they would be liable are LIMITED. Let the community pay for the damages... not the company.
Imagine! What audacity! Do you all realize what an explosion from an Ethanol Plant on flat land would look like? Or how far it would stretch? "
crowsfeet wrote on Nov 9, 2008 1:41 PM:
CR RES. wrote on Nov 9, 2008 1:55 PM:
DW wrote on Nov 9, 2008 2:39 PM:
just the facts, ma'am wrote on Nov 9, 2008 3:31 PM:
Diesel wrote on Nov 9, 2008 3:39 PM:
Cheney119 wrote on Nov 9, 2008 4:13 PM:
cheney119 wrote on Nov 9, 2008 4:53 PM:
river ranger wrote on Nov 9, 2008 7:06 PM:
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