The city of Hermiston will break ground on July 7 to extend paved road, water lines, sewer pipes, and upgraded electrical power to the South Hermiston Industrial Park (SHIP).
The utilities project is expected to be completed in four months and create about 16 shovel-ready parcels of light industrial property.
The SHIP is located west of Highway 395 near the Walmart Distribution Center and is made up of properties ranging from 1.5-20 acres, depending on market demand.
The construction project includes:
- Paving and installing water and sewer lines to S.E. 10th Street between U.S. Highway 395 and E. Penney Avenue
- Paving and installing water and sewer lines to a new road spur from S.E. 10th Street into Port of Umatilla property within the SHIP
- Completing paving on S.E. Campbell Drive to E. Penney Avenue
- Installing new underground power through Port of Umatilla property to loop with existing power along U.S. Highway 395.
Work will coincide with the construction of the Meyer Distributing warehouse, a privately developed 179,000 square-foot auto parts distribution center in the SHIP. That facility is slated to open in the fall with approximately 70 full-time employees.
The utilities projects are funded from a variety of sources, including a $1.46 million U.S. Economic Development Administration grant, $1.16 million from a Local Improvement District representing adjacent property owners, $250,000 from the city of Hermiston and $50,000 from Umatilla County. The EDA projects the activity will lead to 250 jobs and $70 million in private development.
“This has been an excellent cooperation between public and private partners to set the table to attract new jobs and Investment to the community and further diversify our local economy,” said Mark Morgan, assistant city manager. “These new shovel-ready lots will make it much easier for small light Industrial operations to set up and provide support services to our other large agricultural and industrial operations in the region.
The groundbreaking is scheduled for Wednesday, July 7 at 12:15 p.m. on E. Penney Avenue. To access the site, take Kelli Blvd. southwest from Highway 395 near the former Hermiston Foods plant and then take a right on E. Penney for a quarter of a mile.
