The city of Hermiston will officially unveil the development project that extended road, water lines, sewer pipes, and upgraded electrical power to the South Hermiston Industrial Park (SHIP) on March 4.
The project broke ground in July 2021 and was completed on schedule, creating more than a dozen 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 upgrades to the SHIP include:
- Paved road and water and sewer lines to SE 10th Street between U.S. Highway 395 and E. Penney Avenue and on Cook Avenue from SE 10th Street into Port of Umatilla property within the SHIP
- Completed paved roads connecting SE Campbell Drive to E. Penney Avenue
- New underground power through Port of Umatilla property to loop with existing power along U.S. Highway 395.
Work coincided with the construction of the Meyer Distributing warehouse, a privately developed 179,000 square-foot auto parts distribution center in the SHIP and 30,000 square foot expansion to A-1 Hose and Supply. The Meyer Distributing facility opened in the winter with approximately 70 full time positions and is still accepting applications. Visit Meyer Distributing for more information.
The utilities projects were funded from a variety of sources, including a $1 million U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant, $800,000 from a Local Improvement District representing adjacent property owners, $150,000 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 event is scheduled for Friday, March 4 at 12:15 p.m. on Cook Avenue in the heart of the SHIP. Take SE 10th Street south from Highway 395 next to the ODOT Highway Maintenance Station and then a right on the Cook Avenue spur.
