A car wash is coming to Ridgefield, the city’s port announced last week.
On June 14, the Port of Ridgefield announced the sale of more than 5 acres of land to two different developers with prior experience working with the port.
The land in question is located south of the roundabout intersecting Pioneer Street and Royle Road. The properties are a part of the port’s “Discovery Ridge” project, which was conceived by the port and the city of Ridgefield as a “shovel-ready” development intended to attract businesses to the city, Port of Ridgefield CEO Randy Mueller said in the news release announcing the sale.
“We’ve very intentionally sold parcels over the years to bring the services to town that our community needs and has asked for,” Mueller said.
He said the port was pleased to close on the final parcels a part of the initial project.
Evergreen Builders bought more than 3 acres of port property, the release stated. The developer, alongside Edwards Construction Group, developed Pioneer Ridge, the development to the west. That roughly 40 acres features an apartment complex and retail at the corner of Pioneer Street and South Royle Road.
The release noted the developers were also involved with improvements to the Bonneville Power Administration offices in Vancouver, Clark College, Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Portland International Airport Concourses B and E, and Legacy Medical Center in Camas.
Evergreen Builders intends for a design that blends with earlier phases of Discovery Ridge. Anchored by grocery store Rosauers, the development features several other businesses, including Ridgefield’s first fast food restaurant, Taco Bell.
“The goal is to be very selective about which services we bring to a limited number of remaining commercial sites in Ridgefield,” Tom Files, managing partner and principal with Evergreen Builders, said in the release.
The 3.2 acres bought by the developer is valued at about $2.1 million, according to documents filed with the Clark County Auditor’s Office.
The Port worked with Ridgefield-based FDM Development to sell the remaining two acres to Wash Kings LLC, according to the release. The locally-owned car wash company has plans for a “car wash tunnel” at the site, which will include a 140-foot-long, state-of-the-art facility with new conveyor belt technology allowing for oversized tires and “dually” trucks featuring dual-wheel back axles.
The 2 acres sold to Wash Kings totaled about $1.3 million, according to county records.
FDM Development has been a part of a number of local developments, the release noted, including TriMountain Plaza, the recreational vehicle park on the east side of I-5 and much of the Discovery Ridge property. The development of Discovery Ridge is a yearslong project for FDM Development, its principal Dean Maldonado said in the release.
“It’s always been my intention to finish what I started, to continue on and build something that provides the people who live here with a variety of services, from haircuts to oil changes,” Maldonado said. “The original 35 acres at Discovery Ridge was always meant to serve the Ridgefield community in this way, and I’m pleased to see it through.”
Funds from sale are included in the port’s 2023 budget, the release stated. The port said the money will help future investments in property and infrastructure, including the Ridgefield waterfront.
