Camas papermill continues to wind down (Vancouver, Washougal: real estate, apartments, movers)

[texasdiver]

In today's news, Georgia is donating greenspace and the dam to the city which intends to improve trails and greenspace in the city. It will be interesting to watch what happens as Georgia Pacific continues to wind down operations as they own pockets of land all over the downtown area that could be used for more productive things

https://www.columbian.com/news/2018/...e-green-space/

[jertheber]

Got bumped off for lack of a subscription--but, this is a good start to the end of the mill era in Camas. it's been winding down foe awhile, along with a ton of other pulp companies in the US. The mill property is a prime hunk of real estate and doesn't require much of an imagination to envision a small "village" like community there, a mixture of condos, houses, apartments, now that would be a really cool addition to Camas.

[Ttark]

The ditch and lake are one thing.

Like I said in the other thread, it'll be decades before the mill site is decontaminated enough to do anything with. Remember, there's almost a century and a half worth of pollution there. Think of Boomsnub multiplied by several factors. It'll be nothing short of a miracle if they manage to get Lady Island cleaned up between now and 2068. Budgets and obsession with "process" being what they are and whatnot.

Don't get your hopes up. _Ain't_gonna_happen_ within the lifetime of the bulk of C-D's userbase. Probably be amazing if it even happens within mine.

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by Ttark

The ditch and lake are one thing.

Like I said in the other thread, it'll be decades before the mill site is decontaminated enough to do anything with. Remember, there's almost a century and a half worth of pollution there. Think of Boomsnub multiplied by several factors. It'll be nothing short of a miracle if they manage to get Lady Island cleaned up between now and 2068. Budgets and obsession with "process" being what they are and whatnot.

Don't get your hopes up. _Ain't_gonna_happen_ within the lifetime of the bulk of C-D's userbase. Probably be amazing if it even happens within mine.

I don't necessarily disagree. But there are lots of Georgia Pacific properties scattered around Camas that were never used for industrial purposes but were office buildings, parking, that sort of thing. At its peak they had nearly 3000 employees in the pre-computer era. That's a lot of office workers doing accounting, HR, sales, that sort of thing. Even if they don't even touch the actual industrial properties for a couple of decades (or just demolish them, fence it off, and plant grass) there are still a lot of prime properties for redevelopment in the downtown area.

[Ttark]

Yeah, I know that. The sorts of properties you mention would be viable for redevelopment likely immediately. I meant the industrial site itself (including the island) which some naive landgrabber or real estate speculator is probably drooling over right now, not realizing what they're setting themselves up for.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by Ttark

Yeah, I know that. The sorts of properties you mention would be viable for redevelopment likely immediately. I meant the industrial site itself (including the island) which some naive landgrabber or real estate speculator is probably drooling over right now, not realizing what they're setting themselves up for.

Not gonna happen. It will go to the city or some other Gov authority who will get a sweet deal (and much latitude) on the cleanup, then the city / gov will subcontract the development but ALWAYS stay in position of control for planning and for revenue.

Done deal / inside job (Probably best in the long run). Only the Gov can afford this stuff.

[jertheber]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

Not gonna happen. It will go to the city or some other Gov authority who will get a sweet deal (and much latitude) on the cleanup, then the city / gov will subcontract the development but ALWAYS stay in position of control for planning and for revenue.

Done deal / inside job (Probably best in the long run). Only the Gov can afford this stuff.

You're probably spot on with your observation of municipal entities having greater latitude with the cleanup process, most of these types of land use conversions need some type of environmental remediation and few developers would ever get a pass on the requirements to the extent that public entities would. The Camas slough/Washougal river area will most likely become something akin to the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta project, though on a much smaller scale, it would be an impressive addition to Camas.

[182pilot]

Originally Posted by jertheber

You're probably spot on with your observation of municipal entities having greater latitude with the cleanup process, most of these types of land use conversions need some type of environmental remediation and few developers would ever get a pass on the requirements to the extent that public entities would. The Camas slough/Washougal river area will most likely become something akin to the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta project, though on a much smaller scale, it would be an impressive addition to Camas.

Honestly if bankrupt Stockton can turn their waterfront from a complete wasteland into what it is now, there's no reason Camas couldn't do the same or better.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by 182pilot

Honestly if bankrupt Stockton can turn their waterfront from a complete wasteland into what it is now, there's no reason Camas couldn't do the same or better.

Camas has BIG bucks (city + developers (buddies) + population + County.)

This will be done right (To assure the MOST LT revenue for City of Camas)

It will be really nice, it will be very expensive, it will be highly occupied (eventually).

You can bet Camas is learning today from Vancouver Waterfront redevelopment. Watch the primary movers and shakers there... they will have a piece of the Camas pie (but a small piece, as City of Camas will hold the majority of interest in the project).

[texasdiver]

The other place in the region where there is a big papermill industrial site is Oregon City, which is also on a scenic section of the Willamette River and a town with a similar history to Camas that also has an old historic downtown area. It will be interesting to compare and contrast how those two different cities develop in the post-industrial era. The in Oregon City has been closed since 2011 but they haven't done anything there yet due to property disputes and I don't know what all.

Of course the Vancouver waterfront used to have a papermill too.