Vancouver, Wash., reconnects with the water

February 14, 2001 A century ago, downtown Vancouver, Wash., was built into a corner. The BNSF line and the berm on which it sits have separated the city center from the industrial yards along the Columbia River, The Oregonian reports. The city recently broke ground on a project to punch through the berm, giving downtown access to the waterfront and giving developers access to the 31 acres they intend to turn into offices, retail space and 3,300 residences.  

The $44.6-million access
project will extend Esther and Grant streets under the railroad tracks to the
former Boise Cascade industrial site. Workers will tear down the berm and the
existing track where it meets the planned streets and build a new railroad
crossing overhead.

Disruption from the
project will be minimal, Holmes said. BNSF trains will be diverted to an
adjacent line while the rail bridges are constructed. Nearby streets will be
closed at times during construction.

"It’ll happen, but
it will be isolated," Holmes said.

Building the connection
between downtown and the waterfront will be paid for with roughly equal parts
private investment, city funds and state and federal contributions. The project
is expected to create more than 600 construction jobs.

This project clears the last
major obstacle to the $1.3-billion waterfront development backers say will
redefine downtown.

"In order for the
development to really be what it should be, it really needed to be part of
downtown, seamless," said Gramor Development President Barry Cain, who is
leading the waterfront development project. "Otherwise it would just be a
waterfront development someplace. This makes (Vancouver) a waterfront city
again."

City leaders say the
waterfront district will be an economic engine, creating 20,000 jobs during
development and construction, 2,500 permanent jobs and $238 million in state
and local tax revenue over the next 20 years.

The waterfront connection
is expected to be finished by the end of 2011 — a little behind schedule but
not enough to slow down the project, Cain said.

"The world kind of
stopped for a couple of years," Cain said. "It’s kind of
understandable," he said.

Cain expects construction
of the first waterfront buildings to begin in early 2013. Development will
start with smaller buildings on the east side of the project and expand
westward.

The city still needs to
find funding for park areas in the district which, when completed, would create
nearly a half-mile of public access to the riverfront.

Cain said his company is
speaking to potential tenants for the first buildings.

"Now that the
economy is starting to go in the right direction, I think we’ll see more people
want to commit to being in this location," he said.