The Oregon International Port of Coos Bay has entered into a Purchase and Sale Agreement (PSA) to acquire and restore the former Georgia Pacific Mill site.
The port and the current owner, Commercial Development Company (CDC) Inc. of Saint Louis in Missouri, have negotiated the terms of the PSA with the goal of job creation on Oregon’s South Coast.
With this acquisition, the US port intends to rehabilitate the site and return it to service, utilising the facility for the movement of goods and commodities through maritime, rail, and trucking for both domestic and international markets.
With the PSA fully executed, Oregon’s port and CDC Inc. will enter into a 60-day due diligence period, aiming to finalise the sale before the end of the year. Once the sale is finalised, Port of Coos Bay will conduct additional environmental, permitting, engineering, and design work prior to initiating construction.
Through ownership of this facility, the port will have access to a wharf, yard footprint and rail service to facilitate regional economic development in a more effective manner and therefore to boost economic diversity through the addition of new jobs.
Previously, the region has seen a significant number of jobs lost due to the closure of the Georgia Pacific Mill and the impending closure of the Shutter Creek Correctional Institution. “With this facility back in service, it is anticipated that it will bring with it the addition of well-paying family-wage jobs to the area including longshore labour, yard workers and cargo handlers, as well as additional rail line crews,” said John Burns, port’s CEO.
The site could be ready to move a limited amount of cargo initially following the conclusion of the phase I construction as early as mid-2023 if not sooner, according to a statement.
Currently, the Coos Bay Port is working with multiple businesses with interest in moving products and commodities through the port to avoid congestion and its associated costs and inefficiencies found at other ports in the US West Coast.
This project has been championed by both the State and Federal legislative delegations. Congressman Peter DeFazio fought to include funding in the amount of US$4.5 million in the reconciliation bill which will be utilised to build out rail infrastructure on site, as well as to conduct improvements to the wharf infrastructure.
Senator Dick Anderson and Representative Boomer Wright were both instrumental in securing funding to acquire the property through the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund, both allocating US$2 million respectively.
