Newmark, Colliers Broker Record $96M Land Sale

A 113-acre parcel at Columbia Business Center in Vancouver, Wash., has changed hands for $96 million. Newmark and Colliers represented the seller, a private family entity. The deal marks the largest transaction by total consideration paid for industrial land on record in the Portland, Ore./Vancouver market, according to Newmark.

Killian Pacific, a Portland development company that had owned a portion of the land since 2006, is likely to be the buyer, The Columbian reported.

Newmark arranged the sale of the leased fee interest in the land, with Vice Chairman Nick Kucha, Executive Vice Chairman Steven Golubchik and Associate Directors Kellen Kollmorgen, Jakob Nicholls and Grant Gooding, and Colliers’ Vice Chairman Jerry Matson and Senior Vice President Brian Yoakum working on behalf of the seller.

Columbia Business Center encompasses more than 220 acres of waterfront property. Built in the 1940s, the park includes light industrial, flex and heavy industrial space with 2 million square feet of outdoor storage, extensive multi-carrier broadband/telecommunication infrastructure and more than 1,800 parking spaces. It also has 27 buildings that weren’t part of the sale. The space is leased to more than 100 tenants.

The heavy industrial area has access to a rail spur directly connected to the Burlington Northern Santa Fe mainline, as well as two barge slips which can accommodate river and ocean-going vessels up to 400 feet.

A location accessible by water, land and rail

Located along the Columbia River, the property is accessible by water, land and rail. It sits along Interstate 5, which allows easy access across the greater Portland and Vancouver markets.

Columbia Business Center accounts for approximately $2 billion in annual revenue and provides more than 3,300 jobs county-wide, according to Killian. The property is considered to be one of the largest privately-owned industrial parks on the West Coast.

Portland’s industrial pipeline remained healthy, with more than 2.8 million square feet underway as of the fourth quarter of last year, according to a recent JLL report. Current economic headwinds are already resulting in a decline of new construction starts, with speculative development taking a pause, according to experts interviewed by Commercial Property Executive.