Cascade Locks Port talks Ravenwood sale, airport study

Commissioners are set to discuss a pending agreement to sell the port’s “Parkview” lot to a Portland-based construction company — at an expected $480,000 purchase price — according to a written report by Economic Development Manager Don Mann. A proposal up for discussion Thursday involves the port entering a two-year sale agreement with the company.

The port entered talks with the company last summer.

Ravenwood Group, a father-son business owned by Chris and Willis Boyer, has shown interest in the 1.87-acre patch of land on the main business corridor of Cascade Locks, across from East Wind Drive-In ice cream restaurant. If the deal goes through, Ravenwood would build a combined residential and commercial development.

“The issue was discussed by the commission with Willis Boyer on June 15. Following the discussion, the commission directed staff to work with Mr. Boyer and come back at the July 6 meeting with a proposal,” Mann said in his report.

Willis Boyer said last week the company isn’t certain what commercial property will make for a good fit at the location, but they are considering options such as a restaurant or brewpub. The residential portion will likely house condominiums.

“It’s a really pretty view and kind of accessible from Portland and the surrounding area,” Boyer said of the Parkview property.

Boyer said the company could start ground work on site by the end of the year.

The port will also consider reauthorizing a request for proposal that involves sending out a grant application for a feasibility study looking into improvements — or repurposing — at Cascade Locks Airport. The port would earmark up to $25,000 for a local grant match.

Cascade Locks Airport serves as an emergency airstrip and a “warning airport” and was created in 1948 with funding from the states of Oregon and Washington, along with the federal government. The airport occupies 37 acres on the east end of Cascade Locks. The state owns the airport through Oregon Department of Aviation.

The study would consider options for enhanced safety or reuse of the property for non-aviation purposes, ranging from light industry to housing.

A resolution headed to the port commission states:

“Whereas the port has worked with the state through (Oregon Gov. Kate Brown’s) office regarding re-use of the airport and … there is agreement regarding the need to study the highest use of the airport … and both state and federal sources have indicated that grant sources are available.”

According to a background report by Port General Manager Paul Koch, the port will form a steering committee to work with a consultant on the project. The members will represent various local and state jurisdictions.

The resolution closes by stating the port’s “wish to move forward with the feasibility study.”