Mill District update sparks discussion about Cashmere's growth capacity

CASHMERE — A presentation on the future of the Cashmere Mill District led to a broader discussion on June 8 about whether the city has enough usable land to support future business growth.

Representatives from the Port of Chelan County, which owns the District, updated the Cashmere City Council on redevelopment efforts at the former mill site, outlining plans that could bring new retail development, business incubator space and additional economic activity to one of the city's largest redevelopment projects.

Port CEO Jim Kuntz said the Port recently renewed an option agreement with NNN Development, which is pursuing an O'Reilly Auto Parts location on Parcel C of the Mill District. The agreement gives the developer additional time to complete due diligence and present the project to the retailer.

Kuntz said the Port has invested roughly $10 million in cleanup and redevelopment efforts at the site, including approximately $5 million in state cleanup funding and about $4.5 million from the Port itself.

"We're really proud of what we've done to date," Kuntz said.

Not every parcel will ultimately be sold.

Kuntz said the Port has determined that Parcel D will likely remain under Port ownership because fully cleaning the site to obtain a "no further action" determination from the Washington Department of Ecology would be prohibitively difficult and expensive. Instead, the Port is considering developing the property itself.

One concept discussed at the meeting would bring a Cashmere version of the Port's Trades District model to the site, providing smaller commercial spaces for entrepreneurs, contractors and growing businesses.

The Port's Trades District near Pangborn Memorial Airport reached full occupancy shortly after opening and has attracted a mix of retail and service-oriented tenants.

Additional discussion centered on parcels south of Mill Road, where a prospective buyer has expressed interest in developing storage units if the city's current moratorium on new mini-storage facilities is eventually lifted.

The Mill District discussion resurfaced later in the meeting during a review of Cashmere's draft comprehensive plan.

Planning consultant Christina Wollman of Perteet presented a preliminary draft of the city's updated comprehensive plan, including a land-capacity analysis that found Cashmere currently has sufficient industrial and commercial land to accommodate projected growth.

Some council members questioned whether parcels identified as available in planning documents are necessarily practical for future development.

Councilmember John Perry said he would like future planning documents to more clearly reflect the challenges associated with some industrial properties, including fragmented ownership, environmental constraints and infrastructure limitations.

"What I would like to see is for this to show that we don't actually have enough industrial land because it is small little parcels here and there, or it's that stuff that is essentially undevelopable," Perry said.

Wollman responded that the land-capacity analysis already excludes critical areas and development constraints, but agreed additional discussion about long-term industrial land needs could be incorporated into future planning efforts.

The discussion evolved into a larger conversation about whether Cashmere should begin planning for eventual expansion of its Urban Growth Area, the boundaries within which future city growth is anticipated.

Council members noted that while planning analyses may show adequate land capacity on paper, the city continues to receive inquiries from businesses seeking locations that are difficult to accommodate with existing inventory.

Mayor Jim Fletcher said long-term planning requires identifying future infrastructure needs and growth opportunities well before development pressures arrive.

As redevelopment continues at the Mill District, city leaders appeared increasingly focused on a larger question: where Cashmere's next generation of businesses will find room to grow once the community's remaining industrial land is built out.

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media