The Reimann Industrial Center may draw attention for its steady demand for industrial land, but it’s just one piece of a larger development agenda for the Port of Pasco.

From development of a proposed industrial symbiosis park and a planned business park near the Tri-Cities Airport to supporting the community of Connell in the wake of the Lamb Weston plant closure, and ensuring the Big Pasco Industrial Center can continue to support manufacturers and projected rail traffic, the port said it’s all about prioritizing to make sure it remains a hub of industry and innovation.

“I think we’ve got more projects and more potential projects than our current staffing can handle,” said Executive Director Adam Lincoln. “That’s not a bad thing.”

The port has an operating budget of $22 million, non-operating budget of $33.6 million, capital budget of $16.9 million and collects $3.2 million from property tax revenue.

Demand for industrial land

Reimann is already home to Darigold’s milk processing facility, which celebrated its opening in June 2025. Cold storage provider Cold Summit has secured two lots for its cold storage facilities and has teamed up with the port to pursue state funding to expand the industrial park’s water system.

More recently, a pallet manufacturer agreed to buy a 10-acre parcel with the goal of building a 100,000-square-foot facility that would employ 40 to 50 people, representing a total investment of roughly $18 million.

“They want to go fast,” said Stephen McFadden, the port’s deputy director, adding that work could start on the facility as early as December.

Demand for land at Reimann is strong enough port commissioners agreed to buy an additional 320 acres next to the industrial park from agricultural outfit Balcom & Moe Inc., which sold the initial property for Reimann to the port. McFadden said the port has already had two companies make inquiries about the possibility of securing 200 acres but the port did not pursue them due to the need to properly prepare the new additional acreage for development.

“It’s a big part of our portfolio,” Lincoln said. “We get a lot of calls. There’s a lot of excitement around industrial land in the Tri-Cities and there seems to be less and less of it.”

Moving forward responsibly includes more than expanding the park’s water system. Expanding rail access within Reimann is in the works to fully serve Cold Summit’s planned facilities. And the port has formally applied for the industrial park to be brought within Pasco’s urban growth boundary, which would allow it to connect to the municipal wastewater system, providing further capacity for development.

Industrial symbiosis

Port officials have pursued the concept of an industrial symbiosis park for several years. Such a development would be based on similar parks in Denmark, which use technologies that convert biowaste to renewable gas or reuse waste heat from manufacturing to support other processes.

Port commissioners received the findings of a feasibility study looking at the project in May, and it identified the port as an ideal partner. And the pool of stakeholders that are interested in the project has more than doubled to 100 individual organizations and individuals.

Still, port officials acknowledge there are a lot of steps needed before industrial symbiosis becomes a reality in the Tri-Cities.

“There’s a lot of happy energy” around the idea, McFadden said. “How do we get from happy energy to delivery is the question.”

The port is taking some of those steps. Port officials recently spoke with a company that could conduct a waste stream analysis for the project, essentially determining how much of a given waste, whether manure or woody biomass, is available in the region to serve as the base input for an industrial symbiosis park.

Additionally, the port has had some initial conversations with a landowner for a possible site for the park.

McFadden and Lincoln said it will be years before industrial symbiosis can be a reality, though acknowledged that timeline could be shortened if there is enough interest and momentum behind the idea from industry.

“If the port has to be nimble, we can be,” McFadden said.

Aerospace, manufacturing

The Tri-Cities Airport remains a significant economic engine for the region but port officials are currently focused on the land it owns surrounding the airport.

The Aerospace, Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Center includes 450 acres to the west and north of the airport. It is intended to support next-generation aerospace and advanced manufacturing operations.

The port has taken some steps to get development at the AIM Center off the ground. It used more than $400,000 to fund initial site analysis and technical studies, completed environmental and infrastructure feasibility assessments, and has defined the first 125 acres for development. McFadden said an aerospace company has reached out about opportunities at the AIM Center.

However, millions of dollars of work still needs to be completed and shoring up those funds will take time. The port is seeking about $6 million in federal funding to complete engineering for the first phase, which would include water, sewer, roadway and power improvements. Securing that funding is taking more time as port officials work to educate federal lawmakers and their staffs about the need.

“We’ve got some work to do,” McFadden said.

Big Pasco

The port also has work to do at Big Pasco, the established warehousing, manufacturing and logistics hub along the Columbia River that was part of the port’s strategic plan update in 2024 when a facilities audit was conducted.

That audit was expected to find millions of dollars worth of work needing to be completed in 2027, with far more needed in the following years to bring buildings and infrastructure up to modern standards and needs. While the port does invest between $2 million and $3 million at Big Pasco annually, McFadden said some outside funding will be necessary to get that work done.

Port officials also brought in HDR Engineering to conduct a rail assessment throughout its properties, and Big Pasco is one of the biggest. While some of the rail is relatively new, McFadden said it’s critical the entire system be up to snuff to meet the demand the port is projecting it will face.

While the lease for one rail logistics provider announced this year has fallen through, the port’s arrangement with the Northwest Seaport Alliance as well as the ports of Benton and Walla Walla to establish the Inland Logistics Hub will still drive rail traffic to the region. The skyrocketing cost of diesel is leading companies to forgo truck shipping and lean more onto rail.

“We have a ready and waiting freight rail facility,” McFadden said. “We expect to see more rail traffic in 2027.”

Connell

Connell continues to be a critical outreach effort for the port as the community rebuilds its economy after Lamb Weston shut down and demolished the potato processing facility it previously operated there.

The port has stepped up to assist those efforts, helping to secure funds for a report to identify potential industrial development sites in the community. That report came out this past spring and identified two sites, one in the city and the other just outside, that could be attractive to manufacturers, though they’d both require improvements.

The port has also established an interlocal agreement with the city to provide marketing services, including development of a website and other materials, to promote the community. Two companies already have made inquiries about opportunities there.

However, McFadden called the effort “a long game” that will take time to bear fruit.

Osprey Pointe

There is one prominent port project that will be on the back burner for an unknown amount of time: Osprey Pointe, the riverfront property that is home to the port’s offices. It will remain open green space as litigation between the port and developer Jim Sexton plays out in court.

The port contracted with Sexton in 2019 to develop the property, which he envisioned as a unique mixed-use development with 962 residential units, dozens of commercial spaces, including a large market hall with wine tastings and an art gallery, and an event center with outdoor amphitheater.

However, no construction has ever taken place, with Sexton citing numerous hurdles. In July 2025, Sexton told port commissioners he was ready to buy the initial 9 acres at a previously agreed upon price of just under $2 million before he invested $1 million for needed utility work. 

But port commissioners and staff required the request be made in writing, include a new proposed development schedule and a letter explaining the need for it. The port also posed questions and expressed concerns about how the development dragged out.

Eventually, port commissioners voted unanimously to terminate its agreement with JMS in December 2025 after the developer failed to meet deadlines. Sexton sued the port in July 2026, claiming that the port’s current executive director deliberately worked to force the developer out. The port has denied the lawsuit’s allegations.