The Port of Pend Oreille has partnered with two Spokane-area firms to complete feasibility studies on three separate properties for economic development and business recruitment, says Jessica Garza, the organization’s economic development director. 

The three sites that will be evaluated encompass about 190 acres of undeveloped land, and each is being considered for distinct purposes, Garza says.

The first is a 13-acre site owned by the Port of Pend Oreille that is being considered for the potential development of a hotel, with an accompanying commercial retail site. The property lies just outside of the city of Newport, on the southwestern edge of town near the city's schools, Garza says.

The second site is Pend Oreille County’s 147-acre Wolfred Park, which is being considered for outdoor recreation and is located about 6.5 miles northwest of Newport, where state Route 20 intersects with Yergens Road.

The third site, dubbed Wolfred Land, consists of roughly 30 acres of land that could be turned into a business park with railroad access. That site is just west of Wolfred Park on state Route 20, she says. 

The Port of Pend Oreille, which is an economic development agency that does business as Pend Oreille Valley Railroad, has contracted with Spokane-based engineering consultant firm SCJ Alliance, a trade name for Shea Carr & Jewell Inc., and Liberty Lake-based Michael Terrell Landscape Architecture PLLC to complete the studies, which will be delivered by June 25, Garza says.

Garza, a 2023 Journal of Business Rising Star, says the Washington state Department of Commerce awarded the Usk, Washington-based economic development organization a $75,000 grant to complete the studies.

Once given the results, the organization will decide how to move forward and apply for more funding in the next grant cycle, she says.

“The studies are poised to give us a really good overlook of what can be done with the properties, as none of them are developed,” Garza says. “They’re going to be high-level and broad studies with a fast turnaround."

Michael D. Terrell, principal at Michael Terrell Landscape Architecture, says he sees potential for Wolfred Park.

“The Wolfred County Park is a tremendously exciting project that is an opportunity to support a whole range of park and recreation activities. … Development of this park is an outstanding opportunity to continue the legacy of region’s visionaries to connect the community to the river,” Terrell says in a press release from the Port of Pend Oreille.