Rail site expansion opens local import-export access

By Robin Wojtanik for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

A Kansas-based company plans to pick up where Union Pacific Railroad left off and complete an intermodal ramp in Wallula, bringing increased transportation capacity via rail.

The project will open up routes to Northwest docks and as far east as Chicago through a lease and purchase agreement for the former Railex site.

Future plans by purchaser Tiger Cool Express could include an expansion into additional markets, such as the Interstate 5 corridor and Mexico.

“In 10 years, or maybe sooner, the Tri-Cities could be spoken of as a global logistics hub right there with Rotterdam, Hong Kong and Singapore,” said Ted Prince, chief strategy officer and cofounder of Tiger Cool Express. “You’ve got land, you’ve got labor, you’ve got water, and you’ve got electricity.”

Prince said the state has been asked to build an intermodal ramp in Eastern Washington for decades but concluded it was a project for the private sector.

“We’re the private sector here, and the citizens of the whole Tri-Cities will benefit from this,” he said.

He said this region reminds him of the Inland Empire decades ago but with one key advantage.

“The only difference is with our facility you can run a conveyor belt by rail from the port in and out without putting trucks on I-90 and Snoqualmie Pass, and that not only helps the driving public and reduces noxious emissions, it makes the truck drivers happy. Truck drivers hate the pass,” he said.

Prince also points out deficiencies with other U.S import sites that lack adjacent land to expand on or the reliable infrastructure to operate planned distribution centers for mega retailers like Target and Walmart.

“You know, people have opened 2 million-square-foot facilities then to be told, ‘We’re sorry, there won’t be any electricity there for another year or two.’ ”

He added, “I used to work for an ocean carrier and the Pacific Northwest was a very important geography for us. We used to run barges down the Snake and Columbia rivers for exports of french fries, peas, beans, lentils and hay. It costs more to move the hay from the Tri-Cities to Tacoma than it does from Tacoma to Asia. So, anything we can do to reduce those costs for domestic transportation, it makes that Washington export much more competitive.”

Prince said his industry also solves a lot of the supply chain issues currently faced by exporters.

“If they can actually get a box (shipment container) because often they get a promise of a box, which may not be delivered, which may not make it to the port, which may not make it on the vessel – we can solve all of that by moving it by rail,” he said.

While no purchase price has been disclosed, Tiger first announced plans to acquire the property in 2021 and the lease and purchase agreement includes the former Cold Connect warehouse and property at 627 Railex Road.

The 200,000-square-foot facility shuttered early in the pandemic, citing Covid-related troubles and taking 170 jobs with it.

Now renamed the Tiger Tri-Cities Logistics Center, the building was originally built as part of a public-private partnership with the Port of Walla Walla dedicated in 2006.

The plans to build out the intermodal ramp and purchase the shuttered warehouse have the support of Port of Walla Walla Executive Director Patrick Reay.

“We’re hopeful they’re wildly successful in reestablishing use of a real asset that the public owns and which the port constructed years ago. We’re excited about the prospects. Working alongside them and supporting them is critical to the region,” he said.

Hundreds of millions of pounds of produce are already shipped on the rail line yearly using rail cars. Prince touts the efficiency offered versus the highway system.

“Right now they take an import from Seattle and truck it to the Tri-Cities and then truck it back empty. Then, the hay exporter goes to Tacoma, picks up that empty, trucks it back to the Tri-Cities, and then moves it back loaded. So, you’ve got four moves of 250 miles. With rail, you can then truck the import 12 miles to the distribution center, bring the empty back to us and we’ll hold the empty for the exporter who’s ready and does the same thing. All of a sudden, you’ve taken 1,000 truck miles off the road.”

The industry touts those reduced truck miles as part of its environmental advantage, providing a much lower carbon footprint for shipments, “When it comes to the politics in Washington, this is clearly something the east and the west and the left and the right sides of the aisle agree on because it benefits everybody in the state,” Prince said.

After the 2020 shutdown of the Cold Connect Warehouse, Tiger Express says it leaned on Union Pacific to complete the intermodal ramp but to no avail.

“We tried all our tricks to get them to finish it, and they said, ‘Well, if you feel so strongly about it, why don’t you buy it?’ So, we did,” Prince said.

Permits are already in place for construction on the ramp and $2 million in lift equipment has been delivered from Italy for installation. Work is expected to get underway soon with a media day

Idaho Central Credit Union buys land in Kennewick

Idaho Central Credit Union bought 1.5 acres of commercial land at 3720 S. Zintel Way in Kennewick.

Credit union officials said they didn’t have any details to share about timelines to develop the property in the Southridge area.

The credit union paid $784,000 for the property, according to property records.

In January, Idaho Central announced that it had hired a senior private client relationship officer to serve the Tri-Cities area as it “continues to expand in the Washington market.”

Idaho Central was organized as a state-chartered credit union in 1940 and has since grown to have over $9 billion planned in April to show the progress.

Since it’s not starting from scratch, Tiger expects to finish the job by July.

For all the excitement and promise, the project doesn’t come with immediate restoration of lost jobs or even new jobs.

“Historically, train terminals are not great job creators,” Prince said. “But what they do is attract great job creators because they want to be right by the freight facility. (Elsewhere in the U.S.), intermodal terminals have attracted millions of square feet of warehouse and distribution which results in thousands of jobs.”

AutoZone already has a large distribution center a short distance from Wallula in assets. It serves over 540,000 members throughout Idaho, Washington and eastern Oregon. It has two branches in Spokane.

$1.3 million in improvements planned for new Joann store

More than $1 million in tenant improvements are underway for Joann’s new 29,400-square-foot store at Columbia Center mall in Kennewick.

The sewing and crafts retailer recently closed its former store on North Columbia Center Boulevard to move into a portion of the 160,000-square-foot hole Sears left behind when it closed its store in 2019 after its parent company filed for bankruptcy.

Joann’s new address is 1321 N. Columbia Center Blvd., Suite 455.

Improvements include interior parti- and Amazon plans to add its own two in the Tri-Cities, which could make rail access highly appealing.

“The doctrine is no longer to have a distribution center 250 miles from every store,” said Prince. “With e-commerce, it became, ‘I’ve got to be 50 miles or less to every possible consumer because they expect to have it delivered the next day.’ ”

Once open, Tiger Tri-Cities Logistics Center will be expected to handle 5,000 loads a month.

Each load is equivalent to a 53-foot container hauled by most tractor-trailers.

Tiger is informally calling this initial effort “phase 1A.” tions and finishes, lighting, power, heating, air conditioning and ventilation and plumbing.

Lakeview Construction of Wisconsin is the general contractor.

Siefken & Sons Construction founder dies at age 92

The founder of Siefken & Sons Construction, Bill Siefken, 92, died Feb. 7.

Siefken and his wife, Reta, founded the construction firm in 1975.

The company developed the Bryn Mawr Apartments in north Richland, which enabled Siefken to take an early retirement from Hanford in 1982, while growing the construction business.

After several years, he retired from Siefken & Sons Construction, passing it along to the next generation. He and his wife continued managing their growing rental property business.

Siefken was an active member and trustee at Redeemer Lutheran Church. He was active in Richland Rotary, where he led hands-on projects for many years, including the development of Centennial Park and Sutch Park & Bridge Relocation project. He was instrumental in the Rotary Duck Races, with the course eventually being named after him. He received several awards while in Rotary, including the “Service Above Self” in 2001.

He received the Small Business of the Year “Award for Excellence” in 1995. He was an active member of an apartment association for many years. He was involved in many volunteer efforts over the years, including moving a building from FFTF to the Howard Amon Park area for

It intends to work with the state and the Port of Walla Walla to expand the storage availability to hold more empty containers on-site.

Prince estimates about 15 ocean liners dock in the Northwest and if they all were to start using the Wallula site for shipments, the demand for storage would increase significantly.

Use of nearby land likely could allow for an increase to 12,000 stored containers each month, or even double that in the future.

Tiger Cool Express CEO Steve Van Kirk said in a statement, “The Pacific Northwest offers transformational potential for our company.” the now-defunct CREHST Museum and the related construction work to finish the project.

In his free time, he enjoyed RV traveling with Reta and their friends for many years, fishing with family and friends, and many memorable trips with family to the Oregon Coast, Hawaii, and Charbonneau Park. He kept active through the years, still routinely riding his bike till the age of 92.

BNSF announces plan for 2023 capital investments

BNSF Railway Company recently announced its 2023 capital investment plan of $3.96 billion, which includes a project near Pasco.

The largest component of this year’s capital plan, $2.85 billion, is devoted to maintaining BNSF’s core network and related assets.

Maintenance projects include replacing and upgrading rail, track infrastructure such as ballast and rail ties, and maintaining its rolling stock. The work includes nearly 14,000 miles of track surfacing and/or undercutting work and the replacement of 346 miles of rail and about 2.8 million rail ties. About $400 million is for equipment acquisitions.

Over $700 million of this year’s capital plan will be for expansion and efficiency projects, adding to the nearly $2.5 billion invested in expansion projects over the past five years. This year’s expansion plans support the growth of BNSF Intermodal and Automotive, Agricultural and Industrial Products customers.