The Southwest Corridor, which includes areas along Highway 99W from OHSU to Washington Square to Bridgeport Village, is a very important job center for the region. Together, public and private partners are looking to target public investments to support economic development and grow jobs. Local business owners and employers came together in Tigard to emphasize the need for a wide range of transportation investments that will help them expand businesses, move goods, and get workers, students and families out of traffic and more safely and reliably to their destinations.
Participants in an economic summit about the corridor in Tigard on Nov. 14 shared ideas about everything from road and transit projects to education, health and new ways to market the area.
"Look at the corridor through an education prism" said Rob Wagner, director of government relations for Portland Community College, because the area has a marketable education focus and many jobs link to education. Wagner added that it would be "beneficial to factor in sustainability," while Tualatin Mayor Lou Ogden suggested focusing in on "the areas that make the corridor special and unique, (places like) wildlife refuges, Fanno Creek, Tryon Creek (and the) Tualatin River."
Current employment concentrations and future opportunities that support community vision for development were analyzed and reported on by economist Eric Hovee. From the professional jobs along Kruse Way to shopping destinations like Washington Square and Bridgeport Village and major educational institutions, there are already strong employment areas in the corridor. The manufacturing sector is well-represented in the Tualatin and Sherwood area, and has room to expand onto undeveloped industrial land.
Current and past interaction with corridor employers indicates that congestion and poor internal circulation are major limiting factors in the economic growth of the Southwest Corridor.
Cheryl Dorman, a West Coast Bank branch manager in Tualatin, summed it up this way: "The major transportation challenge is mobility – both freight and employees."
Jeff Nudelman, vice president of Harsch Investment Properties, said you can have the greatest property on the market but "if it takes so long to get there through traffic, you can't make the deal."
Washington Square senior property manager Jonae Armstrong said, "if we can’t get our products or take away our trash, we can’t exist."
Analysis shows that a lack of transit service to major employment locations makes it hard for places like Kruse way to compete with downtown when it comes to transportation choices.
"Large employers are looking for a place with transit," said Susan Foote, a property manager with Shorenstein Properties, a major Kruse Way real estate owner.
By next summer, the cities, counties and agencies working together on the Southwest Corridor Plan are seeking agreement on a package of short- and longer-term investments that will help generate the best outcome for economic growth.
Dorman said that investments in the corridor should "make (Highway) 99W a destination rather than an eyesore." Nudelman added that investments should "improve the lives of our employees and tenants where they are." Suggestions focused on making the area more pedestrian friendly and giving bicyclists safe lanes and crossings.
Knowing that there is a need to spend public investment dollars wisely – the amount available is not enough to cover all of the region's needs – the Southwest Corridor partners see a benefit to a cooperative economic development agenda. Ideally, this cooperative agenda will be guided by a coordinated partnership of public, private and non-profit stakeholder interests.
Participants like Ogden said that business people "want to see results and a relationship between their input and the plan outcomes."
"Target specific businesses that you want to see engaged at the front end," advised Ron Audette, a regional manager at CenterCal Properties.