Port of Tacoma Commission approves ground lease for major cold storage facility

The Port of Tacoma Commission on June 16 approved a ground lease with Saxum Investment Company, LLC for a cold storage and food processing facility on a 30-acre site between Taylor Way and Alexander Avenue on the Blair-Hylebos Peninsula.

Once complete, the project is expected to create up to 400 jobs and generate up to $43 million in annual wages, according to the developer’s estimates. Subject to final design, Saxum anticipates investing up to $250 million in the project.

“When we talk about supporting family wage jobs, this is exactly what we mean,” said Port of Tacoma Commission President Dick Marzano. “We thank Saxum for committing to grow the workforce in Pierce County and for recognizing the Port of Tacoma as a great place to do business.”

Saxum will finance and develop the project, which is expected to be completed over a 24-month construction period. The facility will feature modern, high efficiency cold storage and purpose-built food processing space. Direct access to port facilities, rail freight service, and key road transportation corridors will provide seamless connections to domestic and international markets, setting the project apart from other food-grade industrial assets in the region.

“Saxum has been focused on the Tacoma market for several years, and we are grateful for the Port of Tacoma’s trust in Saxum. As a leader in the cold storage development sector, we are confident in our ability to deliver a durable, quality asset on a critical site at the Port of Tacoma, and we look forward to furthering the strong relationships we have made in the market since first identifying this opportunity,” said Matthew Wassel, Principal at Saxum Real Estate.

The 50-year ground lease will begin after the Port’s remediation of legacy contamination on the site, which is expected to be finished by the end of the year.

“This project is a great example of our commitment to cleaning up contaminated land and putting it back into productive use,” said Port of Tacoma Executive Director Eric Johnson. “When we can improve the environment and create jobs in a single project, it aligns perfectly with our mission of sustainable economic growth.”

The Port of Tacoma owns about half of the 5,000 acres that make up the Tacoma Tideflats and regularly remediates legacy contamination on properties acquired from former industrial users. Regulatory partnerships and access to grant funding give ports unique tools and resources to advance environmental cleanup and redevelopment efforts. To date, the Port has cleaned up or remediated more than 1,100 acres of historically contaminated land and constructed or preserved more than 200 acres of fish and wildlife habitat.