PacTrust breaks ground in Tualatin prepping for economic rebound

By Nick Peterson

The Times, Oct 8, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Jaime Valdez / The Times

Heavy machinery moves dirt on land once owned by the Koch family in Tualatin, as PacTrust prepares the Koch Corporate Center for potential tenants.

TUALATIN – It’s an unusual sight in this economy – heavy equipment moving mountains of dirt, preparing for construction. But that’s what is happening on Tualatin-Sherwood Road, on the west side of Tualatin.

Last month, PacTrust broke ground on the site of the Koch Corporate Center at the intersection of Tualatin-Sherwood Road and 115th Avenue, looking forward to a turnaround in the economy.

“Right now, all we’re doing is some mass grading – site work,” said Eric Sporre, vice president of PacTrust, the development company that owns the property. “We’re able to get a little bit better pricing now because there’s not much going on construction-wise. But we won’t be building any buildings until the market improves, which we hope improves sooner than later.”

Sporre said the company will not be installing any infrastructure – just leveling the site.

“We’re getting it ready so that when we have people who may be interested, we’ll be able to respond more quickly,” Sporre said.

The Koch Corporate Center site has about 56 usable acres. Sporre says they envision the center as one of their standard business parks, with larger buildings at the back and flex-offices fronting Tualatin-Sherwood Road.

PacTrust bought the land in 2007 from the Koch family, who had farmed it – as the Koch Family Farm – for nearly 70 years.

Does PacTrust have any interested tenants?

“No, we don’t,” Sporre said. “We sure wish we did.”

PacTrust – Pacific Realty Associates, L.P. – is one of the Pacific Northwest's largest real estate developers and investment property owners. The focus of the company is office, industrial, flex and retail properties.

For more information about the company, visit www.pactrust.com .

Facebook	Digg	Del.icio.us
Newsvine	Stumbleupon	Reddit