Cargo brand closing in on a $20.1 million deal with the City of Lake Oswego for a building on SW Kruse Way.
BY JACOB PALMER | DIGITAL NEWS EDITOR
Yakima Products is closing in on a $20.1 million deal with the City of Lake Oswego for a building on SW Kruse Way.
The move was planned because the brand currently works in a property owned by Nike, which wanted to negotiate Yakima’s exit before the end of its lease in 2020, OregonLive.com reports.
“We are thrilled to be making the West End Building Yakima’s new home,” said Yakima chief executive Ryan Martin in a news release. “It is the perfect location for our growing business, and we are excited to have a headquarters that we fully own and can customize to our unique needs.”
Preparing for growth, the company is planning on expanding its space from the 37,000 square feet it currently occupies to 65,000 square feet at the Lake Oswego location.
“We couldn’t be more pleased that Yakima has decided to purchase the property and make Lake Oswego its new home,” said Lake Oswego Mayor Kent Studebaker in the news release. “With its strong brand name and more than 100 quality jobs, Yakima will be a great fit for our community.”
Yakima hopes to be moved into its Lake Oswego location by December 1.
The move will affect the Lake Oswego School District as well, the Portland Tribune reports.
[Lake Oswego redevelopment director Brant] Williams said Yakima has agreed to lease back office space to the city for the Lake Oswego-Tigard Water Partnership until that project is completed, probably for two years. The city currently is in negotiations with the Lake Oswego School District to relocate the Parks & Recreation Department to Palisades Elementary School; if those plans are approved, department staff would likely begin their move in mid-August.
The LOSD School Board will consider the proposal on Monday night. The City Council will take up the question on Tuesday, when it holds a public hearing on the purchase-and-sale agreement with Yakima. The city currently pays about $1.5 million a year for loan payments, maintenance and operating costs for the WEB. It will pay $15 per square foot under the terms of the lease-back arrangement with Yakima; terms of the deal with the school district were not released.
Williams hopes that the deal will close sometime between the end of August and beginning of September.
