FOR THE BUSINESS PARK ENTERPRISES . . .
The sky’s the limit

By Andy Porter
of the Union-Bulletin

Not everything that lands at Walla Walla Regional Airport has wings, it seems.

Along with aircraft based here, a diverse clutch of businesses has found a home amid the 832-acre industrial park running east and nearly the length of the main runway.

Nameplates on the blue signs planted vertically along roadways give an idea of the range of enterprises that occupy the park.

Manufacturers, contractors and machinery suppliers are mixed in with a range of others, including at least seven wineries, a martial arts academy, a quilt shop, a skeet and trapshooting club – even a church.

“It’s a real diverse tenant base,” said Jim Kuntz, executive director for the Port of Walla Walla, which owns and leases the land.

It is also a profitable one, Port records show.

This year began with 64 leaseholders at the airport, including aviation businesses, who pay more than $200 a month. Altogether the businesses bring about $62,553 a month into the public airport’s coffers.

Rents and leases for 2001 exceeded expectations by 5.5 percent, finishing at $686,000, Kuntz said.

Along with businesses, the Port also made about $70,500 from the sale of wheat and other crops grown on farmland in the business park’s boundaries. The Port retains Bi-Kay Farms to tend the fields and plant and harvest the crops.

The Port took over operation of the airport and its industrial park in 1989 from the city and county of Walla Walla, which acquired the former U.S. Army base and grounds when the government declared it surplus in 1947.

A major concern early on was maintenance and improvements to the World War II-era buildings spotted around the park, Kuntz said.

That task now occupies three full-time maintenance workers who are supplemented during the summer with three additional employees, said Larry Adams, airport manager.

Readjusting lease rates to bring them into line with current market values has also been an ongoing effort since 1989, Kuntz and Adams said.

The adjustments are driven, in part, by the U.S. Inspector General’s office because the airport grounds are surplus government property, Adams said.

“If you weren’t leasing as close to market value as you could, they frown on that,” he said.

The number of leases at the business park have remained fairly constant since 1989, Kuntz and Adam’s said. New businesses move in to replace those that move out.

The park also served as an incubator for several local businesses, allowing them to get a start and build their markets and capabilities before taking off for larger facilities elsewhere.

Among those have been Energy Bank Insulation Inc. and Blue Mountain Refrigeration, Kuntz said. Another one soon to move out will likely be Craik Lumber, which is building a new building on East Isaacs Avenue.

Walla Walla Valley’s booming wine industry has stakes in the park, too. A number of wineries set up shop there, and Walla Walla Community College will plant a “teaching vineyard” to train viticulture students.

Among the winery operators is Ron Coleman, who moved Tamarack Cellars into the airport’s former firehouse in January 1999.

“I like working with the Port,” Coleman said. “They made things easy for us.”

The firehouse also offered useful features, such as large doors, which help workers when they have to move wine barrels or other bulky items in or out of the building.

Kuntz said that he has noticed one other activity for which the airport is a draw – although not one likely to make the Port any money. The unobstructed roads with their grid-square layout and ample parking lots make the grounds a popular place to learn driving and parking skills. “I see a lot of parents and their kids up here learning to drive,” he said.