May 17, 2024

Washington Public Ports Association recognizes Port of Vancouver USA with 2024 Environmental Stewardship Award

STEVENSON, Washington – Every year, the Washington Public Ports Association (WPPA) recognizes ports across the state for their extraordinary accomplishments in the categories of job creation, community engagement, creative partnership, and environmental stewardship.

This year, the WPPA is honored to present its award for Environmental Stewardship to the Port of Vancouver USA for the redevelopment of its historic Terminal 1 property.



The Port of Vancouver USA operates as a sustainable port, focusing on environmental stewardship while ensuring job creation and economic development. The port is actively redeveloping Terminal 1—the site of its original 1920s warehouse—while ensuring this critical public space is modernized and built to rigorous environmental standards.

The vision for the project is an active, mixed-use development that integrates office, retail, and residential space around the central Terminal 1 public market and pier. The project connects the multi-use trail on the property with the nearby City of Vancouver trail, creates new public gathering spaces, and installs interpretive placards. These amenities provide community members with a shared outdoor public space, help attract visitors to the site and to downtown Vancouver and promote the culture and history of the area. The port’s redevelopment is also bringing brownfield property back to productive use and replacing or modernizing older, inefficient buildings.

New buildings will be constructed to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold standards, awarded by the US Green Building Council as the highest possible level of sustainable construction. Plans include bird-safe building designs developed with the Bird Alliance of Oregon, street trees to provide shade, electric vehicle charging stations in parking garages, accessible and ample bicycle parking, green roofing, and street lighting that is downcast to minimize light pollution and impacts on the aquatic environment. New buildings will also include rigorous efficiency standards for energy, water, and indoor environmental quality.

The port has already demolished the older, tired Terminal 1 structures and development has already met many early milestones. The community is enthusiastically embracing the project, reinforcing that environmental stewardship and economic development can complement one another and amplify community benefits.

The Port of Vancouver USA Terminal 1 redevelopment project characterizes this approach, and the WPPA is proud to recognize the port’s innovation and hard work with our 2024 Environmental Stewardship Award.

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As a state legislative and regulatory advocacy organization, the Washington Public Ports Association (WPPA) fosters public policy for ports to achieve their goals. The WPPA was formed by the Legislature in 1961 to represent public port districts throughout Washington, serving as the focus through which ports work cooperatively to develop policy direction, share information, and address issues on economic development, trade, transportation, and environmental stewardship. Public port districts offer a wide range of locally governed services, including marine terminals, barge facilities, industrial development, marinas, airports, railroads, and tourism promotion. Learn more at washingtonports.org. 

CONTACT

Eric ffitch

Washington Public Ports Association

E: effitch@washingtonports.org

T: 360-763-1179