Hermistons 275-acre Cook Industrial Site was recently re-certified by the Oregon Business Development Department as project-ready, meaning conditions are in place for companies to begin construction within six months or less.

According to city officials, the site just off Highway 395 would be ideal for a variety of industries.

Assistant to the City Manager Mark Morgan said the location has a wide array of amenities that city officials are hoping will attract businesses to the area and help Hermiston expand its industrial development potential.

The site is served by municipal water and sewer lines as well as natural gas. Power is provided at a low cost through the citys municipal power utility, and the site is situated at a crossroads of highways and rail lines.

Companies at the Cook site could ship to Portland in three hours and both Seattle and Boise in four and a half hours. Corporate jet traffic can be accommodated by the Hermiston Municipal Airport, which is less than a mile away.

One thing that is unique about the site is we could sell it piece by piece, or it could handle a large-scale operation, Morgan said. The fact that it is so large and could handle an operation like that is unique in this part of the state.

Morgan said, despite the versatile nature of the area, some businesses might be more interested in the property than others.

The site could handle three specific types of industries, according to the certification process, including general manufacturing, a back-office/call center or a transportation/warehousing operation.

Because there are so many transit options in such close proximity to the Cook site, Morgan said a transportation or warehousing business would be ideal.

Our marketing efforts have centered on trying to attract transportation and warehousing companies, Morgan said. We have tremendous transportation assets in Hermiston. What wed really like would be another food processor, but that would require additional water resources.

One company that has already taken advantage of Cook site acreage is the DuPont-Pioneer seed company. The largest U.S. producer of hybrid seed products recently expanded, constructing a $35 million plant expansion at the site in 2013.

Since 2009, DuPont has invested more than $70 million in production and research facilities at the site.

Morgan said the Cook site is poised to provide the community of Hermiston with continued industrial growth opportunities.

The Cook site is our prime area for development, Morgan said. We have developed this asset with the correct utilities so it can handle large-scale development.