In a move that could reshape Tacoma's working waterfront for decades, Port of Tacoma commissioners this week signed off on a 50-year ground lease with Saxum Investment Co. for a cold-storage and food-processing campus of up to $250 million on roughly 30 acres in the Tideflats. The plan calls for nearly 600,000 square feet of refrigerated and processing space and, by the developer's estimates, could support around 400 jobs and roughly $43 million in annual wages.
Lease Details And Scale
Under the deal, Saxum would build out a mixed campus that combines large-scale cold storage, food processing and support facilities, with the lease structured as a long-term ground arrangement that includes rent escalators tied to the Consumer Price Index. As reported by the Puget Sound Business Journal, the agreement contemplates investment of up to $250 million over a 50-year term, with options that could extend the relationship even further.
Site Plan And Tenant Questions
The site sits in the Taylor Way/Alexander Avenue fill area, identified as 1221–1225 E. Alexander Ave. Presentation materials reviewed by commissioners showed a campus anchored by a 113,000-square-foot processing building, flanked by two large cold-storage structures, plus a 19,000-square-foot rail dock aimed at supporting intermodal moves, according to The News Tribune. Potential tenants have not yet been announced, which leaves some suspense about who will actually fill all that chilled space.
Jobs, Traffic And Local Reaction
Port staff and Saxum say the complex could bring up to 400 jobs and roughly $43 million in annual wages, a sizable bump for Tacoma's industrial employment base. At the same time, commissioners homed in on what the project might mean for neighborhood streets and nearby highways. Commissioner Dick Marzano pressed staff on truck traffic, telling colleagues, "I just don't want the public to feel like we're going to all of a sudden get 15,000 more trucks going through our port area and through the highways," as reported by The News Tribune. In other words, jobs are welcome, gridlock less so.
Environmental Work And Next Steps
The approval comes with strings attached. Before the lease formally kicks in, the port has flagged environmental remediation, related studies and even invasive-snail abatement as required preconditions. Port planning documents and reporting by the Puget Sound Business Journal note that the lease itself does not authorize construction, and the developer must still secure city permits and complete required cleanup before breaking ground, according to Port of Tacoma planning materials.
What This Means For Tacoma
Port leaders argue the campus would bolster local processing capacity so more seafood and other foodstuffs can be handled and shipped from Tacoma instead of being routed overseas for chilling and packing. The project plugs into broader regional growth in automated, large-scale cold storage, with recent expansions by national operators highlighting the strategic value of adding high-capacity refrigerated space in the Tideflats. The presence of NewCold in the area is one prominent example of that trend.
From here, the playbook is straightforward, if not exactly quick: finish the environmental work, clear the municipal permitting maze, then lock in construction timing and tenants. For now, the newly approved lease sets the stage for a long-term cold-chain hub on Tacoma's industrial waterfront, with plenty of eyes watching to see how fast the concept moves from paper to poured concrete.
