Cities honored for economic development

The International Economic Development Council recently recognized the cities of Arlington and Marysville with a 2022 Excellence Award for exemplary multi-year economic strategy that led to the creation of the Cascade Industrial Center.

“The communities selected exemplify the ingenuity, leadership, and determination needed to meet today’s economic challenges,” IEDC President and CEO Nathan Ohle said. “The winners of IEDC’s Excellence in Economic Development awards represent the best of economic development and demonstrate the level of leadership that our profession strives for every day.”

IEDC, the largest nonprofit professional association for professional economic developers in the world, presented the award on Sept. 20 in Oklahoma City, OK. IEDC received more than 500 submissions from the United States and four other countries. Awards were judged by a regionally diverse panel of economic and community developers.

“Through this multi-year economic development strategy, we’ve seen new jobs and industries spring up. Investment into these major facilities requires local government to possess a clear and collaborative vision creating stable and predictable growth,” Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring said.

“It is gratifying to see the fruits of our labors translated into a stronger future for families and a place where generations of our community can prosper,” Arlington Mayor Barbara Tolbert added.

The regionally designated Cascade Industrial Center (CIC) is located adjacent to Interstate 5 and several state highways with ready access to BNSF railroad, the international deep-water seaport at Port of Everett, and the Arlington and Paine Field airports.

The project was initially conceived starting with the Arlington-Marysville Manufacturing Industrial Center Study in 2016. In 2019, the Puget Sound Regional Council of Governments (PSRC) granted the CIC designation as an employment area with intensive, concentrated manufacturing and industrial land uses not easily mixed with other uses. At that time, 1,762 of CIC’s 4,019 acres had capacity for additional development.

In the last three years, the CIC has outperformed anticipated growth targets by attracting $1.12 billion in private investment and 2,400 jobs representing 40 companies within its borders shared by Arlington and Marysville.

Continued intense growth is expected in the CIC, which provides a unique opportunity in the Puget Sound region impacted by unprecedented industrial activity and in the U.S. industrial market. Just within the Marysville section of the CIC, investors are planning to build more than 8 million square foot of industrial space for new projects.