Proposal aims to create Discovery Corridor along I-5

VANCOUVER, Wash. – Regional economic development leaders want to expand the boundaries of a highly conceptual business-oriented research park in north Clark County from roughly 100 acres near Washington State University Vancouver to 5,000 acres stretching from La Center to Salmon Creek.

Under the proposal to enlarge and rename the county’s state-designated “innovation partnership zone,” a local team of business, government and university leaders would focus on attracting a cluster of information technology companies into the geographic area that would be dubbed the Discovery Corridor. That area has few such jobs now, but economic development consultants are encouraging growth in information technology businesses near WSUV.

The Discovery Corridor plan doesn’t rezone property or hand out building permits. A big-picture concept, its goal is to focus the region’s economic development efforts, and attract public and private investment.

“By increasing the size of the zone, the quantity of prospective projects increases while maintaining a critical mass for development and research,” according to the Sept. 1 application submitted by area leaders to the Washington State Department of Commerce.

Jeanie Ashe, director of business recruitment for the Columbia River Economic Development Council, and Brent Grening, executive director of the Port of Ridgefield, traveled to Seattle on Tuesday to present the proposal to a group of state government officials who oversee economic development and workforce development programs.

Ashe said the state will decide whether to approve the Discovery Corridor plan by Oct. 1.

The county’s existing “innovation partnership zone” is one of 12 such districts statewide that have cropped up since 2007, when Gov. Chris Gregoire and the state Legislature paved the way for them.