A long-anticipated development on the Columbia River breaks ground Monday in Vancouver.
It’s called The Waterfront and will include office and commercial space as well as apartments, condos, parkland and a 120-room hotel.
Developer Barry Cain of Gramor Development said the 7.3-acre site posed some unique challenges.
"When we first got involved, one the biggest issues was just getting into the site," he said.
"We have a raised train trestle here that had to rebuilt. It took a little bit of time, but we finally got in. Since then we’ve gone through a master plan process which includes all the agencies that allows us to build buildings close-up on the water.”
Cain said the hope is to have buildings ready for move-in by early October, after nearly a decade of on-again, off-again planning.
Last year, the Washington legislature put up $4 million to move the process forward.