Economic Development

i

Planning

The City of Woodburn with the assistance of the Woodburn Area Chamber has been active in economic planning for the City. In January, 2010 the Woodburn City Council approved a Downtown Plan to guide the improvement of this Urban Renewal District. A key part of this effort is the City’s Urban Renewal Grant and Loan Program, which provides business owners incentives to improve their properties.

In 2011 the City of Woodburn adopted an Economic Plan for the overall area, which calls for several joint projects with the Chamber. In 2012 the City approved a 99E Corridor Plan for this critical business area in east Woodburn. Taken together these aggressive plans commit the Chamber to helping the City of Woodburn grow.

Transportation

In the summer of 2014 the Oregon Department of Transportation continues its expansion project on our current I-5 Interchange (exit 271) to a partial cloverleaf, widen the bridge across I-5 and Highway 214 on either side, and create a park and ride facility adjacent to the interchange. While this will disrupt traffic periodically, the result will be a more attractive “front door” to the Woodburn area and the ability to handle projected traffic for the next twenty years. For more information on this project you may go to their website:

www.woodburninterchange.com

U

City Focuses

The City of Gervais has formed an Economic Development task force to guide the improvement of their city. Already new business is coming to their revitalizing downtown, led by their 5,700 square foot self-financed and under budget new City Hall.

In Hubbard they continue to focus on beautifying 99E that runs through the center of town, improving their parks, recruiting business to their Business Park, and welcoming new business.

In 2014 the Chamber is leading an effort to form an area Economic Development Committee to coordinate business retention and recruitment among the three cities.

Tourism

Woodburn Area Tourism (WAT) was formed by the Chamber in 2008 to separate and better track our Chamber’s area tourism efforts.  Working closely with the City of Woodburn to secure significant funding from Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) funds (taxes on motel visitors), WAT manages the Visitor Information Center at the Woodburn Company Stores, the Visitor website produces brochures on events and itineraries for spending more time in the area, assists local celebrations with promotion and financing, and develops tours for individuals and tour operators.

www.alwaysfreshdiscoveries.com