Trucking Firm Buys 29 Acres Adjacent to Portland Meadows

PORTLAND, OR-About 30 acres adjacent to the Portland Meadows Racetrack has been acquired by Swift Transportation. The Phoenix-based national truckload carrier paid $7.50 per sf, or $9.6 million, for the properties, and likely will use the site as a new base of operations in the region, replacing an existing facility in Troutdale.

The biggest parcel acquired, the 19.4-acre former Portland Speedway, was acquired from the owners of Portland Meadows, which includes Magna Entertainment. Local developer Tom Moyer owned another of the parcels, says Ken Boyko of NAI Norris Beggs & Simpson, who with Jack McConnell represented the sellers.

The transaction took nearly a year to complete in part because Swift needed more than just the Portland Speedway property and the adjoining parcels were not all on the market. “Swift absolutely needed more than 25 acres,” Boyko says.

The property is located east of Portland Meadows, which sits east of Interstate 5 in North Portland, near the Columbia River. An executive of Swift Transportation did not return a phone call seeking additional detail on the company’s plans for the property and its existing facility in Troutdale. Boyko says the relocation–if that is indeed what is going to happen—could be cost related. “Running up and down I-84 and Marine Drive [which run east toward Troutdale] gets expensive,” he says.

Swift Transportation clients have included Wal-Mart, Rite Aid, Target, Dollar Tree, Fed Ex, Lowe’s and Quaker Oats. The $7.50-per-sf purchase price for its new property is one of the highest prices per sf paid in the region for such a large chunk of land, according to local industry sources.

“This land is close to the I-5 freeway and ideal for industrial development or transportation-related uses,” McConnell says. “With such land parcels becoming increasingly limited in the Portland area, this is a timely series of transactions.”