Innovation Center Feasibility Study

This is a feasibility analysis of the necessary public infrastructure needed to support a Regional Innovation Campus in McMinnville on 140 acres of vacant industrial land on Highway 18 and at the former Evergreen Campus. The feasibility analysis will evaluate the type and size of broadband, water, wastewater, power and transportation infrastructure needed to serve a high-density research and development industrial/business office district. Currently, the city has only planned for the infrastructure necessary to serve a low‐density general industrial user, and that infrastructure is already noted to be under capacity for even that type of industrial user. The public infrastructure feasibility analysis will allow the City to understand the public infrastructure that it needs to build to support the private development envisioned for this site, and to then leverage that knowledge to apply for state and federal infrastructure funds to build the infrastructure. Both the State of Oregon and the Federal Economic Development Agency have identified Innovation Hubs as priority economic development investments coming out of COVID. This is a priority project in terms of timeliness and the ability for McMinnville to leverage its ARPA funds for larger impact.

The development of an Innovation Center will benefit McMinnville and Yamhill County's economic development health. It will be a campus for both new and growing companies to co‐locate and collaborate, share resources, and intellectual capital. It will also serve as a Class A office campus for McMinnville, which currently does not exist. The jobs created will serve both McMinnville residents and Yamhill County residents.