Taking the plunge from daydreamer or gig-worker into starting your own business is a big step. Since 1982, the Thurston Economic Development Council (EDC) has worked with entrepreneurs and business owners to build a strong regional economy. One of their most expansive ongoing partnerships is geared towards agriculture- and food-related projects. The Tenino Agriculture Innovation Park is nearly 10 years in the making and still expanding today.
Celebrating Growth in the Local Agriculture, Agritourism and Rural Development
The Agriculture Innovation Park combines business space as well as an event center and business resource and innovation hub. They welcome new tenants, developers and investors to join their growing footprint across this 15-acre, centrally located site.
At a recent celebration, the Park’s founding partners got together with statewide VIPs including elected officials, government and civic leaders, investors and community and business leaders.
Attendees honored the Park’s key partners including the City of Tenino, Thurston EDC and Dragonwheel Investment Group, as well as the Port of Olympia, Washington State University Thurston County Expansion, Experience Olympia & Beyond, NW Agricultural Business Center and Thurston County. A new locally quarried and hand-carved sign by the Tenino Stone Carvers was unveiled using a custom box designed and sponsored by Elite Mechanical Services.
Grow Your Food-Related Business at the Tenino Agriculture Innovation Park Today
The Agriculture Innovation Park is perfect for entrepreneurs just starting out, looking to expand or wanting to add new features to an existing business model. Thurston County Commissioner Wayne Fournier has been involved with this project from the beginning and is excited to see tenants reach new milestones.
“It’s not a traditional business park,” explains Fournier, “because it focuses on agriculture and food-related enterprises. It celebrates regional food sovereignty, economic resilience and agritourism in a beautiful setting. This time of year, you can sit on the porch there watching the cows graze and prairie flowers exploding like fireworks.”
He explains that they’re currently expanding beyond the existing footprint by welcoming new tenants and buildings to the site. They’re even looking into the feasibility of adding a small-scale meat processing plant to expedite the processing of Thurston County livestock.
“We’re in a desert for such USDA facilities,” says Fournier. “A processing plant helps ranchers because the nearest are currently hundreds of miles away. This strategic rural revitalization is responding to barriers and then overcoming them.”
Join the Ag Park’s Amazing Current Tenants to Build a Strong, Vital Thurston County
Current tenants of the Park include Colvin Ranch, Dragonwheel Investment Group, Inc., Gondola Ventures, HOTBABE – HOTSAUCE, Simply Organic Café & Catering, Stone City Event Center and a satellite location of the Thurston EDC Center for Business & Innovation.
Jennifer Colvin, of Colvin Ranch, is one of the drivers behind the proposed processing facility. This family-owned and operated ranch produces grass-fed beef and pasture-raised pigs. She says they first learned about the Park from Wayne Fournier while it was still in the early planning stages.
“Right away, we knew it would be a great location for our first retail store,” says Colvin. “The primary focus of our store is locally produced food, and the Ag Park was the perfect fit. The EDC and Aslan Meade in particular have been great partners, and have supported us every step of the way as we’ve developed our business plan and built out the store. The Ag Park has the infrastructure and the added support of organizations like EDC and fellow producers, making it truly the hub of agricultural business in the area.”
Take The Leap and Bring Your Business to Life at the Ag Park
Shopping and dining locally are good for the environment, our health and the community as a whole. And when the processing facility goes into operation? “We’d have the shortest supply chain in the world,” laughs Fournier. “We’d raise meat, process meat and sell it all in one place. It’s really important to know where our food comes from and to reconnect with the story. In everything we do, the Ag Park is all about local jobs, local food and long-term stability.”
The Agriculture Innovation Park works on a port-style model of development, says Fournier. It uses publicly owned land with the infrastructure in place. Tenants can build their own custom buildings or work with Thurston EDC Center for Business & Innovation.
To lease one of the currently available spots, reach out to Amy Harding of Kidder Mathews. She can be reached at 406.260.5530 or amy.harding@kidder.com. Direct questions about upcoming development phases of the project to Aslan Meade with the EDC at 360.464.6054 or ameade@thurstonedc.com.
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