Discovery Corridor

A tattered marketing brochure from the 1920’s proclaims, “Ridgefield is Ideally Located” between Portland, Oregon and Tacoma and Seattle, Washington. In 1920, Ridgefield area was known for its immensely fertile agricultural lands producing potatoes, prunes and livestock. The area also enjoyed a rich manufacturing base, including a large lumber mill, a shingle mill, a creamery, a cheese factory and a boat building business. Served by both river and rail, Ridgefield was seen as a ‘transfer center to inland towns’ with passengers and cargo arriving in Ridgefield via steamboat or railroad. As an ideal ‘hub’ for the manufacturing and delivery of goods and services, little has changed from those days nearly 100 years ago, ‘Ridgefield is ideally located’!

Much of the Port District lands, roughly 5000 acres border Interstate Highway 5, which parallels the Pacific coast from Canada to Mexico, and is the primary freight arterial serving some of the largest cities on the west coast including Seattle, Tacoma, Portland, Sacramento, San Francisco/Oakland, Los Angeles, and San Diego. Christened the Discovery Corridor, this stretch of land that extends from Salmon Creek northward to La Center is also served by 4 deep water ports and a major international airport that are only minutes from nearly every junction. The Discovery Corridor with its remarkable location and transportation advantages and the economic power base of over 2 million people, is destined to develop the economic base of north Clark County by attracting high-quality jobs in the growth-oriented companies of the new economy.

The Portland/Vancouver metro area is already home to many high-tech companies, known for their technological products and expertise and the Port of Ridgefield is committed to creating a home for similarly innovative companies in the Discovery Corridor. The Port is working to ensure the area develops with highly skilled jobs naturally resulting in the creation of specific employment clusters – alternative energy, bio-technical, genetic engineering and other entrepreneurial and innovative companies that will provide high quality employment opportunities.

Although the Discovery Corridor will likely require many years to reach its full potential, the concept is already changing the way people think about the economic potential of North Clark County. The Discovery Corridor is a vision for the future of our communities. It is a vision for a new, emerging economy that will grow and support our quality of life. The Discovery Corridor is North Clark County and the communities of Ridgefield, La Center, Battle Ground and Salmon Creek. It is home to Washington State University-Vancouver and a growing number of companies that have chosen the location for a variety of reasons, including land availability, proximity to Portland, ocean/air/rail freight facilities, good schools, livable communities and productive workers.

The Discovery Corridor

Home for the innovative, research-based 21st Century Economy
Northern gateway to the Portland/Vancouver Metro area
A planned and orchestrated development
High-quality jobs, tax-base, and local control
4 undeveloped I-5 freeway interchanges within the Portland-Vancouver Metropolitan Area
Within the economic powerbase of more than 2 million people.