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The ongoing debate over what industrial sites are and aren’t available might finally come to an end in the Portland area as the public and private sectors look to team up and take an inventory.

Metro, the Port of Portland, Business Oregon, the Portland Business Alliance and the Oregon chapter of developer association NAIOP are starting work on a six-month investigation to identify all the industrial sites within the urban growth boundary or urban reserves that are at least 25 acres in size. The information will then be compiled into a report and used to inform decisions at the local, regional and state levels in the future. The work will cost $50,000 to $60,000 and be split between the groups.

The project, being done by Group Mackenzie, will be completed in two phases. Phase one, from June through September, will focus on creating an inventory of potential industrial sites that are development ready, as well as others that need additional work to make them development ready. These include brownfield clean-up sites, those that need additional investments in public services and those that need zoning adjustments.

Phase two, from October to November, will focus on analyzing five to ten strategically important industrial sites that will look at market opportunities and more detailed lists of actions, requirements and costs necessary to overcome development barriers.