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A planning effort to convert 260 acres of Port of Kalama property to accommodate business and recreational uses recently was selected by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee as a 2014 Governor’s Smart Communities Award winner.

The awards program recognizes outstanding efforts throughout Washington by communities and their partners to achieve development objectives.

Environmental engineering and planning firm Maul Foster & Alongi worked with the Port of Kalama and the city of Kalama for more than five years to create a business and recreational park on port property, firm President Jim Maul said. In April, property was annexed into the city to make way for development of the planned Spencer Creek Business Park and the Haydu Park recreational area.

The goal is to create more jobs in a part of the state that has suffered economically since the decline of the timber industry, Maul said.

鈥淭his could really be a shot in the arm for that area,鈥� he said.

The business park will hold more than 500,000 square feet in about 70 acres, and support a mix of light industrial, office, commercial and retail uses.

Haydu Park will include 24 acres of fairgrounds, baseball diamonds and soccer fields.

Maul said it was an honor for the project to receive the Smart Communities Award.

鈥淚t was an acknowledgement of the persistence and perseverance of the port and the city in making this collaboration happen,鈥� he said.