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Ball Corporation, Timberlab, ATI and Gordon Truck Centers are pouring a combined $500 million, at least, to build manufacturing plants and other facilities in Millersburg.

That’s the kind of economic development any city would love. Large employers bring jobs and an expanded tax base, among other benefits.

In a city of 3,000-plus like Millersburg, slightly north of Albany, those numbers make a major impact.

While some governments get 鈥渃aught up in red tape and rule books鈥� that make development difficult, Linn County Commissioner Roger Nyquist said, Millersburg city leaders welcome businesses.

鈥淗ow can we get to yes for you on this?鈥� Nyquist said.

Millersburg’s low taxes, large tracts of developable land and easy access to Interstate 5 and rail service have made it popular for businesses. Few cities along Oregon’s predominant north-south freeway have experienced Millersburg’s level of industrial growth.

鈥淲hat the difference is that attitude is from our council,鈥� former City Manager Kevin Kreitman said. 鈥淚 will tell you that historically Millersburg has always had a council that understands the value of the industrial base and protecting that industrial base and growing that base for the benefit of the community.鈥�

Impetus for incorporation

The town was established as Millers Station in 1871, when a rail station was built for the Southern Pacific Railroad. It became a large shipping point for cattle in the 1880s and renamed Millersburg around 1900.

The U.S. Bureau of Mines established a facility to produce zirconium there in the 1940s. That plant was later sold to Wah Chang for production of metals including hafnium, tantalum and niobium. In the 1980s, it became a Superfund site; the environmental cleanup took 20 years.

In 1952, the Willamette Kraft Corporation built a paper mill to process wood chips into kraft paper. When it was owned by Weyerhaeuser, the plant was known for a smell reminiscent of rotting cabbage that greeted people driving by it on I-5.

鈥淭hat was the smell of money, man,鈥� Nyquist said.

Millersburg incorporated as a city in 1974, partially so businesses and residents could avoid being annexed into Albany and pay that city’s higher property taxes.

About a third of the city’s land was designated for residential development, which left lots of room for commercial growth.

A substantial hole to fill

The paper mill closed for good in 2009 and cost 270 workers their jobs. Three years later, the mill’s owner, then International Paper, tore it down.

At the time of its closure, the mill’s property tax bill was about $2.6 million annually 鈥� the most in Linn County.

鈥淲e lost a lot of jobs,鈥� Millersburg Mayor Scott Cowan said. 鈥淎nd so that was a big impact, and then of course as that sort of was the immediate situation once that news got out was of course the financial impact to the city was by the franchise fees and taxes from the IP property. We felt that.鈥�

The loss of that revenue was significant to the taxing districts 鈥� officials had to find ways to replace the revenue to pay for city services and road repairs, for example.

Millersburg didn’t levy property tax for its first 40 years because the city earned enough money from franchise fees to pay for basic city services. Now the city charges the maximum $3.50 per $1,000 of assessed value. Most of that goes to contracted fire and sheriff’s services.

The city tried to attract businesses to fill the gap left by International Paper.

In 2008, Peak Sun Silicon broke ground on a 10,000-square-foot building where it would employ 500 people to produce an ingredient in solar cells. The state foreclosed on the property when Peak Sun defaulted on a $14 million loan in 2012.

In 2019, the state gave Linn County $25 million to build an intermodal facility on a portion of the former International Paper property. That project cost $35 million, but operations never began.

Renewed interest in development

When Timberlab was looking to build a new facility to manufacture mass timber, the company considered multiple Willamette Valley locations, including Independence and Corvallis, President Chris Evans said.

Then Timberlab found a 33.5-acre site in Millersburg. The location had challenges. It had a fish bearing stream, needed an entry road and the main connecting road to Old Salem Highway was under construction.

Nevertheless, Timberlab purchased the land from the city and expects to complete its first building this year. That project will bring an estimated 100 jobs to Millersburg.

Gov. Tina Kotek, present when ground was broken in March 2025, said Oregon is 鈥渓eading the way鈥� in mass timber and pointed to the new roof at the Portland International Airport terminal.

鈥淭he city really facilitated taking a lot of the issues out of the sites here, so they could invite somebody into the community and have a quicker turnaround to have something rezoned from agricultural to industrial,鈥� Evans said at the ground-breaking event.

That will include a 185,000-square-foot manufacturing facility. Timberlab has plans for 85,000-square-foot and 126,000-square-foot buildings in the future.

Companies that build in Millersburg reap the same tax rewards as its citizens.

Property owners in Millersburg pay a combined tax rate of 15.61 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, one of the lowest rates in the state for a city that offers the services that Millersburg does.

A company building a $100 million facility can save over $1 million per year on property taxes compared to other cities if it builds in Millersburg.

The money brought in from taxes and fees also means residents don’t have to worry about being barraged with bonds and levies from the city.

鈥淏ut don’t worry,鈥� city manager Janelle Booth said. 鈥淥ur residents still complain about our taxes.鈥�

Companies like Timberlab also get a tax break by building in enterprise zones 鈥� areas designated for large-scale industrial development by the state.

Enterprise zone projects must meet requirements including a minimum investment cost and employee count. Also, workers must be paid between 130 and 150 percent of the county’s average wage.

Businesses are exempt from paying property taxes on capital improvements for three to five years. In a rural enterprise zone, such as the one in Millersburg, businesses could be exempt from paying taxes on those improvements for up to 15 years.

In the meantime, the city will still benefit from the Timberlab development as it collects franchise fees from the company. Millersburg received nearly $1.2 million per year from Pacific Power last year, and that will go up with more power being used by Timberlab and Ball Corporation.

That money pays for basic city services like roads, parks and city administration.

鈥淲e’re looking at it for that long-term benefit, too,鈥� Booth said.

The value of incentives

Millersburg has invested heavily in infrastructure that benefits residents and businesses. The city shares water filtration and wastewater treatment facilities with Albany.

Pacific Power owns and runs a regional operations center in the southern part of the city.

Millersburg city leaders convinced Pacific Power to build a new substation on Conser Road across the street from the Jefferson Fire Department station in 2024. That provides large industrial users with plenty of electricity for whatever they plan to build.

Several large parcels inside the city limits were zoned industrial and never developed. Over the years, Millersburg acquired several of those parcels for free or close to it.

To spur economic development, the city took an active approach in marketing the industrial properties.

The city updated its comprehensive plan in 2020, which essentially served as a sales brochure for prospective development.

鈥淭hat’s an incentive that we can have with the industries to encourage them to come in,鈥� Kreitman said. 鈥淲e went through and we put together a presentation, and the state asked us to come and talk about it for other communities to look at. It’s really helped us.鈥�

The city council opted to be selective in which companies it would sell properties to. For example, the city chose not to sell land for warehouses that employ few people.

鈥淎s the property owner, the price of the property is one of our tools to get what we want in here,鈥� Booth said.

The city still owns about 70 acres of flat, undeveloped land that is zoned for industrial use.

Dormant site could be awakened

Cowan said Ball Corporation’s plans to build a plant helped spur much of the new economic development in the city.

鈥淲e heard about another company that was interested, but it was a lot of this loose interest and no one really serious until Ball came along,鈥� Cowan said. 鈥淭hat really was a big one.鈥�

Ball Corporation’s facility could be larger than 500,000 square feet when it’s finished, according to city planning documents, but will be smaller to start, Kreitman said.

It is unclear how many jobs the Ball facility will provide once it’s finished. The company did not respond to requests for comments.

Center Market is planning a new 5,200-square-foot building for its store and offices. Pure Energy is adding a 7,480-square-foot building.

Several businesses have announced plans for the former International Paper property.

Aymium, formerly known as National Carbon Technologies, in 2022 signed a 16-year lease for construction of a plant that uses carbon products to produce things like filters. Linn County approved a pause in that lease in 2025.

鈥淎nd if they don’t go forward, we’ve got, guess what, flat land available at a reasonable price in close proximity to I-5 and rail,鈥� Nyquist said.

In 2024, Omni Energy agreed to lease the site to transfer biodiesel from trains to trucks. That still hasn’t happened.

鈥淚t’s going to take some infrastructure investment,鈥� Nyquist said. 鈥淭he operators want to work out a longer-term lease to justify that investment, and so that’s what we’re working on today.鈥�

Corvallis-based Samaritan Health Services owns a 2.3-acre plot in the north part of the city at the intersection of Old Salem Highway and the I-5 interchange. The nonprofit planned to build a regional medical center when it purchased the property for $1 million, according to city documents.

鈥淲hile we do not have definitive plans for that property at this time, we do consider it a very important asset that can help us meet community health needs as Millersburg and surrounding areas continue to grow,鈥� stated Larissa Balzer, Samaritan Health Services vice president of strategy and planning.

Hoping for a downtown and more

While Millersburg has a lot of industrial development, it lacks commercial businesses. Humpty’s Dump Bar & Grill and Oregon Barbecue Company are among the few commercial properties in town.

The Love’s Travel Stop that opened in 2018 near the North Millersburg exit is the city’s most recent commercial development.

The city owns about 8 acres along Old Salem Highway between the new fire station, which the city built for $5 million in 2023, and Center Market. The site is designated for commercial development.

Unlike many small Oregon cities, Millersburg doesn’t have a downtown.

鈥淲e’re hoping to create one,鈥� Booth said.

The city also lacks affordable housing. The only houses for sale in Millersburg are listed for over $500,000. There are no apartments or multifamily housing.

鈥淭hat is the constant feedback we hear from our community and our council and our planning commission, 10,000-square-foot lots is the hill to die on for our folks,鈥� Booth said.

Significant housing growth occurred in the city until 2023, when construction advanced on the last parcel of developable land within city limits. City leaders say they can’t expand the urban growth boundary to the north or west because of the prime farmland in those areas.

The city is looking to expand east of I-5 at a long-hoped-for new interchange for more commercial and high-density residential growth.

Millersburg also owns land it intends to use for a YMCA building and a school, something the city hasn’t had since the last one closed in 1983.

鈥淟ast we knew, they are very interested in getting something in here,鈥� Booth said.

Editor’s note: This article first appeared in The Statesman Journal and then was distributed on the USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect.