Director Fong highlights housing, technology, economic development during two-day trip



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Director Mike Fong

Palouse, Walla Walla, Wallula Gap


*Director's travels: Walla Walla and Pullman*
Director Fong Wallula Gap

Director Fong visits the Wallula Gap Business Park outside Walla Walla. Below: Director Fong had lunch with community representatives in College Place, which is near Walla Walla.

*When he started at Commerce, Director Mike Fong pledged to visit as many of Washington's 39 counties as possible to learn about the diverse communities Commerce serves.*

As the weather gets nicer, Director Fong plans to jump-start his travel schedule to meet folks from Puget Sound to the Palouse face to face.

He visited Walla Walla March 28 and Pullman March 29. During his visits, Director Fong met with community leaders and discussed affordable housing, economic development, and the major technology advances that will help everyone in Washington.?

Small towns and rural communities are complex. They face many of the same intractable issues as Washington's big cities, but have fewer resources. Director Fong is eager to learn how Commerce can help leaders find solutions to the question "What keeps you up at night?"


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Helping small towns grow big economies

Director Fong lunch Walla Walla

Economic development requires several aspects to be successful, including passionate leaders, new ideas, a ready workforce and a place to do business. Commerce can help on all fronts. In Pullman and Walla Walla, Director Fong visited sites that will help communities grow, and learned more about the challenges these two cities are facing.

The Wallula Gap Business Park, about 45 minutes away from Walla Walla at the confluence of the Snake, Walla Walla and Columbia rivers, received a $416,000 industrial site readiness grant from Commerce [ [link removed] ] in 2023 for re-development of five projects at the 1,280-acre site. Director Fong toured the site, which is part of the Port of Walla Walla [ [link removed] ], and learned about two of the projects already underway: Tri-Cities Intermodal [ [link removed] ], which will create more efficiency and reliability for international and domestic shippers; and ROCKWOOL [ [link removed] ], which will manufacture stone wool insulation products. Combined, the two projects will bring about 150 jobs to the region and significantly reduce carbon emissions relating to transportation and construction.

?It?s really exciting to see folks creating jobs and bringing in industry down here,? Director Fong said during the Wallula Gap visit. ?I?m so impressed with the ingenuity and the dual goals of creating supporting healthy economies while embracing sustainability. The businesses at this site will be able to create great jobs and support a clean environment for future generations.?

In Pullman, Director Fong visited Alternative Energy Materials [ [link removed] ], a recent recipient of $200,000 from Commerce?s Evergreen Manufacturing Grants through the Port of Whitman County. This is the first Evergreen Manufacturing Grant [ [link removed] ] in Whitman County. AEM is developing a clean hydrogen production material and manufacturing technology. They will produce advanced ceramic electrolyzers that use renewable power to make carbon-neutral fuels and fertilizers. Along with the new tech are new jobs: AEM plans to add about 60 additional jobs in Whitman County as it ramps to full production.

During his visits, Director Fong made time for lunch with local leaders. Pullman community leaders told him that four home-based child care centers had recently closed because of new safety legislation that made their existing sites noncompliant.

?We want our children to be safe and secure, whether they?re in home-based daycare or at a commercial site,? Director Fong said. ?But it?s important that our policies support high-quality and accessible care, and don?t inadvertently lead to closures that have ripple effects throughout our communities and economies. I was surprised to learn about the closures, and I plan to learn more about how Commerce can help support home-based facilities in the coming months.?



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Affordable housing is a small-town problem, too
Davis Way Apartments in Pullman

Director Fong meets with members of the Whitman County Community Action Center at the Davis Way apartments in Pullman. Below: Director Fong observes lumber research at WSU from a safe distance.

Every community in Washington is crunched for affordable housing, including Pullman and Walla Walla. Commerce has supported efforts to build and refurbish units for residents with a variety of needs.

In Walla Walla, Director Fong visited Evergreen Commons [ [link removed] ], a 29-unit permanent supportive housing property operated by the Walla Walla Housing Authority [ [link removed] ]. The low-income housing unit received $3.1 million from the Housing Trust Fund [ [link removed] ] in 2020, and the project was completed in December 2022.

Evergreen Commons has one- and two-bedroom units. Several are set aside for people with chronic mental illness, individuals experiencing homelessness, and families with children. Evergreen Commons serves people who are at 60% or less than the area median area. The Blue Mountain Action Council (BMAC) [ [link removed] ] provides supporting housing service, and people with chronic mental illness living in dedicated units receive comprehensive health care provided by behavioral health care services.

Supportive housing includes housing and wrap-around services, such as mental health and addiction treatment. It's specifically for people who need housing assistance and supportive housing services to live with stability and independence.

HTF has invested $14.4 million in 23 projects in Walla Walla since 1993. But in all that time, Director Fong is the first Commerce director to visit Walla Walla to focus on housing, said Renee Rooker, the Walla Walla Housing Authority's executive director.

"We so appreciate the visit," she said.?

In Pullman, the director visited the Whitman County Community Action Center?s [ [link removed] ] Davis Way complex [ [link removed] ], a nine-unit transitional housing property for individuals and families who are experiencing or facing homelessness. The property received $185,708 from the Housing Preservation Program [ [link removed] ] in 2021 to make repairs and upgrades. The facility was originally constructed with a federal award in 2007.

The Housing Preservation Program extends the useful life of projects by funding building improvements, preservation, and system replacements. Before Commerce?s award, three of the units were not habitable for occupancy. The Community Action Center used the funding to make upgrades that significantly improved living conditions and resident health and safety, allowing new tenants to move in. There are 19 people who live in the complex.

Pullman, home to Washington State University, has a large student population. This complex is specifically for members of the greater community, and at least one household member must be a part-time or non-student ? helping to ensure that affordable housing benefits everyone in the community.

Whitman County has received $5.58 million in HTF investments since 1997, for 18 different projects.

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Bringing research into the real world

Director Fong visits WSU

Colleges and universities across Washington must prepare students to think critically and launch into the workforce ? and they?re crucial for research and creating greater understanding of our world.

And no trip to Pullman is complete without a stop at WSU. As the state?s land grant university, WSU?s mission includes teaching and workforce development, research, and public service. Commerce and WSU are key collaborators on a variety of topics that impact communities statewide, including energy programs, Climate Commitment Act-funded projects, Broadband Action Team [ [link removed] ] implementation and project support, and Institute for Northwest Energy Futures [ [link removed] ] at WSU Tri-Cities. INEF is an emergent think tank aligned with Pacific Northwest National Laboratories on the Advanced Grid Institute.

At WSU, Director Fong met with university leadership and visited the PACCAR Environmental Technology Building [ [link removed] ] to learn about composite materials and mass timber, hydrogen, and sustainable aviation fuel research.

Whether students are working toward accreditations, technical degrees or aim to transfer for ongoing education, the community colleges in every part of our state are vital and often overlooked pieces of our educational system. Director Fong visited Walla Walla Community College [ [link removed] ], where he learned about the William A. Grant Water & Environmental Center [ [link removed] ] and the John Deere Technology program [ [link removed] ], as well as the college?s work and opportunities in the agriculture and culinary sectors.

Commerce has invested $11.4 million in WWCC, evidence of the agency?s ongoing commitment to empowering all of the educational institutions in the state.



More photos from the director's visit [ [link removed] ]





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