ARLINGTON — A new designation for a rural industrial center could help triple the number of jobs on the sprawling campus over the next two decades.
The Puget Sound Regional Council has classified the hub in Arlington and Marysville as a Manufacturing Industrial Center. It means more federal money for transportation projects, which could hasten job growth.
The decision was announced Thursday.
This area initially was called the Arlington-Marysville Industrial Manufacturing Center. It was renamed the Cascade Industrial Center last week.
Work has been planned on a couple of the main roads leading to the center, Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring said.
“The state has funded a new Interstate 5 exit at 156th Street, that will literally deliver you to the Cascade Industrial Center,” he said. “Work is estimated to start on this in 2025.”
Traffic on 156th Street NE moves from east to west. It’s connected to Twin Lakes Avenue and Smokey Point Boulevard.
Another proposed project would widen Highway 531, also called 172nd Street NE. One lane would be added in each direction.
That money was secured in 2015 and work is expected to begin in 2021. The road runs east to west through the Arlington side of the Cascade Industrial Center.
About 8,000 people work in the industrial center, one employer being the Arlington Municipal Airport. By 2040, the number of workers is projected to grow to 25,000.
The center offers incentives, including a 10-year city and county property tax exemption, no city business and occupation tax and reduced state business and occupation tax for aerospace and some other industries.
Some businesses expected to move in are aerospace, advanced manufacturing, food processing, maritime and mass timber.
Arlington and Marysville also have refined the system to apply for permits, Arlington Mayor Barb Tolbert said.
“We’ve been working on a predictable and streamlined permitting process to make doing business with us very easy,” she said.
The Cascade Industrial Center is about 4,000 acres, split between Marysville and Arlington and east of I-5.
It joins nine other zones in the region that have been designated as a Manufacturing Industrial Center. The only other in Snohomish County is near Paine Field and Boeing.
Stephanie Davey: 425-339-3192; sdavey@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @stephrdavey.
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