The Coquille Economic Development Corporation today announced it has final ized a lease agreement with The Home Depot to build a 130,000 square-foot store on the Kō·Kwel Wharf property in North Bend, Ore.

Included in the agreement are provisions for infrastructure development that ultimately will benefit efforts to develop the rest of the waterfront property.

The Home Depot will be the second business to locate on the 50.5-acre waterfront property, a former industrial site purchased by the Coquille Indian Tribe in 2004. CEDCO opened The Mill Casino · Hotel RV Park on the south end of the property in June 2006.

The announcement comes after two years of work to prepare the property for commercial development. According to CEDCO CEO Brady Scott it has been a period of intense activity that produced few visible results on the site.

“For people who look at the property and see little if any activity, it seemed that nothing was going to happen,” Scott said. “But behind the scenes there has been non-stop activity ever since we announced The Home Depot's interest in locating on the wharf. In terms of developing a former industrial site, we have been on the fast-track every step of the way.

“Just in this past year we gained state approval for our work on two environmental issues after receiving approval for a storage tank clean-up plan that we developed. We also resolved wetlands questions and worked out an agreement for a new intersection and railroad crossing. Even then, it still took an act of Congress to get us to a final agreement.”

That act of Congress, Public Law 110-75, creates an exemption for the Coquille Indian Tribe from long-standing federal restrictions on the sale and lease of Tribally-owned land. The exemption eliminates potential legal concerns over a long-term lease agreement between the Tribe and The Home Depot and was a key to finalizing the agreement.

“Throughout this process, we have been fortunate to enjoy a great amount of support from our Tribal Council and members of the Coquille Tribe; from our region's elected officials and agency officials at all three levels of government, and from business leaders and citizens throughout the South Coast,” Scott said. “None of this would have been accomplished without this great network of support.”

CEDCO and The Home Depot planners are still working on the timetable for building the new store. If the last outstanding property issues are resolved as expected, Scott said groundbreaking could occur as early as this spring.

Completion of The Home Depot agreement sets in motion the process of developing the infrastructure of the wharf property, including a traffic signal, a new street through the property and access to the waterfront. The improvements are necessary to further CEDCO's plan to create a mixed retail and entertainment development on the property.

One project that could receive a boost from the announcement is a joint effort of CEDCO and the City of North Bend to create a bayside walkway from Newmark to California Street. The Regional Investment Board for Coos, Curry and Douglas Counties recently listed the project as its number two priority for an infrastructure funding program administered by the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department. The department is expected to present a funding request for the program to the State Legislature during the February session.

CEDCO, the business arm of the Coquille Indian Tribe, is committed to taking a proactive, positive role in the well-being of the Tribe and of Oregon's South Coast. Among the largest employers in Coos County, Oregon, CEDCO manages The Mill Casino · Hotel and RV Park along with business ventures in assisted living, organic cranberry farming and high-speed telecommunications.

Contact: Ray Doering, Communications Coordinator, (541) 756-8800 ext. 1243, rdoering@themillcasino.com .

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