Business Oregon teamed up successfully with the Port of Toledo to finalize the port's purchase of the Fred Wahl Shipyard in late December 2010. The buildings, equipment, dry-dock and travel-lift will be checked over, cleaned up and repaired as needed during January with the yard reopening February 1, 2011.

Business Oregon and its Infrastructure Finance Authority (IFA) provided more than $1.7 million in loans and grant to help reopen the boatyard that was closed down in 2008. The port began pursuing a purchase of the yard even before it shut down operations two years ago, said Bud Shoemake, Port of Toledo manager.

"This is an important facility not only for this community but also for the Newport fishing fleet," Shoemake told the local paper. "Without it, the central coast economy stands to lose millions of dollars worth of work and economic opportunity every year."

The IFA approved a $1.2 million loan from its Port Revolving Loan Fund to help the port make the shipyard purchase in September 2009, and the Governor approved a $350,000 Strategic Reserve Fund (SRF) request in addition to the loan funds to facilitate the purchase.

In June 2010, the port received $250,700 from Business Oregon's Brownfield Redevelopment Fund to address contamination and pollution issues at the site. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality entered into a prospective purchaser agreement with the port to clear the way for the port's purchase of the shipyard and the environmental cleanup of the property.

The boatyard site was used by the timber industry from the 1950s to the 1980s and the Sturgeon Bend Boat Works' shipyard operations began there in 1996. The yard will be operated by the port with most of the actual boat repair activity being conducted by local boat repair vendors and supported by local suppliers.

Getting the yard back in operation also is important for supporting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) new Pacific Marine Operations Center in Newport, Shoemake said. The yard, and the many suppliers and boat repair specialists it has helped to support, also will support the operation and maintenance of the NOAA fleet, which is scheduled to relocate to the new facility in mid-2011.