Maddox outlines 60-acre Battle Ground Village extension and seeks developer’s agreement for long runway

Max Booth, director of development and engagement for Maddox, introduced plans on Aug. 4 for the Battle Ground Village Extension, a roughly 60-acre parcel north of the company’s existing facilities on Commerce Avenue that Maddox proposes to develop primarily into light industrial and office space with a small amount of accessory retail and a civic campus. “Our developers agreement really is gonna seek to be outcome based,” Booth said, describing an approach that sets ranges of likely outcomes and thresholds for mitigation rather than highly prescriptive, long-form promises.

The plan presented to the City of Battle Ground Council centers on jobs-producing light industrial and office buildings. Booth said the shaded maps shown at the study session are illustrative of possible outcomes and that the northwest corner of the property is where the first two buildings are planned. He described the civic campus as comprising a chapel building (about 14,000 square feet) and a conference center he said would be roughly 25,000 square feet and capable of hosting 500 people for dinner or about 1,000 in conference configuration.

Why it matters: Maddox told the council the project is intended to add local employment and broaden the city’s tax base by creating space for businesses that do not currently exist inside Battle Ground Village. The developer asked the council for a developer’s agreement to provide a predictable regulatory runway for a phased project that could take a decade or more to complete, and to avoid repeated, ad hoc renegotiations as market conditions change.

What Booth proposed. Booth said Maddox will ask for “time and predictability” via a developer’s agreement so the project can be phased without revisiting site-by-site approvals every time market conditions change. He said the firm prefers an outcome‑based agreement that lays out a “lowest intensity, highest intensity” range (jobs, trips, sewer use) and thresholds that trigger mitigation for roads, sewer and other impacts. Booth also said the first two buildings are farthest along in design (about 75% complete) and could be permitted and begin early grading this fall, with a hoped-for spring groundbreaking next year. He said the developer expects to submit draft agreement language to staff in October with the goal of council ratification “late November, or early December.”

Council and staff questions. City staff told the council that the city currently does not have master‑plan provisions in its municipal code, and that approved site plans typically remain valid for five years; staff said that, until a master‑plan code section is adopted, a developer’s agreement is the available tool to secure a longer approval window. “The site plans, once they're approved, last for 5 years,” a staff member said during the discussion. Deputy Mayor Bowman and others asked whether a developer’s agreement could be rolled into a future master plan and cautioned about long developer timetables that might outlast council membership; Booth said Maddox would be open to folding any future master‑plan code into the agreement approach if it improved predictability.

Community input and connectivity. Booth said Maddox held an open house on July 1 and mailed invitations to about 550 residences; he said roughly 55 people attended. He reported a mix of positive reaction—support for jobs and reinvestment—and some skepticism about whether the project was already “a done deal.” Booth said the developer plans to connect a trail stub near Quail Reserve into the project’s internal trail network and eventually to downtown as other projects come online, and that Grace realignment and sidewalk projects will increase connectivity.

Near‑term uses and concepts. Booth and councilors discussed accessory retail, possible hotel concepts to support the conference center, and the company’s position that retail would be small‑scale and accessory to employment uses rather than a standalone shopping center. Booth said a hotel is conceptual only and that the project team is also evaluating an additional parcel across Commerce Avenue for potential lodging.

What the Council directed. Council and staff discussion did not produce a formal council action at the meeting. Staff said it would draft possible master‑plan code language and that Maddox expected to deliver materials to staff in October; Booth said the developer aims to present a draft developer’s agreement to staff then, with council consideration in late November or early December. Several councilors expressed support for the project in concept while urging protections and mutual benefits for the city, including infrastructure planning for roads and sewer capacity.

Looking ahead. Booth said the developer will run parallel tracks—undifferentiated site plan and design work for the first two buildings and a broader developer’s agreement for the entire site—and expects the council to review draft agreement language in late fall. No ordinance, resolution or formal contract was acted on at the Aug. 4 meeting.