Thursday, October 1, 2026
Swire, a Coca-Cola bottling company, has ended its lease with Port of Olympia for a 95-acre property at Olympia Regional Airport.
Port Director of Operations Warren Hendrickson delivered an update on the issue to the Port of Olympia Commission at a meeting on Monday, Aug 3.
Hendrickson said Swire sent a termination notice on July 23.
“The company had looked at the overall market conditions for what their strategic plans were and ultimately decided that the time frame, whatever the conditions or the uncertainties were, no longer met their needs,” said Hendrickson, who is acting Senior Manager of Olympia Regional Airport.
Port Director of Community and Economic Development Mike Reid said staff is going to conduct an exit interview with Swire to further identify its reasons for leaving.
The commission entered a 75-year lease with Swire for a 95-acre property on 88th Avenue in Tumwater. Approved in December 2022, the agreement was conditioned on the completion of a habitat conservation plan (HCP) to protect the Mazama pocket gopher and streaked horned lark, both of which are on the site.
While the company’s lease is over, Hendrickson said before the port signed a contract with Swire, it had an agreement with another developer to possibly lease the land.
In May 2022, the commission authorized an agreement with CRG Acquisition LLC, granting the developer the right to possibly lease 130 acres, which included the same area Swire was leasing.
As the port was also considering a deal from Swire at that time, the execution of the contract was contingent upon the port's decision on a lease with the bottling company.
The contract was written in a way so that CRG would have the full property if Swire backed out or keep whatever area that Swire didn’t claim.
Hendrickson said staff is going to provide CRG with a formal notice of the terminated lease.
If the CRG decides to move forward, the port would grant it a 10-year period wherein the company can conduct due diligence and engage with the port about leasing the property.
Commissioner Krag Unsoeld asked whether the port should expect any actual revenue during the 10-year period.
Hendrickson said no revenue will be generated until the port has an approved habitat conservation plan. CRG could also show the land is free of the protected species, similar to what Panatonni did for a property the company is leasing.
Under CRG’s contract, the developer would pay an initial base rent of $0.48 per square foot annually once a lease is signed.
Before the lease is formalized, however, CRG must pay a monthly option fee of $16,516.50 — equal to 8.5 percent of its rent for the entire property — once the HCP is completed. The monthly fee would cease once the developer leases at least 40 acres of the site.
10 comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here
Olyrkrgrrl
I wonder what CRG wants to do with the property?
Thursday, August 6 Report this
Boatyarddog
TIMES Are changing P.O.O. Your long term Plan Would be wise to change along with it. Your LOOSIN more Money every day. Rumor is your gonna lose your LOG LEASES as well.
Thursday, August 6 Report this
Larry Dzieza
It appears that CRG is in the DATA CENTER business.
"CRG Acquisition LLC is heavily associated with developing data centers, acting as the real estate and data center development arm for Clayco."
Politicians should be wary of this. See this article: https://nypost.com/2026/04/10/business/after-missouri-city-approves-6b-data-center-angry-voters-get-revenge-at-the-polls/
How do we feel about that, community?
Thursday, August 6 Report this
Larry Dzieza
I would add that they do more than just data centers, but they feature that line of business prominently on their website.
Here are some of their recent Data Center & Technology Infrastructure work.
Festus Data Center Campus (Festus, MO): A proposed $6 billion, 600-megawatt hyperscale campus spanning 361 acres. (Plans were scaled down from 12 two-story buildings to 4 single-story buildings following local community pushback). Future / Undergoing Approvals
Quantum Shore Chicago (Chicago, IL): A massive 400-acre digital infrastructure development master plan tailored for AI and data operations. Future / Pipeline
Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park (Chicago, IL): Built in tandem with Clayco to house next-generation advanced tech infrastructure. Active / Future Phase
Related Digital Cheyenne Data Center Campus (Cheyenne, WY): A hyperscale facility built via the Clayco network. Past / Recent Delivery
Galaxy Digital Helios Conversion (Afton, TX): A major industrial infrastructure overhaul transforming a site into a high-density crypto/AI mining facility. Past / Recent Delivery
Thursday, August 6 Report this
OlyBlues
Swire backing out of this lease is the best news for Tumwater citizens and surrounding county residents. The Port was absolutely reckless in even allowing a company to come in and pump MILLIONS of water out of our aquifers. There was zero consideration shown to this community to allow a multi-national company to exploit and drain our natural resources for profit! Absolutely disgusting behavior by the Port and Commissioners!! There must be more public engagement, common sense, and thought put into these land use decisions. Water pressure is already horrible in the area and with thousands of new apartments being built in Tumwater surrounding this area, this decision was based on greed and reckless behavior by the Port. They must do better.
Thursday, August 6 Report this
MikePelly
I hope this means that Swire's ridiculous 75 year water rights deal a previous port commission allowed is now a null deal.
Thursday, August 6 Report this
Person of Interest
It appears that CRG Acquisitions is a development company. There are at least two of these companies one in Florida and one in California both with the same name. The more likely is the company in California.
Little is clear here as the information from the article is limited but from what was in the article some concerns can be raised.
Evaluating CRG as to what type of partner they maybe is essential. What are there business practices etc? What business do they specialize in developing? I believe the Port was considering the possibility of warehouses rather than data centers when this deal was struck years ago.
If CRG obtains the lease with the terms described in the article and if there ever is a habit conservation plan they would then start paying rent and or develop the property on an incredibly long time line.
The longer it takes to close a deal the longer factors outside of your control can derail a deal. The overall economy may have some reversal or local issues can develop to place barriers in front of the deal etc. Delay is a risk that can be controlled. The Port needs to develop business practices that are less bureaucratic and more nimble. If you put bureaucrats in charge of the Port’s business lines expect bureaucratic results.
This potential decade long deal should be examined in more detail. This could tie up the property for a long period of time and at the end leave the port with the cash (once the forever habitat plan underway is finalized) but no development or with development that is not community supported. Signing these type deals limits your opportunities to deal with developers or anyone for that matter that has a shovel ready project. Maybe having the Port real estate holdings managed by a real estate management company with commercial experience could help develop more reasonable opportunities for the Port.
Friday, August 7 Report this
Wesley
We must proceed cautiously. Anyone agitating against data centers must be considered part of a Red Chinese propaganda operation, whether they know it or not.
Friday, August 7 Report this
CobraCommander
Wesley - Can't tell if that's sarcasm or not.
Pushing back against data centers is patriotic AF. Eliminating mass surveillance and monitoring should be a priority for the 2A crowd as well.
Tuesday, August 11 Report this
CobraCommander
They need to pay their fair share if they wish to exist.
ttps://www.weku.org/amsn/2026-08-09/with-more-data-centers-on-the-horizon-communities-worry-about-rising-electricity-bills
Tuesday, August 11 Report this