North Pacific Union Conference (NPUC) officers, staff and executive committee members along with Ridgefield city council and port officials broke ground for the new Northwest Adventist headquarters office building, Wednesday, May 4.
This ceremony culminated a five-year effort to relocate the NPUC offices from Portland, Ore., to Clark County, Wash. When various applications with the county failed, the NPUC began working with officials from the city and port of Ridgefield, a process that paid high dividends. In January of this year, Ridgefield voted to annex the church's property from the county, clearing the way for construction.
The NPUC sold its previous Portland office in May 2000, and moved to leased space in Vancouver, Wash., where it will continue until the new building is ready to occupy.
NPUC leaders believe the move will accomplish several major objectives, including 1) investing church resources wisely by buying in a lower-cost area where values are beginning to blossom; and 2) providing a smaller, yet more efficient, office space that more accurately reflects current and future needs.
When completed late next year, the new building will represent a significant down-sizing compared with the previous location in Portland. Located on 30 acres fronting the east side of Interstate 5 just north of exit 14, it will be highly visible to all freeway traffic, an ongoing witness to the God we serve and His church at work in the Northwest.
Church officers along with design and construction representatives broke ground for the new NPUC office on May 4, 2005.
