HOOD RIVER, Ore. (August 19, 2026) — The Port of Hood River Commission approved a purchase and sale agreement Tuesday with Dominguez Family Enterprises Inc., the longtime Hood River family-owned food manufacturer known for its tortilla chips, for the former Lower Hanel Mill property in Odell.
Dominguez Family Enterprises, or DFE, will purchase the property for approximately $3.25 million in cash. The agreement includes a $50,000 earnest money deposit and other terms and conditions that must be satisfied before closing.
The sale represents the latest step in a Port effort that began more than a decade ago to acquire, clean up and return the former industrial brownfield to productive economic use.
The Port acquired the approximately 9-acre property in July 2015 for $775,000 after years of environmental investigations of the former Hanel lumber mill site. The property had remained undeveloped in part because of environmental concerns associated with its historic industrial use, including petroleum contamination and former log ponds containing an estimated 13,700 to 15,000 cubic yards of saturated wood waste and other debris.
The Port acquired the property with the goal of cleaning it up, preparing it for redevelopment and increasing the supply of industrial land available to businesses in Hood River County. Planning documents at the time described the goal as making the property “shovel ready” for redevelopment and sale.
Following the acquisition, the Port undertook an extensive environmental remediation effort in coordination with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and Business Oregon. The work included excavation and removal of material from the former log pond, sorting and recycling of debris, backfilling and grading, environmental consulting and regulatory oversight. The cleanup strategy emphasized removal of contaminated source material while reusing or recycling suitable material where possible.
Port financial records indicate approximately $1.8 million was spent on the environmental cleanup, with a portion of those costs offset by state and federal grant funding. The Port secured $200,000 in federal Environmental Protection Agency brownfields funding administered through Business Oregon’s Oregon Brownfields Cleanup Fund and an additional $60,000 Business Oregon grant supporting remediation work at the site.
“Cleaning up former industrial property and putting it back into productive use is exactly the kind of long-term economic development work ports are uniquely positioned to do,” Port Executive Director Kevin Greenwood said. “The private market had struggled to overcome the environmental challenges at this site. The Port was able to acquire it, undertake the cleanup and prepare it for the next generation of industrial development.”
DFE’s acquisition would provide room for expansion of another longtime Hood River industrial business.
The Dominguez family’s food business has roots in Hood River dating to the 1970s, when Juana and Antonio Dominguez and their family began producing tortillas locally. Dominguez Family Enterprises Inc. was established in Hood River in 1986 and today manufactures and distributes tortilla chips and other snack foods.
The company’s tortilla chips are well known throughout the Pacific Northwest. Its Juantonio’s brand combines the first names of founders Juana and Antonio Dominguez.
DFE’s proposal calls for development of an initial 35,000-square-foot manufacturing and warehouse facility to expand its existing Hood River operations, retain approximately 60 existing jobs and create an estimated 15 to 20 additional jobs. The company also anticipates future development of additional warehouse and light-manufacturing space for other businesses.
The commission’s decision follows its July 21 action directing Port staff to return the Lower Hanel Mill property to the market for a period not to exceed 30 days after expiration of the Port’s previous purchase agreement.
The commission considered three proposals for the property. DFE offered approximately $3.25 million in cash for the entire property. A group of local businesses offered approximately $2.58 million through four separate parcel transactions. Amazon.com Services LLC proposed a purchase price of approximately $3.47 million based on its previous purchase and sale contract with the Port.
The proposals differed in more than purchase price.
The local business group proposed using portions of the property to accommodate expansion of multiple Hood River County businesses and estimated the projects would collectively create approximately 50 new jobs.
Amazon proposed development of an approximately 49,000-square-foot last-mile distribution facility. Its proposal included an inspection period extending through April 16, 2027.
The commission evaluated the proposals using principles established in the Port’s 2013 Real Estate Transaction Policy and 2018 Real Estate Asset Strategy. Those policies guide the Port in balancing financial return with economic development and other public policy objectives when making decisions involving public real estate assets.
The commission’s review included financial return to the Port, economic development benefits, employment creation and retention, proposed development plans, transaction structure, due diligence requirements, broker commission obligations, financial capability and ability to perform.
The commission selected DFE based on the proposal’s overall combination of financial return, transaction certainty, closing timeline, economic development potential and consistency with the Port’s adopted real estate objectives. DFE’s all-cash proposal also eliminates a purchaser financing contingency.
“The Commission had an obligation to look at more than simply the dollar amount of each proposal,” Greenwood said. “Our adopted policies call for us to consider financial return alongside economic development, transaction risk and the long-term public benefit of our real estate decisions. The Commission determined that the DFE proposal provided the best overall value when considered against those criteria.”
The transaction also will allow the Port to reinvest proceeds from the Lower Hanel Mill property in other economic development projects.
The Port intends to use a portion of the proceeds as local matching funds to help leverage federal funding for a new terminal building at Ken Jernstedt Airfield. The balance is expected to support waterfront infrastructure improvements designed to open additional Port property to future development and address public infrastructure needs.
The Port’s 2021-26 Strategic Business Plan identifies economic and real estate development as a core Port service area and recognizes the Port’s longstanding role in preparing industrial sites and infrastructure to support private investment and business development.
“The Port’s investment in this property didn’t end with cleaning it up,” Greenwood said. “The goal was always to put the land back into productive use. This transaction would allow a longtime Hood River manufacturer to expand locally, while allowing the Port to reinvest the proceeds in infrastructure that can support the next round of private investment and job creation.”
The purchase and sale agreement approved Tuesday establishes the terms and conditions that must be satisfied before the transaction closes.
More information about the Port of Hood River and commission actions is available at www.portofhoodriver.com