Developer, Tenant Tangle Over Riverfront Office Project

VANCOUVER, WA-Developer C.E. John Co. is one-step ahead in its effort to build a three-story office building on a vacant riverfront lot next to an existing development it owns along Southeast Columbia River Drive.

Hearings Examiner J. Richard Forester last week approved plans for the proposed Columbia Shores Commerce Center that would rise on the lot immediately east of Beaches restaurant, which leases its space from C.E. John Co., though maybe not for long.

Restaurant owner Mark Matthias is fighting the project, in part because that lot next door is what attracts his patrons. Beaches uses the sand-filled space for beach volleyball, barbecue and live music, Wednesday through Saturday, all summer long. Insufficient parking was his argument to the examiner, however, albeit unsuccessful.