By Kat Bryant
Grays Harbor News Group
An Oregon real estate mogul is making a major investment in Grays Harbor — about $2 million and counting. And he may be staying awhile.
Terry Emmert’s most recent acquisition is the seven-story Becker Building in downtown Aberdeen, the city’s tallest structure. The selling price was $675,000 — about $40,000 below its current assessed value, according to records from the county Assessor’s Office.
Emmert is the founder of Emmert International, a specialty engineering and transport service firm based in Clackamas. He’s also the owner of two professional sports teams in Portland: the Chinooks (International Basketball League) and the Thunder (Arena Football League).
In the past few months, under two limited-liability corporations called Emmert Silver City and Emmert Silver City 3, he has closed several real estate deals in Aberdeen, Hoquiam and beyond for a total of $1.935 million:
• $290,000 for the Market Place building in Aberdeen, closed July 26
• $275,000 for property at Hogan’s Corner near Ocean Shores, closed Aug. 30
• $695,000 for Levee Lumber and surrounding properties in Hoquiam, closed Sept. 5-6
• $675,000 for the Becker Building in downtown Aberdeen, closed Sept. 16
Realtor David Quigg of Windermere Real Estate is representing Emmert and his business partner, Jerry Reeves, in these transactions. He says more local buys are in the works, including the former Hoquiam Eagles hall.
“It’s been a lot of work with a million moving pieces,” he said. “We’ve been working on all this for four to six months, and some of the things are just closing now. It takes awhile to go through feasibility and all that.”
Emmert himself was unavailable for comment on this story.
Each of the properties lies within a federal Opportunity Zone — an investment tool and tax incentive program created by the Trump administration in December 2017
Such zones must be part of “an economically distressed community where new investments, under certain conditions, may be eligible for preferential tax treatment,” according to the IRS website.
Specific zones were designated all over the country in 2018. Grays Harbor County has three: One includes a large chunk of Aberdeen; one encompasses most of West Hoquiam; and the third covers a wide swath from Damon Point north past Moclips. (To view the map, visit www.commerce.wa.gov/growing-the-economy/opportunity-zones.)
Here’s how it works: An investor generates capital gains with the sale of assets, then rolls the money into a limited-liability corporation that qualifies as an Opportunity Fund. This allows them to defer the taxes on those gains for up to seven years, and provides a tax reduction of up to 15%. In addition, no further tax will be levied on the appreciation of Opportunity Zone acquisitions if the investor holds on to them for 10 years or more.
In short, investing in specific areas for the long term provides major tax benefits under this program.
Because Emmert did not respond to multiple requests for comment, The Daily World was unable to confirm whether Opportunity Zones are part of his plans for the properties.
Quigg is confident that Emmert’s interest is not for the short term.
“I believe they are looking to be long-term partners in our community,” he said. “Terry wants to stop in every store and talk to people, hear their stories and learn more about the area.
“It’s really nice that they’re coming in to learn more about our community and trying to figure out what businesses they could provide to support it.”
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Becker Building
200 E. Wishkah St.
Use: Commercial offices, plus a penthouse
Built: 1926
Size: 7 stories
Market value: $715,051
Selling price: $675,000
Days on market: 5
Buyer: Emmert Silver City LLC
Seller: Aberdeen Associates, on behalf of the Pat Brutsche estate
Notes: Mary Carr of First Harbor Real Estate represented the sellers. She said Brutsche, who owned Washington Cedar & Supply, hosted some memorable parties in the Becker’s 2,300-square-foot penthouse for the Fourth of July and other events. He lived in Kent, but at one time owned 36 properties on the Harbor, including the Finch Building and the D&R Theatre. The Becker was his favorite of them all, she said. He died in April.
