The dilapidated Berth 4 was once operated by Continental Grain Company until it was shuttered in the 1980s. Attempts to restart the terminal date back to the 1990s, but port officials abandoned those plans when they started pursuing the EGT grain terminal for the new Berth 9 site downriver.
Port officials have identified the $12 million redevelopment of Berth 4 as a top priority to attract new industries and jobs to the area. In recent months, port officials have said they need to spend more than $70 million to upgrade aging equipment and facilities, and a divided port commission doubled the port’s tax collections in December to generate money for some of these projects.