Medford’s Lithia Motors to buy Portland terminal

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – The Medford-based car dealership Lithia Motors has reached a deal to buy Terminal 1, a massive warehouse in Portland, for $12.5 million.

Portland’s Bureau of Environmental Services said Friday in a news release that the bid was nearly $1.4 million more than other bids.

It isn’t immediately clear what Lithia will do with the property.

The terminal had been considered for a homeless shelter.

But those plans fell through after concerns the bureau didn’t have the right to lease the property below market rates because of obligations to ratepayers.

Terminal 1 is a large paved lot with a 96,000-square-foot warehouse and a 3.6-acre dock.

The city purchased it for $6.3 million in 2004 to use as a staging area for a $1 billion sewer overflow project that is now complete.