HERMISTON — The city of Hermiston will break ground on a new industrial park project on Wednesday, July 7.

The $2.5 million project will add roads, water and sewer to the South Hermiston Industrial Park. According to a press release, construction is expected to last about four months and create 16 new parcels of shovel-ready industrial land.

The work by the city will coincide with development of a new 179,000-square-foot warehouse for Meyer Distributing, which plans to hire approximately 70 full-time employees in the fall, according to the city.

Funding for the infrastructure project at SHIP comes from a $1.46 million U.S. Economic Development Administration grant, a local improvement district made up of adjacent property owners, the city and Umatilla County.

“These new shovel-ready lots will make it much easier for small light Industrial operations to set up and provide support services to our other large agricultural and industrial operations in the region,” Assistant City Manager Mark Morgan said in a press release.

The groundbreaking is scheduled for July 7 at 12:15 p.m. on East Penney Avenue.