ROYAL CITY - Because of a deal it could not refuse, the Port of Royal Slope has a new home. It purchased the Bank of Whitman property for about one-fourth of its assessed value.

The port of Royal Slope, which was located on Camelia Street, has moved to the Hiawatha Industrial Park. It is located across the street from the Port of Royal Slope Industrial Park.

Actually, it was the Port that offered the deal it couldn't afterward refuse. It made a high bid of $250,000 on the property after a call went out for sealed bids.

The Bank of Whitman had been taken over by the FDIC. Its Royal City building sat empty for about two years.

The Grant County Assessor's value on the property was more than $1 million. After it was advertised for sealed bids, the Port of Royal Slope was the highest bidder.

"We moved in last November and ended up selling the little office building in town to another business," Port Manager Cathy Potter said.

"The Port commissioners felt that this was a good investment for the district," she added. "It not only located us in the industrial area, but it is a large enough building that the Port could eventually use part of it as a business incubator."

An incubator would help start-up businesses that can't afford to build or rent their own building right away. The purpose is to help those businesses get their business started - with an affordable lease - and built up so that within five years they can venture out and build or lease their own building.

"We haven't focused much on that right now because of a couple of other projects that have kept us busy, and the building would have to undergo some remodeling," Potter said. "Until we actually get a business that is interested, there is no sense in making changes to the building."

The Port is also trying to help businesses by letting them use the facility for meetings their own building could not accomodate.