The Port of Tacoma has named Bob Emerson to the position of Senior Director of Real Estate and Industrial Development.

In this position, Emerson is responsible for the Port’s Industrial and Commercial Real Estate Line of Business. The Port currently owns 500,000 square feet of warehouse space, 70,000 square feet of commercial office space and 400-plus acres of industrially zoned land.

A 19-year veteran with the Port, Emerson has served as Director of Real Estate and Industrial Development since 1999.

According to Port of Tacoma Executive Director Timothy J. Farrell, Emerson has successfully managed the Port’s Industrial and Commercial Real Estate Line of Business while supporting the Port’s overall cargo growth. “Bob and his staff have done a remarkable job, and they will increasingly focus on the Port’s long-range business plan for industrial and commercial real estate for the Port,” Farrell said.

Emerson also serves on the board of the Economic Development Corporation of Pierce County.

Before joining the Port of Tacoma in 1986, Emerson worked for private consulting firms in Seattle and Bellevue, Washington, where he developed urban and regional planning projects for cities and counties, as well as long-range facility master plans for school districts in Washington state and military bases in Alaska.

Emerson received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Puget Sound (1978, cum laude) in three majors: Economics, Philosophy and Business.