U.S. Customs and Border Protection plan to move into the first floor of the Taggart Building by mid-December.

By mid-December, U.S. Customs and Border Protection relocates from 1402 Marine Drive to the bottom floor of the Port of Astoria’s Pier 1 office building. The lucrative federal contract it brings might put the building in the black.

“The lease was awarded to the Port as that offer conformed to the requirements of the Request for Lease proposal and was the lowest priced technically acceptable offer,” said spokeswoman Stephanie Kenitzer of the General Services Administration, a government agency support service that secured the customs’ lease on Pier 1.

The lease signed with the Port lasts five years, worth a total of $178,473 to the Port. It includes three five-year renewal options.

Customs declined interviews but provided information about its operations in Astoria through a spokesman’s email.

“CBP Astoria … is a seaport, clearing both commercial and private vessels with their crew and passengers,” wrote customs spokesman Edmond Colford. “When they do enter at Astoria, CBP officers inspect and clear arriving crew, passengers and cargo and enforce the laws of over 40 federal agencies to ensure compliance for entering the U.S.”

Customs officials board vessels anchored in the Columbia River. Vessel agents arrange launch boat service for boardings at anchor. Astoria is one of three ports of entry in Oregon, along with Newport and Coos Bay. Longview, Wash., also maintains a customs presence.

The Port Commission voted 4-0 in April 2010 to buy the Pier 1 building for $1.7 million and settle a lawsuit with Columbia Bank, parent to Bank of Astoria and at the time holder of the building’s mortgage.

In November 2013, the Port Commission broached the topic of whether to sell the building. Commissioner James Campbell previously said the Port still pays about $170,000 a year in interest on the building, adding that it should be put on the auction block.

The Port needs approximately 65 percent occupancy to refinance the loan it used to buy the new offices. Interim Executive Director Mike Weston cautioned at the meeting that the building could reach that occupancy with the lease of the first floor to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. “By the time they come in, we’re going to be making money on that building.”

The three-story commercial building was built by former Port Commissioner Glenn Taggart and his father, Charles Taggart. It has gone through three owners, including the Taggarts, Columbia Bank and the Port.