Port of Bellingham has more details on waterfront redevelopment. Here’s an update
Along with work currently taking place in the Bellingham waterfront district, there is also plenty of behind-the-scene activity that’s expected to lead to more development later this year.
At the Tuesday, March 15, Port of Bellingham staff updated commissioners on projects on the former Georgia-Pacific property:
▪ Container village/bike track/beer garden: More shipping containers have arrived and will be used to house more businesses this spring and summer.
New businesses making plans to inhabit the shipping containers include the Filling Station burger restaurant, The Selkie Scoop ice cream, Sun-E-Land bikes (offering pump track bike rentals and electric bike sales) and a coffee/baked goods stand for the DISH Foundation and Our Kitchen.
Plans are also in the works for a container that has rotating artists and vendors that is expected to be ready this summer, said Mike Hogan, a spokesman for the port, in an email.
The container village, beer garden and pump track are temporary uses until that part of the district is redeveloped. Current plans have redevelopment of that property lower on the priority list. Hogan anticipates those temporary uses like the container village to be around for at least five years; it’ll likely be longer as development happens around that chunk of property.
▪ Planning is underway for the property next to the container village.
The land that is currently used as a parking area and the Wednesday farmers market is under control of Harcourt Development, which is working on plans to put in mixed-use buildings that will have residential units on the upper floors and commercial/retail on the first floors.
Brian Gouran, director of environmental and planning services for the port, said plans are in the early stages and the buildings could be around five stories in height. Hogan added that the port expects construction of these buildings to begin around early 2024.
As for parking, Hogan said Harcourt is planning to build a temporary parking lot across the street from the Granary Building
“As the site develops over time, the port is looking at both short- and long-term alternatives to accommodate the additional demand for on-site parking. This year, we will expand the parking lot located on the south side of Laurel Street next to the Boardmill Building,” Hogan said.
▪ Condominium buildings: Construction of the 94-unit project near Waypoint Park picked back up in December and Gouran said Harcourt appears to be hitting its milestones in order to make its completion deadlines.
Named The Waterfront, the project will have three buildings, underground parking and some commercial space. Harcourt needs to have two of the buildings completed by the fall of 2023, with the third being finished by the fall of 2024.
▪ Last fall the port commission shifted gears on what to do with the aerated stabilization basin, an area commonly referred to as the ASB, that’s between the Whatcom and I&J waterways on Bellingham’s waterfront.
After officially scrapping the plan to build a marina in the basin, the commission directed staff to start working on plans to fill about 17 acres of the basin in order to attract businesses that would bring in maritime-related jobs. Examples of this include boat repair, a shipping/unloading area or businesses related to aquaculture or fisheries.
At the port commission meeting, Gouran said they’ve hired a consultant and have begun work on what that plan might look like. The port has also begun work with the Department of Ecology to figure out what cleanup work would be needed with these new plans.
Hogan said as plans come together, the public will have several opportunities to weigh in not only on the cleanup, but for future land redevelopment in the next year or two.
▪ The former Boardmill building: After Harcourt was removed from this project, a request for proposals was sent out seeking new developers. The deadline for those proposals is Friday, April 29. That could possibly lead to an agreement on how to redevelop the building by the end of year, Gouran said.
The original plans by Harcourt were to convert the building into a hotel and convention center.
▪ Workforce housing/food campus: Gouran said the current focus of this project is on the housing portion, and that’s coming together quickly.
The plan for the affordable housing project is to build more than 70 units and an early learning center. It is going through the design review process as well as funding grant process. Gouran said if the state funding comes through, construction of the housing would start before the end of the year.
Given the funding deadlines for the housing project, the 50,000-square-foot food campus project has taken a backseat for now. A decision on whether to exercise the option to move forward with the food campus project needs to be made by the end of this year.
▪ Alcohol plant building: Plans for the tall, abandoned brick building closer to Cornwall Avenue have been on the back-burner through much of the redevelopment process.
In the coming months, port staff will put together a market study on what to do with the building, and Gouran said everything is being considered, including retaining or demolishing the building. Deconstructing the plant and rebuilding it on another part of the property is also a possibility.
