Community praises Port’s vote to oust Bellingham waterfront developer
Whatcom County community members praised Port of Bellingham commissioners on Tuesday for their decision to terminate Ireland-based Harcourt Developments’ development rights along Bellingham’s waterfront after significant delays and contract defaults.
Harcourt is currently developing three luxury condo buildings along Bellingham’s waterfront, one of which is complete. The company also restored the historic waterfront Granary Building in 2019.
The commissioners voted unanimously at their meeting on May 6 to officially terminate the company’s development rights as part of a settlement agreement that also involves the removal of large amounts of contaminated soil that was dug up during the construction of the condos.
Harcourt now remains solely responsible for completing its condo development and maintaining ownership of the Granary Building, making room for a new development vision of Bellingham’s waterfront, community members said Tuesday.
“We have a chance now to just dream up an amazing facility for the whole community,” said Bellingham resident and realtor Andrew Shelton at the meeting. “I encourage you to think big.”
Many community members expressed frustration with the development company and its condo project, saying this shift in development rights should be viewed as an opportunity for Bellingham and its residents.
The Port previously announced that if Harcourt’s development rights were terminated, “any decisions about the future of this property will be made by the port commission in open public meetings with continued public engagement and input.”
“Congratulations on finally coming to a resolution with Harcourt,” Working Waterfront Coalition Executive Director Dan Tucker told the Port commissioners. “The ball was in Harcourt. Now the ball’s in your court.”
“Moving forward, it’d be nice to see a collective effort to have better judgment,” Bellingham resident Ryan Bowman said at the meeting. “The Port of Bellingham has an exceptional opportunity to lead the way and take Bellingham from the ‘City of Subdued Excitement’ to the ‘City of Renewed Excitement.’”
The decision to terminate Harcourt’s development rights comes on the heels of a lengthy legal battle between the Port and the development company related to construction delays and several violations of state and federal environmental standards. The termination settlement includes the formal dismissal of the lawsuits.
Ten years earlier, in 2015, Harcourt was originally selected to be the “Master Developer” of Bellingham’s downtown waterfront, which gave the company exclusive rights to develop commercial and residential projects on about 19 acres.
The port and the city of Bellingham have been working to redevelop a total of 237 acres on Bellingham’s central waterfront — formerly home to the Georgia-Pacific pulp and tissue mill — over the next several decades. A master plan has been approved to create what the port is calling “a vibrant, mixed-use neighborhood with new parks and trails and thousands of new jobs.”
“I’m looking at the best opportunity in waterfront real estate, probably in the world, definitely in the country,” said Bellingham resident Vincent Kelley at Tuesday’s meeting. “We can do better.”
This story was originally published May 8, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
