What should be done with the Boardmill building? Port is looking for new proposals
The Port of Bellingham is looking for new ideas and a commitment when it comes to the Boardmill building in the waterfront district.
Port commissioners listened to a staff presentation on Tuesday, Dec. 7, about what to do with the building, which was once used as a machine shop by Georgia-Pacific and is near the bike track area. The original plan was to redevelop it into a 200-room hotel and convention center, but the developer, Harcourt, lost the exclusive right to redevelop the property after it missed construction deadlines on another project, the 94 waterfront condominiums near Waypoint Park.
The plan is to send out a request for proposals by the end of January, wait 12 weeks to get responses, then have a developer selected by the end of 2022.
While the expectation is something along the lines of a hotel and convention center as Harcourt originally planned, the commissioners were open to the idea of someone proposing a completely different use.
“If somebody else has a smarter idea and a better concept, I don’t mind being surprised,” said Commissioner Michael Shepard.
Elliott Smith, director of real estate for the port, said during the presentation that eight groups have expressed interest in the Boardmill project even before the requests for proposals have been sent out. Smith said some of them were local groups.
Smith said they will value strong development teams when evaluating the submitted proposals to make sure the project gets done within the negotiated timeline. They also want to encourage outside groups to link up with a local partner if possible. If they go with a hotel concept, it shouldn’t be a cookie-cutter design, but a more boutique hotel that “feels like Bellingham.”
“We need this to be quality, long-term additions for the port,” Smith said.
