Spring 2007 Bellingham Waterfront Project Update A Waterfront Poised for Redevelopment Bellingham’s community vision of a revived, vibrant waterfront is moving toward reality. With 228 acres of downtown waterfront property poised for redevelopment, Bellingham is about to embark on a project that will benefit the entire region. This spring the Port of Bellingham and City of Bellingham are working together to draft a long-range development plan that balances the community’s desire for new family-wage jobs, new urban housing and improved public access to the waterfront. During the summer the Port and City will complete an environmental impact statement for the entire project and, based upon what is learned from the EIS, they will complete a master plan and development agreement. At the same time, the Port is gearing up to remove decades of contamination from Bellingham Bay and create about 30 acres of new marine habitat. This urban shoreline development will result in a restored shoreline environment with new nearshore salmon habitat. The redevelopment began in 2001 when the Georgia Pacific pulp mill, one of the largest employers in the area, closed its pulp and chemical operations and eliminated hundreds of high paying jobs. The Port and City led an 18-month community visioning process to learn what people wanted this industrial land to become. The process resulted in a clear direction to preserve marine trades jobs and also redevelop a major portion of the property into a mixed-use urban area with schools, housing, offices, businesses and new opportunities for the city to grow – within its own boundaries. In 2005 the Port acquired the 137-acres of property from Georgia Pacific, including a contaminated 30-acre wastewater treatment lagoon. The Port and City entered into an agreement to jointly plan, permit and develop this property in a manner that keeps the community’s earlier vision at the forefront. Developing the Infrastructure Most of the 228 acres was used for Georgia Pacific’s pulp, tissue and chemical operations. That means this property has none of the roads, sidewalks, utilities or amenities people expect in a mixed-use development. As part of their interlocal agreement with the Port, the City has agreed to provide most of the essential site infrastructure. Depending upon the final development plan, these costs could exceed $190 million over the next 20 years. While the City anticipates regaining some of those costs through new tax revenue from the site, it also will rely on substantial State and Federal grants to make this development possible. In addition, the Port expects to spend more than $50 million to build a new public marina and boat launch, to complete site demolition and to build all marine infrastructure. These costs will be recovered through user fees and site development revenue. Relocating the College Western Washington University is seen as an important anchor tenant for this project. Nationwide, universities have a reputation for attracting adjacent private investment and new business opportunities. Western will rely on state funding and innovative financing opportunities to cover its cost of expanding to the waterfront. The Port and City believe this public investment will be multiplied by private investment and innovation that will come from the desire to locate businesses adjacent to research and educational opportunities. State and Federal Support Essential The City and Port stand together in pursing this waterfront redevelopment, which we believe will benefit our entire region. But the costs and risks are high. We rely on continued State and Federal support to match with our local public investment to make this project a reality. Already the Bellingham Waterfront project was chosen as the state’s first LIFT recipient, allowing the City to regain some of its upcoming infrastructure investment through tax increment financing. This has the potential to result in $1 million a year for 25 years. We also have received State and Federal transportation and infrastructure grants, which are helping us with the current planning, engineering and demolition projects, as well as with relocation of the Burlington Northern Railway line. We are grateful to our State and Federal delegations and those who have partnered with them to provide these grants and loans and look forward to proving in the years to come that this was a good investment for our region. Experience the Site Please come and see our waterfront redevelopment project the next time you are in Bellingham We welcome the opportunity to take you on a tour. Just let the City or Port know that you are coming and we will show you our progress on taking the waterfront redevelopment from a vision to reality. Jim Darling Tim Douglas Executive Director - Port of Bellingham Mayor - City of Bellingham (360) 676-2500 (360) 676-6979