In late July, the Port of Port Angeles was notified that the Community Economic Revitalization Board (CERB) approved a $1,105,000 loan at 2% and a $195,000 grant for a total of $1.3 million of funding for their wash-down facility, the cornerstone to the Marine Trades Industrial Park (MTIP).
As part of the MTIP’s phase 1 of development, the wash-down facility will be an 18,500 square foot concrete pad equipped to wash down large vessels being taken out of the water via a travel lift on the Port’s travel lift pier. The wash-down facility will accommodate vessels up to 50 meters (164 feet) in length. An on-site wastewater treatment facility will be constructed in 2019. The wastewater from the wash-down facility in the meantime will be trucked to the Port’s wastewater facility located in the Port Angeles Boat Yard.
Port tenants such as Westport Shipyard and Platypus Marine will be initial users of the facility plus the future tenants of the MTIP. Washing down vessels prior to any vessel repairs and painting is essential. The Port and waterfront businesses do not currently have a facility of this size that can accomplish this type of work. Construction of the facility is currently underway and will be completed in late fall 2018.
The wash-down facility will be constructed in the most northwest corner of the MTIP (depicted above) located at the environmentally cleaned-up former plywood mill site. The Port has identified boat building and repair as an economic development niche which has potential to increase local jobs by up to 250, support commercial and recreational boaters and generate lease revenues for the cleaned-up former mill site. Through various stakeholder meetings, wash-down facility site visits and research, the Port staff and commission decided a wash-down facility was a ‘must have’ for the MTIP.
Port staff and commissioners were thrilled with the CERB funding award. “I'm looking forward to this new asset serving current and future customers and being the first cornerstone in our Marine Trades Industrial Park,” stated Commission President, Connie Beauvais.
For further information, please contact:
Chris Hartman at (360) 417-3422
Director of Engineering
Port of Port Angeles