Port tenants in Blaine look to expand business

By Stefanie Donahue

Multiple businesses that serve the commercial fishing fleet in Blaine want to expand due partially to a string of improvement projects led by the Port of Bellingham on property it owns on Marine Drive.

Among the projects is the redevelopment of the marine industrial area, which is located at the southwest end of Marine Drive. Over the past few years, the port has made pier and emergency bulkhead repairs and has demolished buildings.

Real estate representative Brady Scott told port commissioners on September 18 that the owners of Boundary Fish Company, Walsh Marine, Drayton Harbor Fishery and Dakota Creek Shellfish want to expand their existing leases at locations in the marine industrial area. The businesses are tenants of the port, which owns property on the south side of Marine Drive.

“We have multiple tenants interested in expanding their leaseholds,” Scott said. “Port staff generally support these projects, but given the redevelopment work, [...] the property to expand into is currently not available to lease.”

Scott said Boundary Fish wants to construct a new building at the location to increase capacity, while Walsh Marine wants to expand its shipyard, Dakota Creek Shellfish wants to build a shellfish hatchery and Drayton Harbor Fishery, which currently operates a fish-buying facility under a month-to-month agreement, is interested in signing a long-term lease.

“In order to make this land available, the port needs to complete its current projects and get further along in the design of

access, utility and stormwater improvements and the bulkheads,” Scott said.

Michael Hogan, the port’s public affairs administrator, added in an email, “the port will need to develop a binding site plan, or survey, to identify the specific parcels available for lease, and may need to revise the scheme of harbor improvements, which proposes a loop trail through the Blaine marine industrial area.”

To express support for the tenants’ wish to expand, port commissioners voted 3–0 to enter into a memorandum of understanding with all four businesses.

“The intent of the memorandum of understanding is to work cooperatively with these parties and to work towards identifying the parcels proposed for their project,” Scott said.

The agreement, he added, doesn’t create any formal commitment to entering into a lease.

“I think our intent was to make a fair and equal process here and give some stability to our existing tenants,” said commissioner Michael Shepard. “I think we’re all just thrilled to see how excited everyone is and has the capacity to expand and provide more job opportunities in this area.”

During the meeting, Scott gave several updates about port-led projects that are taking place within the marine industrial area. Here’s a quick look:

Blaine Marina Inc. cleanup

Under the oversight of the Washington State Department of Ecology (DOE), the port began cleaning the Blaine Marina Inc. site in July.

The DOE identified the need for cleanup in 2015 after discovering potentially hazardous chemicals in the groundwater and soil as a result of leaky fuel storage tanks that date back to 1955.

According to a draft consent decree from the DOE, the port is responsible for removing the fuel storage and ongoing sources of contamination as well as taking preventative measures to ensure hazardous substances no longer leak into the soil.

On September 7, the port demolished the Blaine Marina Inc. building, which was formerly owned by Mike Dodd and his brother Steve.

“The project is currently ahead of schedule and if all goes well with the excavation this week and next the majority of work could be done by the end of September,” Scott said.

Walsh Marine

Norm Walsh, the owner and operator of Walsh Marine, wants to construct a new building and tear down a large, protective structure that was damaged during a storm.

“The project involves the construction of a 2,240-square-foot pre-fabricated partially insulated building for use on the Walsh Marine leasehold in conjunction with their boatyard operations,” Hogan said. “The building will include an open bay, machine shop, wood shop, tool room, office and bathroom on the ground level, with a parts department and lunchroom on the mezzanine level and a storage loft above the machine and wood shop space. The open bay area will have high ceilings and will provide indoor space for work on small boats.”

Walsh developed the conceptual design and layout of the building and the port budgeted $543,700 for the project, Hogan said. Staff are currently in the permit and design stages and plan to submit a shoreline substantial development permit to the city by the end of the month.

If approved, construction of the new building will begin this winter, Scott said.

Web House

In August, the Blaine Planning Commission approved a shoreline substantial development permit for the port to build a 20,600-square-foot web house at 207 Milhollin Drive.

The port owns two web houses at the location already and plans to demolish an existing web house located in the marine industrial area once the new one is constructed and users are moved out.

The port will also reconfigure the parking area at 207 Milhollin Drive, replace the asphalt around the web houses, install a new stormwater treatment facility and build a new public trail.

The web house construction will be completed in Spring 2019.

Bulkhead repair and access improvements

Design and engineering work is being completed for the repair and replacement of a series of bulkheads, Scott said.

“Given the work to date and to pave the way for future tenant expansions and to modernize the Blaine marine industrial area, we are requesting funding in the 2019 budget to also design access, utility and stormwater improvements,” he added.

According to a port document, the access improvements are planned to receive funding in 2019, with construction beginning in 2020. The port will also develop a binding site plan in 2019 to determine what properties are available to lease and develop.

“As we determine what property is available for those improvements, we’ll be able to develop a binding site plan or a land survey to delineate the specific parcels available to lease,” he said. “We also need to understand further what development tenants are proposing in order to best design the Blaine Marine Industrial Area to accommodate.”