Several aspects of the revival of Port Orchard’s downtown are coming into place.
The future work on the Marina Pump Station, a new Kitsap Bank headquarters and the new Port Orchard Community Center are all set to be part of an elevated portion of Bay Street in the next few years.
Now the Port of Bremerton, along with its $15.7 million project to replace the breakwater in the Port Orchard Marina, has secured federal funding to conduct cleanup work on a brownfield site near the master plan improvements, presenting further potential for the future look of the city.
Brownfield sites can typically be seen as a big risk, big reward acquisition given previous developments often come with environmental contamination. Not knowing what the environmental impact is at one of the sites, let alone the cost to fix it, can be a major barrier to the site’s revival.
Port of Bremerton CEO Jim Rothlin said they were well aware of the risk when the port purchased the site in 2021, but he added, “It’s a big reward for the community if it works out, and you know, I doubt if anybody else would have done it, but it’s expensive to do that kind of fix.”
The brownfield site in question is located adjacent to the port’s Water Street boat ramp. It was previously home to a sheet metal fabrication business and a gas station with underground storage tanks. Identifying the presence of natural and diesel gas, petroleum and benzene, further testing and conducting cleanup is not a cheap operation.
So, they have been seeking grants and have recently been successful. On top of a $130,000 grant from the state Department of Commerce in February, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded the port a grant worth $800,000 in May. The grant was awarded as a part of the agency’s Brownfields Program, which awarded seven organizations a total of $4.5 million.
Casey Sixkiller, regional administrator for EPA’s Region 10, visited with city and port leadership at a roundtable and tour of the site June 26. He said getting those first dollars does so much for communities looking to reclaim old properties. “Really, I think it encapsulates a lot of what the Brownfields Program is all about,” he said.
U.S. Rep. Kilmer highlighted the site’s revitalization would secure a boost in the local economy and environmental health. And, he added, “When the federal government puts money in something, it means those are costs not just born by taxpayers here in Kitsap County. So it’s kind of a win-win-win.”
There are no set plans as to what the site will become, but given what is already on the table for downtown Rothlin said the possibilities are endless. The boat launch’s importance to fishers and boat manufacturers gives the port further motivation to get the site cleaned up. “I’ve been here ten years, and the thing I’ve always said is this downtown has so much potential. It’s amazing, and now we finally see it start to happen,” he said.