By John Stark
BELLINGHAM — City Hall and the Port of Bellingham have just announced a potential blockbuster of a real estate swap on the waterfront, a swap that is being touted as a way to speed up both industrial and park development.
Read the press release here, on the city’s website. The site also provides helpful, if complicated, maps of this complex transaction. The port will get city-owned industrial land on the northwest side of Whatcom Waterway, while the city will take sole ownership of the Cornwall Beach area. That is an old city landfill site that is partly port-owned and is now undergoing some environmental cleanup.
The city would also get access to the big breakwater that surrounds the old Georgia-Pacific Corp. wastewater lagoon, for construction of a pedestrian walkway. Port officials had envisioned something similar as part of their plan for installation of a new marina inside the lagoon, but the marina proposal is now on indefinite hold.
No money would change hands as a part of this deal, and nothing is certain until both the Port Commission and City Council hold public hearings and vote their approval. Those hearings are already scheduled:
UPDATE–Port commissioners will review the proposal at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 16 in the Harbor Center Conference Room at port offices on Roeder Avenue. (I had a typo in the date on first draft here…)
–City Council will take a look at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 22 in council chambers at City Hall.
Might be a win win. Neither group seems able to move forward with what they hold now.
On the press release for both the City and the Port of Bellingham the following quote is posted:
“Having a single owner for this section of shoreline will allow the Port to manage the property so that multiple businesses can make use of the public investment in the shoreline improvements,” said Port Interim Executive Director Rob Fix. “We anticipate this land swap will result in a more efficient use of public lands and will create new jobs within the next year.”
A.) There are already multiple businesses making use of this land. Who are efficiently using this land.
B.) New Jobs???? What about the 150 + Bellingham Residents who are already employed down on C Street. Not only are they currently working on the Whatcom Waterfront, but their contribution to the community of Bellingham is outstanding.
Bellingham needs to take a closer look at the families, businesses and community they will destroy if taken away from the ones who already exist down there.
And here comes the NIMBY’s!
One question; where has it been said anywhere that anybody’s job or businesses or family will be destroyed by this move?
I don’t know if the move is good or bad but the typical NIMBY approach around here is to start badmouthing anything and everything before there can even be a hearing and the real facts can come out, don’t ya know!
AFY!!theheelotsheepdog!!!
For your information AFY…I knew about this before YOU DID!!!!! So I know the real facts. Do you!?
Almost 8 years after the Port plunges into the GP property gamble, it relents and begins to cooperate with the City of Bellingham.
About time.
Too bad the entrenched real estate staff at the Port have prevented the Port from joining the City’s Bellingham Public Development Authority, which is a perfectly designed organization for actually developing this land and getting jobs back, and the land on the property tax rolls.
The City years ago hired an experienced pro to be the Executive Director of the Bellingham Public Development Authority to partner with the Port developing this GP and adjacent properties. The Port refused to join the BPDA after the City formed and staffed this organization.
Out of all the public servants employed by the Port, City, or County there is only one person who has a track record of developing property like the GP wasteland on time, under-budget, and at a profit.
It is long since time we put this fella’s talents to work, and get this waterfront project being built and creating jobs.
Nobody at the Port holds a candle to this guy, and that is why the staff which is running this henhouse will jealously not join the City at the Bellingham Public Development Authority. They staff at the Port look at the waterfront as job security, as long as they alone control the property.
As a taxpayer of Bellingham and a taxpayer to the Port, I don’t give a hoot who develops this property. I just want it in the hands of an experienced pro with a successful track record steering the boat, and the Port does not have the appropriatly experienced staff for this large scale development project.
Look at this fellas experience and tell me why the Port is not using his skills below:
BPDA Staff
James Long, Executive Director
James Long has more than 35 years experience in real estate planning, development and management experience. This includes significant expertise in mixed-use projects, public-private development collaborations, and large-scale community and economic development initiatives.
As owner-developer, chief executive or master developer for a variety of projects in Colorado and the southeast, he has been responsible for projects exceeding $1.5 billion in capital investments and 6 million square feet of building programs for a wide range of residential, corporate, office-commercial, and institutional uses in urban, suburban and resort settings.
Jim and his projects have been the recipient of numerous awards from professional and business organizations and communities recognizing a legacy of responsible development, job creation and community service.
Jim holds a Master of City Planning degree from Georgia Institute of Technology.
A long-time resident of Boulder, Colorado, Jim has now relocated to Bellingham. He was named the BPDA’s executive director in October 2009.
It is long since time that there was a house cleaning of Port staff.
VOTE YES ON TWO NEW PORT COMMISSIONERS
IN NOVEMBER; VOTE “YES” ON PORT PROPOSITION #1
VOTE “YES” TO GETTING OUR WATERFRONT CREATING JOBS AND PROPERTY TAXES NOW, INSTEAD OF WHEN THE UNDER-PERFORMING REAL ESTATE STAFF AT THE PORT GET AROUND TO IT.
Wendy, where are you? Please tell us what this means.
Nice to see at least something changing hands and moving along here. Glad to also see the Grainery building isn’t on the chopping block (at least for a little while longer).
Also, what’s the deal with the lagoon? I haven’t followed the planning process for awhile now, but it looks like a public trail would round the lagoon? What exactly is that water used for now and is that part of the clean up?
Terry, I have no idea. As we all learned from the Costco incident, this administration operates in an aggressively covert manner. (And I am still waiting for responses to my PRA request on Costco.)
We need to track the status of the interim action at the Cornwall Landfill because there is an attempt to change/reduce the sediment cleanup standards, which would allow the City to build their overwater walkway and park right on top of the dioxin contaminated sediment which exceeds the existing state standards for exposure to carcinogens.
Both City and Port intend to development every square inch of the waterfront without any concern or compensation for impacts on fish and wildlife. This is such a stupid approach when we could be developing an nice eco-tourism base by setting aside some portions of the shoreline for species needs. The Port and City assume that habitat restoration is a compatiable use with public access and the increased presence of people and pets.
Children just settle down and go to the hearings and you might learn something, don’t ya know!
AFY!!theheelotsheepdog!!!
The only thing Bellingham cares about is trails along the waterway. And the continued statement of “new jobs” and “more efficient use for businesses”
It sickens me.
My point to my previous statement was to inform people to inform themselves of the current jobs down on C Street.
Where did it say in any of these statments that:
They would like to improve the waterfront for the current businesses
&
Improving the site to help the current employed people to be able to create new jobs.
In all of these statements and press releases there isn’t one comment about the people and businesses that already exist down there.
Why don’t you say what is between the lines, we would like to get rid of all the businesses and currently employed people down there and create something brand new and hopefully that will create better businesses and maybe employ new people.
And all you other people down there can figure it out!!!! Maybe take a walk on the new trail to think about it
See you at the public meeting
Wouldn’t it be nice if people in this town once, just once went to a public meeting with the attitude of listening & learning and working with their elected public representatives to make a better Bellingham instead of the same Oh same Oh NIMBY attitude of my way or the high way, don’t ya know!!!
AFY!!theheelotsheepdog!!!
In both the press release and in comments to me, Rob Fix indicated that the port wants to retain existing marine industrial jobs and add more. Also, both port and city officials have pretty much always said they want the Colony Wharf area to continue as marine industrial.
But john I’s thought the port and city wanted to kick all the businesses and families out on their collective ears while destroying all the jobs they can. Isn’t that what we elected them for, don’t ya know?
AFY!!theheelotsheepdog!!!