The new 7,000 square foot home of the Brewton-Hight Insurance agency in Silverdale built by FPH Construction. Like many smaller local developments, it’s owner-occupied. Many larger projects are now offering broadband as a standard feature.    New commercial construction in Kitsap County appears to be a growth industry. It reflects economic optimism and promises options to a large commuting workforce. National and regional businesses hope to gain access to reasonably priced land, business-friendly government, and a large trainable workforce.    And complementing the brick and mortar growth are plans to improve the peninsula’s telecommunications infrastructure with more high-speed voice and data services including cable and fiber-optic systems. Broadband communications are one of the new standards for companies seeking local office space and are now considered a deal-breaker in whether or not some leases get signed. Here is a summary of some of the more significant projects underway in the county: •  The Pottery Professional Plaza is expected to open shortly. It is located on 7.5 acres, will comprise six buildings and cover 72,000 square feet. Building A is 94 percent pre-reserved. Lease rates range from $22 to $24 per square-foot. Pads B through G are for sale. The Plaza is located adjacent to Harrison’s Urgent Care emergency medical facility, doctor’s offices, and the Group Health Clinic. It is convenient to downtown Port Orchard and offers ready access to Highway 16.    Of particular interest to some clients will be the facility’s scalable broadband communications access. Features include scalable T1 to OC3 data capacity, redundant telecommunications providers, available fiber-optics, shared secure network server and administrators, shared telephone systems, and integrated voice/data/page telephone services. •  A 7,000 square-foot building was recently completed at 2414 Myhre Road in Silverdale. It houses the offices of the Brewton-Hight Insurance agency and an orthopedic surgeon. Also in the neighborhood, FPH Construction’s Mike Brown recently broke ground on a 6,500 square-foot facility at 2400 Myhre Road. The developer is currently seeking a purchaser or tenant for that property. •  Ron Sciepko broke ground this past summer for construction of the Northwest Corporate Campus, a 188-acre business park in South Kitsap between Highway 16 and Old Clifton Road. The site comprises 377 acres, fifty-six of which will be used for residential development adjacent to McCormick Woods. The rest will be set aside as open space. The focal point of the business park will be a 90,000 square-foot Class-A office building that the developer expects to complete by this summer. The facility will be equipped with fiber optics, and high-speed data and voice connections and networks. Targeting high-tech companies and corporate headquarters, NCC hopes to attract companies that will employ local residents who would otherwise commute out of area. •  Port Blakely Communities, a division of Port Blakely Tree Farms, is planning a 440-acre mixed-use project west of Kitsap Lake. The project is a joint venture between the city of Bremerton and Kitsap County. The site will include approximately 900 homes and 2.2 million square-feet of offices, light assembly and manufacturing space, and a business park. It will also include public trails and a public park. The developer expects to break ground in the Spring of 2002. •  McCormick Land Company is in the final planning stages of what will become the peninsula’s premier conference center. The McCormick Woods Conference Center and Inn is expected to cost between $25 and $50 million, have 200 guest rooms and 20,000 square-feet of conference space. The purpose-built facility is designed to accommodate three concurrent conferences of 30 to 50 people each. In addition to serving the needs of area businesses, they hope to attract conference and convention business from the west coast and western Canada.    McCormick Land Company spokesperson Linda Niebanck said, “We are very excited…we think it’s an excellent fit to what we already have there, and it will be a wonderful asset to the people of the Kitsap Peninsula.” The McCormick Land Company expects to open the doors 14 months after breaking ground. They are currently pursuing financing. •  A six story hotel with a parking garage is proposed for a site located at the intersection of Blaine Ave. and Ridgetop Blvd. in Silverdale.    The property is currently under the control of the bankruptcy court, which has to approve the sale. It is scheduled to close in mid to late February.    Doug Kitchens of the commercial division of Reid Real Estate represents the seller. According to him, the buyer must still complete an acceptable habitat management plan before permitting can occur. • The Olhava Master Plan Development is located at the intersection of State Routes 3 and 305 in Poulsbo. The mixed-use development’s 215 acres includes a variety of commercial and business sites, 41 acres of residences and a 20-acre branch of Olympic College. Plans call for 840,000 square-feet of commercial floor space; the business park will occupy 325,000 square-feet of business and office space.    Arranged in clusters, 420 multi-family homes and 70 single-family homes will be within walking distance of an eight-acre recreation site that includes a community park, bike paths and nature trails. Olympic College’s Poulsbo campus is slated to begin construction in 2001. The facility will have 38,000 square-feet of classroom and administration space, and will accommodate up to 900 full-time-equivalent students. Residents of Poulsbo’s Olhava development will be able to shop, conduct business and attend classes without having to leave their community. Other projects in the works: • Winderemere Real Estate will build a 4000 square-foot, state-of-the-art office building on the corner of Sixth and Park in downtown Bremerton. • Mortgage broker Carolyn Frame and Realtor Penny McLaughlin are planning a two story office complex with underground parking adjacent to their current Poulsbo offices, located in what was the former Sands Restaurant until the pair gutted it, remodeled and moved in last year. • Prudential Northwest Real Estate is in the completion stage of a new office building on Bethel Road in Port Orchard. Located right next to its current office, it will house the firms agents as well as rental space. • Doug Nelson of Landmark Homes on Bainbridge Island has begun construction on a 141 unit townhouse condominium project on Madison Ave. in Winslow called Sakai Village. According to Nelson the first units will be ready for occupancy in June. Nelson is also developing a 27-home plat on Ferncliff Ave. in Winslow that he termed a, “cottage style neighborhood designed for the empty nester.” He anticipates those units being ready for occupancy in August. • Meridian Park is a 5-acre industrial site located at 9438 Willamette Meridian Road near Apex Airport in Silverdale. Building capacity is 30,000 square-foot. The developer is Jim Short. • There is a project pending on Bethel Road. The site will house a 7000 square-foot office and a 4000 square-foot retail space. • The Port Orchard Industrial Park will become home to 40,000 square-feet of industrial buildings on 2.5 acres. The owners are Rick and Cathy Flaherty, and the developer is Red Lumsden. Jim Freeman is the leasing agent and development consultant. • A 20-unit condominium development is planned for the southwest corner of Rickey Road and Sylvan Way in Bremerton. These four-plex units will be wired for scalable, broadband access. • A major remodel of the former Pietro’s Pizza on the top of Mile Hill Drive in Port Orchard is nearing the end of construction. The building, which last housed a Mexican restaurant, will reopen shortly as the Clubhouse Bar and Grill. Owned by Frank Tweten, whose brother Kirby owns Tweten’s Lighthouse, it will be a steak-house type of restaurant. • A convenience store will be built on Chico Way at Erland’s Point. The 3500 square-foot facility will be built by Northwest Pacific, Inc. • A permit application has been submitted to build a 16,000 square-foot medical professional building. The facility will be located on Ridgetop Road near the new Harrison Memorial Hospital Silverdale campus and is expected to be completed in the Fall. • The old church at 322 Cline Ave. in Port Orchard (formerly Millie’s Tux shop) will become an artists’ live/work community. Such efforts will increase affordable living space while reducing the county’s 5.3 percent retail vacancy rate. • Drury Construction currently has a two story office building under construction for John L. Scott Real Estate in Poulsbo. The site is adjacent to the firm’s current office which it has outgrown. John L. Scott will occupy 6,000 square-feet in the upper portion. The balance will be rental space.