The sale of the Westbay Center, a Port Orchard landmark located at the intersection of Bethel Avenue and Bay Street, closed on Jan. 14. Jim Freeman of Coldwell Banker Park Shore Real Estate, handled the transaction.
   Current tenants include the Port Orchard Asian Store, Café Le Garmache’ Catering, Taste of Eden Bakery, Security Financial Services, South Kitsap Helpline, Perfect Parties, the Hi Tide Bar and Grill and Bay Buoy Espresso.
   The new owner is Bob Hampton, who will move his wholesale distribution business from Gig Harbor to the center and occupy part of the building. By moving his business, Hampton will also be bringing more than a dozen jobs into Port Orchard.
   Bill Cree of Edmonds, a large commercial contractor, purchased the center in 1990 as an investment. At one time he briefly considered redeveloping the centrally located expanse of downtown waterfront that offers spectacular views of Sinclair Inlet and the Olympic Mountains, into a mixed-use project to include retail and condominiums, but later rejected the idea as economically unfeasible.
   Westbay Center has a storied history. Originally developed in 1960, the 3-acre, 38,000 sq. ft. shopping center was one of the very last Puget Sound shoreline developments to be built mostly on fill. When it opened for business, it was home to the original Port Orchard Safeway store, which has since moved twice, Sprouse Reitz, the offices of Dr. Robert Browning, the original office of Park Shore Real Estate, before it joined the Coldwell Banker franchise, and the once-popular Beachcomber Restaurant — for years known as Port Orchard’s best restaurant, and the bar its hottest night spot.
   But as Port Orchard grew and larger retail projects were built on Bethel Road and Mile Hill Drive, the center struggled to compete with the newer developments offering more parking, and growing numbers of national retailers.
   In recent years, Westbay Center has suffered from both a lack of well-defined use as well as deferred maintenance. It was briefly the focus of a heated controversy in 2001 when a proposal was made to convert part of the center for use as a casino. After a hotly-debated series of public hearings, the casino proposal was withdrawn by the applicant.
   A recent $800,000 upgrade by Cree, done by Port Orchard construction firm, Hutch-Con, included a very attractive renovation of the former Beachcomber space into the Café’ Le Garmache’ Catering and Event Center, which is now capable of seating nearly 400 people, and appears to be doing a brisk business.
   Concurrently, the South Kitsap Rotary Club improved the city owned shoreline bordering the property along Blackjack Creek with volunteer dollars and work, creating the Etta Turner Memorial Waterfront Park as it’s Rotary Centennial Project.
   Hampton says he is in the process of reviewing ideas for additional improvements to the building and property.