Second caisson set into place for the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge

From the Tacoma Narrows to the Hood Canal, the slow economy appears to have no impact on commercial construction on the Kitsap Peninsula region, while the two bridges themselves are some of the major projects under way.

The $849 million second Tacoma Narrows Bridge, planned for many years as a way to relieve State Route 16 bottlenecks and improve traffic safety, is the virtual twin of the existing bridge. The two are estimated to handle 120,000 vehicles daily by the year 2020.

About $800 million in bond financing is required to fund the construction, and a toll — which had been the subject of a long debate and lawsuits from local groups — will kick in from year 2007 until 2030.

On the other side of the peninsula, the 42-year-old Hood Canal Bridge is getting a $205 million facelift that will extend over three and a half years and will replace the east half of the floating portion along with both approach spans.

In between, the sight of excavators, pouring concrete and cranes is as common as that of revelers flocking to the plentiful summer festivals. Planners and developers alike contend they are as busy as ever and then some.

“Overall, businesses in Kitsap County are doing OK,” said Mike Brown of FPH Construction, Inc. “We’ve done a lot of remodel projects, and we see more new construction now than in the past, which is evidence of the economy being relatively good.”

Though in a way the area is sheltered by the economic roller coaster due to its heavy dependence on the military industry, there is nonetheless room for growth and revitalization.

Perhaps the best example is Bremerton, where the downtown booms with multimillion-dollar projects aimed at revitalizing the waterfront and in the ripple-effect process boosting the rest of the city.

“This is not a reflection of growth, as the city population fluctuates in the 38,000 range,” said Kathy McCluskey, the city’s director of administrative services. “It’s a concerted effort to get the largest city in the county back on track and making it economically viable.”

The centerpiece of that effort, a $25 million, six-story building will house city and county government departments, the Kitsap Housing Authority and the Bremerton Housing Authority and possibly some federal government offices. Next door, a $40 million complex financed equally by private and government funding will include a 110-room hotel, a conference center as well as office and retail space.

The conference center will not be finished until March, yet Christmas parties and other events for next year are already being booked.

But that’s just the icing on the cake. Just in the last few months announcements have been coming in on many other plans to build or remodel downtown. Kitsap Credit Union announced in August the construction of a 52,000-square-foot, $9.5 million corporate headquarters to begin in spring.

American Financial Solutions, a credit-counseling company, also announced in the spring that it would expand and build downtown. Although it could not find land downtown as planned, the company will renovate an existing building to include its financial center, child and elderly care facilities and community center. “It will revitalize the neighborhood,” CEO Cuba Craig said. Even without being downtown, she feels the $5 million renovation will contribute to the mix and is part of Bremerton’s makeover.
  The city laid a few other bricks onto the cornerstone — waterfront condominiums, a fire station headquarters, and a ferry terminal tunnel that would divert ferry traffic diagonally, a few blocks from the terminal to downtown, while keeping the streets pedestrian-friendly.

“The revitalization will make a big difference in the next 10 years… and will spark even more construction and economic activity, attract more outside investors and generate more real estate transactions,” Brown said. FPH Construction, too, is adding to the mix, with a major remodel of the Medical Dental Building that currently only has a 20 percent occupancy rate.

While other Kitsap areas may not be able to compete in expensive projects with Bremerton, plenty are going on. In Poulsbo, the 215-acre Olhava development will include the controversal Wal-Mart store, a business and commercial park, a second retail anchor and 490 units of single and multi-family housing on three parcels. About 840,000 square feet of total commercial use will be added.

“We’re trying to finish up some site work and install infrastructure and utilities,” said Mark Zenger of First Western Development, adding that Wal-Mart anticipates breaking ground any time and the store will be built in two phases. Another part of Olhava, Olympic College’s satellite campus, is getting finishing touches on its interior and will be occupied in November.

Harrison Hospital in Bremerton just held a topping off ceremony for the new $13 million expansion of its ER facilities, and there is also a 112 bed-hospital on the drawing board for Gig Harbor North as well as a possible Costco.

Three large parcels around the intersection at Sedgwick and Sidney Roads in Port Orchard have passed the first hurdle to development as well. The Kitsap County Planning Commission recently recommended approval of all of them for Highway-Tourist-Commercial zoning in its 2003 update to the county’s comprehensive plan. Two other parcels at that intersection were approved last year, and if Kitsap County Commissioners approve the comp plan as recommended, it would allow commercial development at that intersection — something that has been stalled by political considerations for the past decade.

Blended in with the bigger projects are a host of smaller ones that include a jail in Port Orchard, a Social Security Administration building in Silverdale, a day care and social services center for Martha & Mary, a 30,000-square-feet Kitsap Industrial Park ready to break ground in Poulsbo, a group of mixed-use projects on Bainbridge, churches, public and private schools, fast food restaurants, offices, a ferry terminal, financial facilities and even a recreation center, the Tropical Paradise Family Fun Center in Bremerton.

Major remodeling work includes Peninsula Subaru’s 5,000-square-foot expansion and the $500,000 facelift for High Point Shopping Center in Port Orchard.

Although new commercial buildings are going up as fast as planners can approve them and developers can build them, there seems to be no slowdown in sight.

“I am optimistic about what’s out there,” Brown said. “We get two to three calls a week and that’s encouraging.”

Sheri Watson, manager of Watson Business Park on Bainbridge, echoes the sentiment, even if on a smaller scale. “If we can get a warehouse built, I can rent it,” she said. “People here are very entrepreneurial and are tired of commuting or working in their garages.”

How the new Narrows Bridge will impact the area is subject of speculation, but many in the industry agree that with the area infrastructure improvement, a healthy mix of commercial activity is bound to get even healthier in the upcoming years.