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While the residential building market is slow, commercial construction activity remains brisk around Kitsap area, with projects in the works ranging from medical to retail.
Below is a partial list of projects under way:
In Poulsbo, the new city hall is expected to break ground Sept. 9 (at 3 p.m.), with site preparations to be completed in time for the winter season and resuming next spring. The 30,000-square-foot building will sit over a 75-space underground parking garage. The Public Works department, currently located separately from city hall, will move to the new location as well but will keep its shop.
The building will incorporate green features, including rooftop gardens, but it’s uncertain whether the city will pursue LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, said Poulsbo Mayor Kathryn Quade. She said the city would like to get the certification, but would rather spend the money on additional improvements instead. “(The building) is way overdue, we’ve been working in unsuitable conditions,” she said. “It’s going to be a landmark building within the city, and set a precedent for downtown development.”
Also in Poulsbo, Harrison Medical Center plans to build a new campus. Plans include a cancer treatment center, urgent and primary care. The proposed site is located off Highway 305 at Lincoln. Douglas Coover, director of design and construction for Harrison, said the facility will include two buildings with a healing garden in between. Medical office space will be included, and occupied either by Harrison or leased out.
Design for the new facility is in full swing, with estimated opening within the next two years. Groundbreaking is not anticipated until next summer. “Strategically, we’ve identified the need in Poulsbo for a while,” Coover said.
Harrison just completed a master plan for its Silverdale and Bremerton campuses, both of which will receive major renovations/expansions. At deadline, the nonprofit organization was in the process of creating a request for proposals for architectural services.
Harrison also broke ground in August on a new clinic in Belfair of Highway 3, which is expected to open doors next spring. Nearby, the construction of a RiteAid store is about half-way completed, with a grand opening planned for January 2009. The store has a so-called “Customer World Store” design, which RiteAid started using only a few years ago. A drive-through pharmacy will be included.
In addition to the new Belfair site, Harrison is expanding its Port Orchard clinic on Tremont Street, with a big part of the building shell completed for the new wing. The 36,000-square-foot building will connect to the existing 33,000-square-foot facility in an L-shape and is the second phase of a long-term plan that will eventually add a third building to the campus. Coover said both the Belfair and Port Orchard projects were proceeding on schedule.
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In Gig Harbor work continues to progress on St. Anthony’s Hospital, with new retail in the finishing stages at the Costco complex, and additional retail in the pipeline for several other locations. |
Across the street from the Harrison clinic in Port Orchard, construction is under way on another medical facility. The Tremont Health Center will be built in several phases, with the first two buildings expected to be completed in about a year. The facility will have a total of four medical buildings that will also include some professional office space.
The project has generated concerns from local residents, who say the site is an eyesore because the new developer, Stan Palmer Construction, has not met conditions related to texturing of a retaining wall, the finish on wood fencing separating the project from their backyards, and leaving a 20-foot buffer of trees agreed to with the previous developer. Palmer has clearcut the older trees, and says he’ll replace them with others as part of a revised landscape plan. However, the residents have been angered by his cavalier attitude towards their concerns.
Also in South Kitsap, groundbreaking was held in August on the new Burley-Olalla State Route 16 interchange. The project is funded through the so-called nickel tax imposed on gasoline sales. Washington State Department of Transportation officials said the project, which will replace the Burley-Olalla intersection with an on/off ramp, will significantly improve driving safety on that portion of the highway.
Burley-Olalla Road is closed, with detours in place, but the highway remains open. Brenden Clarke, WSDOT project engineer, said the ramps are expected to be complete by November, weather permitting, or in spring if the weather doesn’t cooperate. Once a temporary configuration of the ramps is in place, traffic to the Burley-Olalla Road will be routed on them.
WSDOT is also continuing work on the tunnel in downtown Bremerton that will separate ferry traffic from pedestrian traffic. Work is about 70 percent complete on the tunnel, Clarke said, and is “well into stage two.” The third phase will build a new administrative building, about 2,000 square feet, for the Bremerton terminal. The project’s estimated completion is next summer.
Other projects in Bremerton include a new humanities building for Olympic College and a new hotel downtown. The three-story OC Humanities and Student Services center is expected to open in 2010. The new hotel is owned by the same company that owns the Hampton In at the Harborside and will rise on the site of the old Bremerton City Hall on Fourth Street, which has been demolished.
In Silverdale, construction started recently on a new branch for Kitsap Credit Union. Highland Business Park, at the corner of Ridgetop Boulevard and Myhre Road, will include a full-service branch and an office complex. The building will include nearly 15,000 square feet of office space, most of which will be occupied by KCU home loan and business lending departments. More than 2,000 square feet of the space will be leased.
Also in Silverdale, FPH Construction has been contracted to build a mixed-use retail/office facility for Amish Touch Furniture on NW Mount Vintage Way. The building may also include a restaurant.
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