PORT OF BELLINGHAM UPDATE BP
PHOTO: iStockphoto. com/SEASTOCK
Economic development continues as top priority in the coming year Ken Bell Let me start by saying thank you to the business community for supporting my candidacy. I am honored by the tremendous outpouring of support, and I hope to represent you well during the next four years. The Port of Bellingham will look exactly like it did over the last four years, so you can expect more of the same from the Commission. Michael Shepard was easily re-elected, and Bobbie Briscoe will be there for at least two more years. We all work well together and have a mutual respect, which goes a long way towards moving the ball down the field. On the waterfront, we renegotiated our agreement with Harcourt and put 7.8 acres back into Port control. We will be actively seeking projects for those properties. We will have a request for proposals issued for a hotel/convention center project at the Board Mill site. Harcourt will continue to finish what they started and build its condo project and retain ownership of the Granary building. Whatcom Community Foundation (Millworks LLC) is spearheading a commercial kitchen and food campus project, in
partnership with Mercy Housing, to build an affordable workforce and family housing project and educational center. You will see construction on that property late 2022 and early 2023. You will see the retail community around the pump track continue to grow in 2022 as we add more vendors at the container village called Trackside. Interest is high from vendors, so expect more activity on this property. The greatest accomplishments for this Commission and our amazing staff was our success at Bellingham International Airport. We brought in Southwest Airlines and reached an agreement with Alpha Air Park to develop a private commercial facility at our old Washington International Guard site. Southwest Airlines will open new avenues for air travel and has committed tremendous resources to support the expansion of services at BLI. The addition of a major airline brings increased competition and access to more markets. We expect to see more cities added as soon as the border with Canada finally opens and Southwest is able to assess the needs of our community. The private investment by Alpha will significantly enhance corporate travel into this area and will enhance our visibil-
55
JAN/FEB 2022 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM
