Ready and Waiting
Squalicum Harbor Awaits Full Impact of New Businesses

by Dave Brumbaugh

 

The table is set but the hosts would like company to arrive as soon as possible.

Several major commercial construction projects were completed last year along Bellingham’s Squalicum Harbor, particularly at Bellwether on the Bay. The emphasis now shifts to finding tenants for remaining spaces and attracting more consumers to the area.

The area’s businesses took a hit, as most did, after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The short-term impact was from fewer people traveling and going to restaurants. The attacks and the downturn in the stock market also made businesses skittish about making significant changes, such as moving to a more expensive building.

“It clearly had an immediate impact with us as it did with everyone,” says Carol Beecher, general manager of the Hotel Bellwether.

But winter is typically a slow time of year on the waterfront. As the temperature rises there, so do sales.

“It’s certainly improving as the weather improves,” remarks Gary Dietz, owner of Town & Country Jewelers, which moved Nov. 1 to the Paulsen Building at Bellwether on the Bay.

Beecher noted an upturn at the Hotel Bellwether in January. Last-minute bookings have become more common and executive-level business groups, an important component of the hotel’s sales, are bouncing back.

 

Just completed

Bellwether on the Bay, a Port of Bellingham development, gained its name and much more in the last two years. However, it still is unknown to many local residents.

“The comment I get is ‘Wow, I didn’t even know this was here,’” states Mark Bergsma, owner of the Mark Bergsma Gallery in the Bellwether Building.

The southern side of Squalicum Harbor previously was known to the general public only as the home of the Marina restaurant. The major additions include:

• The Hotel Bellwether, Peter Paulsen’s 68-room, European-style luxury hotel, and its Harborside Bistro opened in August 2000. The hotel includes a private 900-square-foot lighthouse condominium with a 360-degree view of Mt. Baker, Bellingham Bay and the San Juan Islands. It added a 36-foot “picnic” boat and a 61-foot motor yacht, which can accommodate up to 49 people for receptions, last August.

• The Bellwether Building, a three-story, 43,000-square-foot structure owned by the Port of Bellingham, had businesses operating inside it by April 2001. Anchor tenant First Union Securities, located on the third floor, and Toolhouse Design led the way. Retail businesses soon followed, taking the building’s ground-floor spaces.

• Anthony’s Restaurant in Squalicum Harbor made its debut in late August 2001. Part of the renowned Western Washington chain of Anthony’s Restaurants, it can serve more than 200 customers at a time with its dining room, banquet room, lounge and deck seating.

• The Paulsen Building, offering 34,000 square feet, opened Sept. 17. It include a 5,000-square-foot ballroom that’s used for meetings, banquets, receptions and other events. The ballroom can serve 400 people at a sitdown dinner and up to 700 in a reception. It’s availability, particularly for weddings, also has given a boost to the neighboring Hotel Bellwether.

Squalicum Harbor also offers Zuanich Point Park, developed by the Port of Bellingham in the last two years into a beautiful waterfront area. The park attracts walkers, rollerbladers, kite flyers and more. A playground is available for young children.

These new additions to the harbor broaden its appeal tremendously — the challenge for the Port of Bellingham and businesses is in spreading the word about its attractions. For years, Squalicum Harbor drew only boaters and those who visited its primary restaurants: the Marina, Lucci’s Bayshore Pizzeria and the Bayside Café. Also, industrial companies — Georgia-Pacific, Bellingham Cold Storage, Absorption Corp., Mt. Baker Plywood, Sanitary Service Co. and Yorkston Oil — lie on both sides of the harbor along Roeder Avenue. If you didn’t work there, eat there or own a boat, you didn’t have a reason to go there.

However, further development and evolution of the waterfront is on the horizon. In March, Georgia-Pacific signed a memorandum of understanding with Trillium Corp. of Bellingham. The two companies plan to enter an agreement — that may have been approved after this issue’s press deadline — for Trillium to lead the planning, management and long-term development of 150 acres of Georgia-Pacific property just south of Squalicum Harbor and along Bellingham Bay. Georgia-Pacific closed a pulp mill and chemical plant on the property last year but still operates a tissue mill there. Any redevelopment will allow the tissue plant to continue operations, according to the companies.

David Syre, chief executive officer of Trillium, estimated that the planning process should take 12-18 months. Trillium and Georgia-Pacific didn’t speculate on the possible new uses of the property, instead emphasizing that the planning process would seek input from a broad range of local entitites.

“I am confident that the Georgia-Pacific site will remain the heart of our economy in the years ahead,” says Ted Mischaikov, Trillium’s president and chief operating officer.

 

Promotions planned

The area isn’t depending on just summer weather and spectacular views — attractive as they are. The newly formed Bellwether Business Association and the Port of Bellingham have planned numerous events to attract local residents and tourists.

The amphitheater at Tom Glenn Common is attracting a variety of events, including Bellingham Festival of Music concerts Aug. 4, 6 and 8.

The Whatcom Hospice Foundation is presenting two festivals. A new one, the Seafood, Wine & Bluegrass Festival, is scheduled July 4 at Tom Glenn Common. Also, the annual Maritime Festival is planned Aug. 24 at Bellwether Square.

With continued marketing and additional development, Squalicum Harbor appears to possess a bright future.

“I believe this whole area has fabulous potential to be a new rising star of business activity,” Bergsma says.