Bellingham’s other waterfront
Squalicum Harbor awaits arrival of new neighbor

While recent talk has centered around the proposed marina at the old Georgia-Pacific treatment lagoon, Squalicum Harbor already has 1,400 slips.

By John Kinmonth

With all the hype surrounding the redevelopment of the former Georgia-Pacific property, it’s easy to forget that Bellingham already has a waterfront on the edge of downtown complete with 1,400 boat slips, commercial and industrial space, and a public park.
Although the Port of Bellingham’s preliminary plans for the new waterfront district call for the conversion of the heavily polluted former G-P wastewater treatment lagoon into a 350- to 450-slip marina, the nearby Squalicum Harbor Marina is already one of the largest marinas in the state. Also, as ideas surface for elaborate mixed-use buildings dotting the now-blighted industrial landscape, the Bellwether on the Bay development currently displays a wide variety of professional services within a stone’s throw from the water. And, on the other side of the bay in Fairhaven, successful existing boat builders such as Aluminum Chambered Boats and All American Marine have been the private-sector catalyst for the state-designated marine trade innovation zone planned for a portion of the 220 acres of redeveloped land.
But as the port and the city continue to wade waist-deep through the planning process for the future of Bellingham’s waterfront, many of the current waterfront businesses are awaiting the outcome of their much-publicized neighbor.

From pipeline to port
One Alaskan who decided not to wait for the redevelopment of the waterfront district before getting involved in business on the edge of Bellingham Bay is Radar Marine Electronics’ new owner, Dan Hisey. After spending 25 years as a mechanical engineer in the oil industry before finally retiring as the chief operating officer for the Alyeska Pipeline in Valdez, Alaska, Hisey was looking to do something different.
“My first interest was in marine-related business,” he said. A longtime boat owner and onetime coastal oil spill consultant, Hisey looked all over the country for an acquisition opportunity.
“I was looking for something on the water in the right area,” he said. After hearing that former owner Bill Pulse was putting the Squalicum Harbor-based Radar Marine up for sale, Hisey was hooked. They spent more than a year finalizing the sale and Hisey took over the 30-year-old company in May 2007.
Specializing in communication and navigation systems, Hisey sees Bellingham as an ideal spot for this kind of business.
“Half our business is commercial fishing and yachting,” he said. “We do a lot of business in Alaska.” Hisey sends installation technicians from his 10-employee company to Alaska four times a year.
While many of his commercial accounts might be up north, he said that Radar Marine also has a strong regional recreation market due to its proximity to the San Juan Islands.
“What I hear from the customers is that Squalicum is a very friendly harbor to bring your boat to,” he said, also pointing out the benefit of three days of free moorage for any customers of Port of Bellingham business tenants.
Hisey sees the redevelopment of the New Whatcom waterfront district as an economic booster for Squalicum Harbor businesses.
“I think it will bring more boats into the area,” he said. “It would certainly be a help for us.”
Like many interested residents and business owners, Hisey is curious to see the outcome of the planning process.
“The big debate is how much of it is going to be commercial, industrial, residential and recreational,” he said.
Besides Radar Marine, the Squalicum Harbor area also has a wide variety of other boat services including SeaviewNorth, which specializes in boat repair and service.
“You can come to Squalicum for full service on your boat,” Hisey said.
As commercial fishing continues to decline in the area, the boat charter industry has picked up the slack with a number of charter businesses operating out of Squalicum Harbor throughout the summer months.

New project opens gate to waterfront mixed-use
Long before the first new building is to be erected on the former G-P site, Bellingham developer David Ebenal hopes to break ground on Bellwether Gate, a mixed-use project on 3.1 acres with global engineering giant CH2M HILL as the anchor tenant. Located adjacent to the Anthony’s Hearthfire Grill restaurant on Bellwether Way near Squalicum Harbor, the development would boast four buildings and an underground parking lot with 176 spots.
The tallest building is slated to have an upper floor with 10 condo units and ground-floor retail space in addition to the CH2M HILL offices. CH2M HILL acquired the Alaska-based VECO along with its Bellingham division this past year and has plans to add approximately 200 employees to its current local workforce of 300.
Ken Marzocco, president and general manager of CH2M HILL’s Bellingham office, needed to find a place for the personnel expansion as the company outgrows its current offices in the downtown Flatiron building.
“We looked at a lot of different options,” he said. Marzocco said they seriously flirted with the idea of leaving city limits altogether.
“There’s a big financial incentive to move out in the county so we could avoid the city business and occupation tax,” he said. In the end, Marzocco said they spoke with the port about waterfront space for new offices.
“We decided if we are going to be in the city, we might as well have a unique experience,” he said. “We talked to the port, and lined up with Ebenal.”
While Marzocco said many of their employees might not be able to afford waterfront housing, they would at least be able to enjoy views of Bellingham Bay and the San Juan Islands while at work.
“I see it as a plus,” he said. Marzocco hopes to be in the building about 18 months after the permitting is approved, which has stalled in the wake of protests from neighbors who claim that the project’s tallest building will adversely affect their views and property values. With the help of a local attorney, the group has filed an appeal of the city decision to override height limits established in a 1998 planning contract that would disallow the 50-foot building. The state’s Shoreline Hearings Board has scheduled a three-day hearing in June to rule on the appeal.
Ebenal called the appeal “silly.”
“We’re staying the course with the Port of Bellingham,” he said. “It’s a beautiful location, and we’re looking forward to doing the project.”
Port Real Estate Development Manager Shirley McFearin is also optimistic.
“I think that the Bellwether Gate project could provide an economic stimulus,” she said. “The project meets the community standards for infill and would have underground parking, which in my opinion would be the best use for the land.”
“The port has very little vacant property on the waterfront,” she added.
Port Executive Director Jim Darling likes the economic feasibility of the project.
“There’s no public dollars going into that building,” he said. “It will be a big boon to the waterfront.”

New district boom or bust for existing waterfront businesses?
The projected 20-year redevelopment project by the port and city of 137 acres of industrial land formerly owned by Georgia-Pacific and an additional 83 acres of waterfront property is currently in the last phases of establishing a master plan and final environmental impact statement.
Port Planning Director Sylvia Goodwin sees the new waterfront district as an extension of the downtown central business district rather than a complementary addition to already existing developments such as Squalicum Harbor or Bellwether on the Bay.
“The Waterfront District is a redevelopment of an existing Brownfield to an extension of the central business district,” she said. “It is a totally different waterfront development. They’ll have different standards.”
The Bellwether development currently revolves around the 68-room hotel and several restaurants, as well as a variety of professional services that call the area home.
“We aren’t proposing to put a new hotel in the waterfront district,” she said. “It will be more focused on mixed-use than Bellwether.”
Goodwin doesn’t see the redevelopment pulling businesses away from the Squalicum Harbor area.
“The new marina will create additional demand,” she said. “It won’t draw existing businesses away from the development at Squalicum.”
“The new waterfront district will have a mix of uses, but it won’t replace the Bellwether,” she said. “We’re expecting the Bellwether to always be a destination.”
While the preliminary plans for redevelopment include urban densities and mixed-uses, the Waterfront District has also been designated as one of 11 state Innovation Partnership Zones. According to port documents, the state’s aim is to create hubs of expertise that include “lab-to-market economic development programs that will become globally recognized as hubs of expertise, innovation and commercialization.”
“We are going to build a new research development facility,” Darling said.
As the only marine industry partnership zone, the port plans to use $1 million of state funding to begin development on converting a portion of the site’s existing five-acre tissue warehouse for research and collaboration between business and educational institutions.
Dubbed a marine trades center, the initial project will encompass about 10,000 square feet of the warehouse. Tentative partners include Western Washington University, Bellingham Technical College and All American Marine Inc. Based in Fairhaven, All American Marine specializes in high-speed passenger ferries and has clients ranging from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to sightseeing companies in Alaska. Also based in Fairhaven, Aluminum Chambered Boats has expressed interest in expanding into the former tissue mill as well. ACB is looking to add more manufacturing space in order to pursue larger U.S. Navy contracts for river and coastal warfare vessels.
“We have a long history of boat manufacturing and boat industry,” Darling said. “Our niche here is for vessels that are a little bit smaller.”
McFearin said they’ve spoken with a variety of other potential tenants for the spacious building.
“We’re working with a number of tenants who have expressed an interest,” she said.
From steamships to fishing to timber industries, the economic face of Bellingham’s waterfront has been continually changing throughout history.
As the port and city hope to finish the planning process that will determine the future of the waterfront for another 100 years, the existing waterfront can’t help but feel the waves.




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