I’m often asked about the
Spyglass Hill development, a project that will add 80
apartments on Highland Avenue in downtown
Bremerton. Since crews bulldozed the
dilapidated homes there last year, the most frequent question about
it I get is “When will construction start?”
Now, it turns out.
Late last week, the Earth movers started up above the Manette
Bridge (see above photo). I happened to run into Wes Larson, its
developer, last week at Great Peninsula Conservancy’s Spring
Dinner, and so I had to ask. Yes, the permits are in hand and
construction on the $15 million project has begun, I learned.
First up is attaching utilities to the property via Washington
Avenue. You’ve probably noticed how there’s a gap in the retaining
wall on Washington that used to be
John Hoffman’s garage/storage space. Now, that gap is helping
to provide crews space to underground the utilities into the
project. Once that’s done, a new retaining wall will go up and that
space will be filled in.
From there, the project will go up five stories.
Its original completion date was January 2016. I suspect that
may be pushed back since construction didn’t start quite as early
as anticipated.
Spyglass isn’t the only new apartment project going up downtown.
You may have seen the 606
Burwell project, which is moving along for an opening date
before the year’s up. There’s also designed projects that have not
set dates for construction but are ready in theory. Those include
“Evergreen
Pointe” near the park and the
Towers project off Sixth Street and Washington Avenue.
I’ll keep you posted as I hear more on any of these
projects.
What Spyglass Hill will look
like when it’s completed.
On a map, Bremerton is a Tetris champion’s worst
nightmare. Geographically, it’s filled with holes: West
Hills, Gorst (for now), Navy Yard City. There’s even an island in
Port Orchard.
In sum, it has quite a bizarre set of borders.
Since I took over coverage of the city for the Kitsap Sun in
late 2012, I have been perplexed as to how it came to be this way.
Each area, of course, has its own story —
Rocky Point, anyone? — but here we are, an oddly-shaped blob of
a municipality.
As we have seen in this past week, Bremerton is widely known as
a much larger area. The postal code includes areas in Seabeck and
at the Fairgrounds. Bremerton’s public works department also
provides water to a larger swath of land than is the city.
You may have seen Sunday’s story about how Bremerton is
actually barred by agreement from annexing the area north of
Riddell Road. We’ll see if that changes, following conversations
between the city and the county over South Kitsap landowner David
Overton’s desire to
end the agreement.
This year, I plan to write a series of articles focusing on some
of those holes. Many of them are UGAs — short for Urban
Growth Areas, destined to come into the city under the state’s
Growth Management Act. What’s kept them from coming in?
And for that matter, how different are services between those
offered in Bremerton to those in the unincorporated county?
I offer one example regarding emergency services. There are
already mutual aid agreements that ensure fire trucks and police
cars are on their way, regardless of jurisdiction (South Kitsap
Fire & Rescue, interestingly, is still the official fire department
for Rocky Point). But when it comes to policing, the Kitsap
County Sheriff’s Office is spread thin around the county, whereas
Bremerton’s force is concentrated. The result more frequent patrols
on city streets, and the ability of Bremerton police to respond
much more quickly to emergencies.
Taxes and regulations are also different. Bremerton has a
B&O tax that some cite as a deterrent for coming into the city.
Of the regulatory climate, here’s one interesting nuance. There’s a
storefront for a medical marijuana collective garden tucked
into a sliver of county land near the Perry Avenue Mall. The
city
banned such gardens in 2013. It’s surrounded on three sides by
Bremerton.
I think there’s a general assumption that coming into a city
means more taxes, more regulation, more services. That doesn’t
always turn out to be the case. I talked to a Rocky Point resident
who recently told me why he didn’t want to be in the city. He
recalled a relative supporting Marine Drive’s annexation into the
city.
“Marine Drive got in because they wanted sewer and sidewalks,”
he recalled. But they got nothin.'”
I hope to learn a lot this year on this issue, and welcome your
knowledge and opinions.
Mike Cichy has been seeking a new locale for
his arcade business since reluctantly closing the Seattle Waterfront Arcade last
September.
He’s found one on Bremerton’s Fourth Street.
The fourth generation arcade owner, who lives in
Illahee, signed a lease last week and has already begun remodeling
a space on the 600 block. His plan includes roughly 40 games
covering 2,000 square feet, along with a space for birthday
parties.
“There will be something for everybody,” says Cichy,
36. “From toddlers to grandparents.”
Cichy, a fourth-generation arcade owner, would prefer
to still have the arcade on the Seattle waterfront. Last year,
he was given a 30-day notice to vacate from Pier 57 by its
owners. Cichy said that redevelopment on the waterfront made
finding a different space near impossible. He didn’t want to pay
too high a price for space but also didn’t want to settle for a
spot devoid of foot traffic.
So he looked closer to home.
“We were up in the air as far as what to do,” he
said.
It wasn’t Cichy’s first time looking, and even
finding, arcade spaces in Bremerton. He’s leased games inside the
now-defunct Kart Trax on Wheaton Way and at the Bremerton Ice Center. He
originally moved here with his wife, Joanna, who is a Bremerton
native. The couple married in 2000.
His family has opened gaming centers all over the
Puget Sound area, most recently the Seattle Waterfront Arcade.
Cichy’s father, Gary, became manager at what was then called
“Quarters” on the waterfront in 1994. The family bought Quarters
and renamed it the Seattle Waterfront Arcade in 2002.
After looking at numerous locations in downtown
Bremerton, he settled on one formally held by The Rockit Roost, an
eclectic rockabilly and beer store that went out of business there
in 2014. The building is owned by Timothy Stimac, who also owns
the salon across the street from it.
He liked best the supportive atmosphere among
business owners on Fourth Street, anchored by the 10-screen
movieplex SEEfilm, for a location.
“I like the neighborhood feeling,” he said. “There’s
a real sense of community down there.”
Ideally, he’d like to operate the Bremerton location
and find another on, or near, the Seattle waterfront. But he feels
he’s found a permanent home for his business.
“I’m looking longterm,” he said. “I’d like to be here
20 years — or more.”
No date has yet been set for the arcade’s opening but
Cichy would like to be in business before June if possible.
The new idea for a “residential oasis” on Fourth
Street is intriguing. It rests on a simple notion: If several
commercial buildings have fallen stagnant on the street block,
between Pacific and Washington avenues, then why not try a residential approach?
Bremerton Architect Steve Rice’s idea for residential lofts, which
compliment the 22-year-old flowering pear trees on the one-way
boulevard, already has some traction in that the City Council had
been seeking an idea for economic development downtown to which to
reallocate federal dollars.
Fourth Street’s alter ego, between Park and Pacific,
is bustling with street life, making
the older section contrast all the more.
So what will it take to complete the turnaround?
Here’s the four main ideas I’ve heard floated. Not that they are
not mutually exclusive, that is, they could occur in some
combination.
Residential Oasis: The newest candidate is
still early in its concept. But the basic idea would be to help
property owners convert spaces — likely lofts — to quirky
residential units. Federal dollars could be spent to provide loans
for upgrades on buildings that require big code improvements —
seismic upgrades, fire sprinklers and the like.
Cost: Possibly little to the city (federal dollars
from HUD could help) though property owners would have to step
up.
The payoff: More people living downtown, which
means more vibrancy, more money spent, taxes paid and more lights
on in the darkened corridor.
Take out the trees: This was the original
idea, put forth by the property owners and Bremerton Public Works
Director Chal Martin. Property managers on the street have
maintained that the trees’ canopy and leaves leave it dark and give
it a spooky feel that few retailers are willing to brave. Adding
lighting could help brighten the street, too.
Cost: Taking down the trees would be paid for by
the city or the property owners (or some combination).
The payoff: We would find out if owners and
managers there are right — that the street would become far more
marketable to commercial businesses looking to relocate. But fans
of the trees have countered that the buildings themselves, whose
facades have aged, might still not be that attractive. Further, the
city also must at some point mitigate the risk of having the
sidewalk buckle from the trees and someone getting
injured.
Make it a two-way street: The meandering bend
to Fourth, installed as part of the 1993 improvement project, even
has the added negative effect of making sure motorists are watching
the street rather than getting a chance to look around the
storefronts. Plus, in only going one way, you’re losing a lot of
chances for drivers to see it, a turnoff for potential
retailers.
Cost: Doing that kind of concrete work won’t come
cheap.
The payoff: More motorists and parking that
might pique retailers’ interest, leading to more tenants, profits,
tax money, ect.
Pedestrian plaza: The most obscure idea for
the street is just to shut it down completely to traffic, leaving a
short stretch for people to get to the hotel near Washington
Avenue. A pedestrian plaza could be used for outdoor concerts and
public events and might just achieve “that resort feeling” former
Mayor Louis Mentor was going for in 1993.
Cost: Reconfiguring the city block will also not
come cheap.
The payoff: Festivals and other big events might
come to downtown Bremerton. But the buildings on the street would
still face the same problem: that motorists won’t see what it has
to offer. In fact, they wouldn’t see it at all.
Which option is your favorite? Or do you have another
idea?
The east side, as it turns out, is getting a Westside
Pizza.
It’s not the first time the franchise has come to East
Bremerton, having been in Wheaton Mall a few years ago. There are
also locations in Poulsbo and on Bainbridge Island. But this time,
it’s a new franchise owner who has remodeled the building at 1217
Sylvan Way, in what was last known as Rachel’s on the Eastside.
Joe Kirsch, a Sequim electrician who owns his own company,
decided to diversify a bit and go into the pizza business. He
shopped around for locations in Kitsap but felt the area is his
best chance to be successful.
“I thought about Silverdale but found the opportunity better in
Bremerton,” he said.
Kirsch said the Great Recession was hard on any field related to
construction but that pizza places actually fared pretty well. He’s
proud to promote and sell the Westside brand.
“People love their pizza,” he said.
The franchise will offer delivery, dine-in and
take-out. Opening is scheduled for Feb. 21.
The location joins Boston’s Deli and Pizza, Tony’s Italian
Restaurant and Pizzeria, Spiro’s, Brother Don’s, Kitsap Pizza,
Domino’s, Pizza Hut, Papa Murphy’s and Little Caesars in Bremerton
City Limits. There’s also plenty of places outside the city. The
pizza economy, it would seem, is faring well. After all, who
doesn’t like pizza?
Well, that didn’t last long. The tavern
building at 312 Naval Avenue, most recently known as the Pour
House, has been in existence since 1927, according to county
records. But when the bar’s owners closed the long-running drinking
hole last August, it faced an uncertain future.
Todd and Lisa Arnold were ready to step in, though. The owners
of
Papa’s Eats, Treats and Spirits in the Perry Avenue Mall had
been eyeing the place for some time. Last Friday, following permit
approvals from the city and the state’s liquor control board, the
bar once known as the Blue Jacket and Red Rooster was open
again.
This time it will be known as “Mama’s Mess Deck,” to
complement their eastside establishment. The sign’s on order, Lisa
Arnold said.
The Arnolds have owned Papa’s for four years. Todd works at the
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Lisa, who once worked at Washington
Mutual before the big crash, is now bar-tending and running the
locations. They have put in a fair share of upgrades, to include
new security cameras, better lighting and lots of cleanup.
They know that they’ll probably get a number of patrons as they
spill out of the shipyard. But Lisa Arnold would like to give the
place a comfortable feel where locals congregate. They plan to
hold pool tournaments and have a loyalty program to boot.
“I would like to get it back to being more of a neighborhood
style bar,” Lisa Arnold said.
Might something stir the economic embers of East
Bremerton’s Wheaton Way corridor?
Fitness
Evolution aims to
do just that. And, it appears that at $9.99 a month for a
membership, the desolate parking lots of big box stores near
Riddell Road are finally filling up with some cars again.
“We’ve been very successful so far,” said Ryan Anderson, general
manager of the Bremerton location, amid the whirs of workout
equipment.
Currently, the fast-growing company, with locations all over
Puget Sound, is occupying an old storefront, akin to lifting
weights and doing cardio within a grocery store. But in the months
ahead, they’ll move next door to a 23,000+ square foot permanent
home, specially built for the fitness center.
They’ll include all the fixings you’d imagine, plus some special
amenities unique to Evolution. A “cardio cinema” will allow those
working out to watch a movie together, looped all day. There’ll be
childcare too.
Anderson said there’s no certain opening date for the new space
yet. But “as soon as possible,” is what they’re going for, he
mentioned.
Aside from providing an affordable workout experience, he’s
hopeful the business can springboard further development in what
has been a tough corridor to develop.
“We love neighbors,” Anderson said. “And we’re hoping to be a
catalyst for more businesses here in Bremerton.”
Plans are underway to build a 16-unit condo complex on
Campbell Way, near Harrison Medical Center. The
developers, who want to build it this year, told me they’re excited
at the chance to construct along the bluffs of the Port Washington
Narrows.
To my knowledge, the nearest beach access to that area is
Lent Landing and Lions Field.
Here’s some photos of what will be torn down and what it would
be replaced with, under plans by iCap Pacific Homes.
This home, at 1231 Campbell
Way, would be razed for the new development.Here’s the same home from its
backside, atop the bluff overlooking the Port Washington
Narrows.Here’s what the developers hope
to build. Design by Fisher Architects.A side view.And finally, a bird’s eye
view.
Here’s some slices of life from downtown Bremerton this
week.
You’ll soon notice a new sign at Uptown Barbershop (above) where
the business has shed its original “Acme” name. Kellie Quanrud,
who’s owned it for the past year, said she had already agreed to
change the original name due to the Acme barbershop they were once
affiliated with on the Seattle side. Only now, that same Seattle
barbershop wasn’t happy about the Bremerton barbershop keeping any
part of “acme” in its name. So look for a sign change soon.
“At this point I think its best we go completely our own
direction anyhow,” Quanrud told her Facebook fans. ” … We
love and appreciate all of our customers and our regulars that pop
in to just hang out with us! That is what a barbershop should be!
Thanx for supporting your local shop and being patient with us
through all these changes!”
Just down the street, more serious changes maybe in store at The
RockIt Roost. Owner Chuck Mitchell is looking into transforming it
into a pub and arcade. He told me he’s not sure if it will happen,
but he’s trying to make it work. I’ll keep you posted.
Also nearby, you might have noticed Evergreen Trophies and
Kitchen got a paint job. Joe Hudson told me they’ll soon have a new
sign out front to complete the facade.
Work continues on an expansion of El Balcon, the popular El
Salvadorian eatery on Pacific Avenue. I’m told they’ve got some
hurdles to go but could be open in another slice of the Dietz
Building by the end of the year.
Work on a $3.5 million overhaul of the Salvation Army continues
downtown, near Park Avenue on Sixth Street.
Tad Sooter has further details here.
You’ve probably seen Monday’s story about the new apartments
going up at Park Avenue and Burwell Street. The $9 million project
will get started this week.
Work demolishing nine homes
near the Manette Bridge has restored the view of the bridge from
Highland Avenue — at least before the Spyglass Hill apartments
are built.
As planned, the homes long owned by John Hoffman were
bulldozed this week. Once turn-of-the-century family homes
Hoffman says his grandfather, City Attorney Thomas Stevenson, used
as a kind of informal city hall, the structures have been in
disrepair for many years.
After a fire in one of them, city officials took Hoffman
to court over code violations. Hoffman vowed to fight the city
and had hoped to restore the homes to their “former grandeur.” But
he ultimately
sold the properties at 649 and 653 Washington Avenue to the
developers of the Spyglass Hill apartment project for $20,000.
The developers plan to honor Hoffman’s family with a memorial at
the site but details are still in the works, I’m told.
Here’s a little photographic journey of the demolitions.
The view inside Hoffman’s home,
overlooking the Manette Bridge. The home was full of heirlooms and
property, much of which was moved to a storage unit.Homes to the south of the ones
formerly owned by Hoffman were demolished beforehand.Demolition of the home at 653
Washington started first this week. Some pianos and other
belongings were removed as well. All that was left of the
upstairs Wednesday at 649 Washington.And by Thursday, they were
gone. But crews still have to tear out the basements, within the
retaining wall, and fill them in to secure the bank. I’ll post more
photos as that work happens.
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