Should the Port of Bremerton sell or keep its lot on the downtown Bremerton waterfront?

What to do with its two acres of largely undeveloped waterfront in downtown Bremerton?
That was the question Port of Bremerton commissioners and staff tossed around in a study session last week.
Purchased in 2009, port visionaries pictured the land with an underground parking garage, plus public/private development on top. The port would build the garage, then a private development would put a office-retail complex on the stories above it.
But hoped-for funding from Congress didn’t come though this last budget round, leaving port leaders in a back-to-square-one mood.
Commissioners could sell it or hang onto it for better market conditions, advised CEO Cary Bozeman.
Commissioner Bill Mahan seemed most convinced the port should hang onto it.
A national company has expressed interest in a public private partnership with the port, he said. The company does such deals all over the nation, and the port would be guaranteed parking for its marina forever. Company representatives have visited once before, and are watching any port participation in the upcoming federal grant-getting process, he said.
“I know they’re very interested,” Mahan said.
Talk then centered around a hypothetical fitness club for the Navy and contractor folks working nearby. Mahan thought another restaurant might be of use.
Bozeman said, “I think all options are open here.”
The land is off Washington Avenue between the condos and the Hampton.
— Rachel Pritchett, reporter