Monthly Archives: November 2015

Here’s the latest on Trails at Silverdale tenants

1129_TrailsUpdate_KSThe first stores (Ulta, Homegoods and AT&T) debuted at The Trails at Silverdale about a month ago. Since then we’ve gathered a few more updates on future opening dates and expected tenants.

The graphic above shows the latest info confirmed by developer CenterCal Properties LLC. (click to enlarge).

Here are a few key updates:

  • A 5,300-square-foot space near the entrance, initially slated to become one restaurant, has been divided into three spaces. Tenants there haven’t been announced but will open in spring of 2016.

We’ll keep posting announcements as we get them. You can sign up for email alerts using the widget on the right-hand side of this page.

Dragonfly Cinema seeking new owners

dragonflyIf you love movies and aren’t hung up on making money, there’s an indie theater in Port Orchard that would like to meet you.

The proprietors of Dragonfly Cinema on Bay Street announced Tuesday they are seeking new owners to keep the two-screen movie house going.

“Despite our love of Port Orchard, our family may need to be a bit more mobile than we’ve been over the past few years due to some recent positive personal events,” reads a Facebook post signed by Gryphon, Sharalyn, Alexander, and Evangeline Shafer.

“So it’s with immense sadness that we announce our intention to vacate ownership of Dragonfly Cinema. That said, obviously we want to see the theater continue to operate under new ownership if possible.”

The Shafers aren’t simply tossing the business on the market. Instead, they’ll be accepting proposals from prospective owners, with the hopes of finding the best possible custodian for the downtown institution.

Proposals will be accepted through December. In an email Wednesday, Gryphon Shafer said he’d already received five submittals.

“The response so far has been better than I expected,” he said. 

The Shafers offered a candid overview of their business in a FAQ accompanying the announcement. How much profit should the new owners expect to make?

“Pretty close to none,” according to the FAQ. “When we took over the cinema four and a half years ago, it was losing a lot of money. We’ve taken it to pretty close to break-even.”

Running the cinema has other rewards, the Shafers said in their announcement:

“We’ve been blessed to work with some top-shelf employees and dedicated volunteers, and we’ve been lucky to serve you, patrons who care about a great movie-going experience. And of course, our popcorn ain’t that bad.”

The Shafers revitalized the shuttered Historic Orchard Theater in 2011 and renamed it the Dragonfly. They’ll continue to operate the theater into early 2016 if no viable proposal is submitted, according to their announcement Tuesday.

You can read the full announcement and FAQ here. Dragonfly Cinema shows free movies during the Festival of Chimes and Lights, scheduled for Dec. 5 this year.

Thanksgiving road trips will be cheaper this year

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About 42 million Americans will hit the road for Thanksgiving this week, and those drivers will enjoy the cheapest gas prices in seven years.

According to AAA, Thanksgiving fuel prices will be at their lowest since 2008.

The nationwide average price for a gallon of gas was $2.10 on Friday. In Washington it was $2.49.

In Kitsap, the average price for a gallon of regular hovered around $2.45. That was 55 cents cheaper than on the same day a year ago (an 18 percent decline).

Diesel took an even more impressive dive in the past year dropping from $3.66 per gallon to $2.76 per gallon, a 25 percent drop.

With prices dropping steadily this month, AAA predicts the national per-gallon average will reach $2 before Christmas, a low not seen since 2009. The global petroleum supply continues to outpace demand, helping drive prices lower.

 

As for holiday travel, AAA forecasts a 46.9 million people will leave home for Thanksgiving this year, 300,000 more than last year. There will still  be fewer people traveling for Thanksgiving than before the economic recession (50.6 million in 2007 was the high).

The vast majority of holiday travelers — nearly 90 percent — will drive, but there’s also some good news for those who fly. Airfares will be 10 percent lower than a year ago. Passengers flying one of the 40 domestic routes will pay around $169 for a round trip.

You can see a slick AAA travel graphic here.

Larry Steagall photo

Kitsap ranked 10th in per capita income growth

personal.incomePer capita income grew faster in Kitsap last year than in most Washington counties.

Kitsap posted the 10th largest increase in per capita personal income from 2013 to 2014 among the state’s 39 counties, according to a recent report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Per capita by county, click to enlarge
Per capita income by county, click to enlarge

Per capita income grew 5.3 percent in Kitsap during that period, besting the state average of 4.5 percent. The county’s per capita income level reached $46,573 in 2014.

Kitsap ranked fourth for per capita income, behind King County ($68,877), San Juan County ($59,831) and Island County ($46,608).

Personal income is the total amount earned by residents from wages and other income sources, before taxes. Per capita income is calculated by dividing personal income by population.

The growth in per capita income for 2014 came on the heels of a statewide slowdown in 2013. Per capita income in 0.6 percent in Kitsap between 2012 and 2013, and 0.3 percent in Washington.

Below is a sortable chart of 2014 per capita personal income levels and growth rates by county:

SAFE Boats building river patrol vessel for Colombia

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The new riverine interceptor vessel (courtesy SAFE Boats)

Bremerton’s SAFE Boats International has been chosen to build a line of speedy river patrol vessels for the ColI mbian military.

The Colombian Navy/Coast Guard awarded a contract to the manufacturer for the new 30-foot boat, designated as the Type-F Riverine Interceptor Vessel.

“The vessel will perform missions of offensive patrolling, combat drug trafficking, piracy, arms and explosives smuggling and can conduct vessel-to-vessel boarding operations to guarantee the security of commercial shipping lines within Colombia,” according to a news release.safe.logo

The interceptor can carry a crew of up to 10. The boat is powered by twin Yamaha outboards and is capable of reaching 37 knots.

It features a retractable canopy, and front and rear machine gun mounts.

SAFE Boats has completed the first riverine interceptor, which will be delivered this month. The company expects to build as many as two-dozen of the boats for Colombia in coming years.

The Colombian military already has more than 20 SAFE Boats in service, including 41-foot coastal interceptor vessels and 38-foot coastal cabin patrol vessels.

“We have worked very close with the Colombian military to understand just how aggressive and remote their missions can be and to develop a boat that will significantly enhance their patrol and interdiction capabilities on the large rivers of Colombia,” John Hotz, director of sales for Latin America and the Caribbean, said in the release.

SAFE Boats builds its smaller aluminum vessels at a facility in the Port of Bremerton’s Olympic View Industrial Park. A larger line of Navy patrol boats is being built in Tacoma.

‘Little House’ in Seabeck wins big architecture award

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Images courtesy mw|works

The Seattle chapter of the American Institute of Architects announced its yearly Award of Honor recipients this week, and a diminutive Seabeck structure was among them.

seabeck.house.2The award-winning home, called “Little House,” was created by mw|works architecture + design of Seattle. Architect Eric Walter of Kingston was part of the design team. 

“This one was particularly enjoyable to work on as it was in my back yard,” he said in an email.

The 1,100-square-foot “cabin” overlooks Hood Canal, with views extending to Dabob Bay and the Olympic Mountains.

It was built on a tiny, existing foundation, according to a project description.

“The small footprint ultimately served as an effective tool to govern the design project,” according to a description provided by mw|works.

“Focus was placed on the essentials and extras were edited out by both desire and necessity. The resulting project hopes to capture the essence of a modern cabin – small in size but much larger than its boundaries.”

seabeck.house.3Skylights let in natural light and large windows looking north and west “pull the landscape and distant view into the space.”

The exterior is of the house is sheathed in “taut oxidized black cedar and blackened cement infill panels.”

A patio serves as a “jumping off point” for a meandering trail down to the water.

The owners are a Houston-based couple who have spent summers in the Seabeck area.

Little House was one of four 2015 Award of Honor recipients named by the Seattle AIA, chosen from among 130 submittals.

You can see the full project description and more images below:

Best Western hotel proposed in Poulsbo

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Update 05/17/16: Plans for the hotel have been dropped due to challenges, according to the architect. 

A Best Western hotel has been proposed for a hillside overlooking Poulsbo’s Central Market.

The city received pre-application materials for a 94-room hotel planned for a vacant parcel off Forest Rock Lane, east of Highway 305.

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Proposed hotel parcel, click to enlarge

Preliminary drawings submitted to the city show a five-story, 59,500-square-foot structure with basement-level parking.

The hillside lot is 2.5 acres, but a significant portion of the property is designated as wetland, limiting development to the eastern and western extremities.

A Poulsbo planner said it’s unclear yet whether the designs would meet the city’s height restrictions and other guidelines. A pre-application conference is scheduled for Dec. 1.

The applicant for the project is Benny Kim of Edmonds-based design firm An and Kim LLC.

In an email Tuesday, Kim said initial feasibility studies are underway. He acknowledged the site poses development challenges.

The property is owned by PPB Properties LLC. of Lynnwood, which appears to be a holding company for Prime Pacific Bank.

There are Best Western hotels in Silverdale and on Bainbridge Island. Business has been picking up for hoteliers across the county recently.

The preliminary designs for the proposed Poulsbo hotel can be viewed below:

Best Western Poulsbo Pre-App Plans

Tuesday event showcases entrepreneur training program

showcaseMore than 1,100 aspiring entrepreneurs have received training through Kitsap’s BE$T program in the past 14 years.

About 40 of the businesses that BE$T helped launch will be showcased during a Tuesday event at the Bremerton Elks Lodge. The showcase will also honor the most recent graduates from the program, which is now administered by Kitsap Community Resources. 

The BE$T (Business Education Support Training) program provides classes for people interested in starting their own businesses and ongoing support for established businesses. The “boot camps” cover a a wide range of topics including business plans, marketing, taxes, licensing and insurance.

Tuition assistance is available for low-income applicants.

“A lot of entrepreneurs are trying to start a businesses on a shoestring,” Program Manager Dayna Ebersole said.

showcase.2Last year 92 participants graduated from the eight-week training course, resulting in 32 business startups, according to the program’s website. Another 67 existing businesses received counseling and training.

The program got its start as Washington CASH. But the CASH organization lost its grant funding in 2012 and Kitsap Community Resources took on the local the training program locally.

KCR Executive Director Larry Eyer said BE$T complement’s the organization’s other services.

“We think it’s a great fit, because our mission is to help people become economically successful, and become self sufficient,” he said.

The BE$T showcase is scheduled for 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at 4131 Pine Road NE. Businesses that have benefitted from BE$T will showcase their goods and services. Guest speakers include Bremerton Mayor Patty Lent and state Sen. Christine Rolfes.

For more information on BE$T, call 360-473-2141 or visit the program’s website.

The event is part of Global Entrepreneurship Week. Kitsap Economic Development Alliance has a full listing of Kitsap GEW events. 

Courtesy photos

Bainbridge Walgreens, Key Bank ready to open

Key Bank and Walgreens on the corner of Highway 305 and High School Rds on Bainbridge Island. They are at the new “ Wintergreen Walk” the Visconsi shopping center.LARRY STEAGALL / KITSAP SUN

Two businesses are ready to open in Wintergreen Walk, a new High School Road shopping center that stirred controversy on Bainbridge island.

A 14,500-square-foot Walgreens pharmacy will debut at 8 a.m. Friday. A 3,300-square-foot Key Bank branch opens at 9 a.m. Monday.

Wintergreen Walk encompasses eight acres on the northeast corner of Highway 305 and High School Road.

bainbridge-island-aerialKey Bank, which was previously located behind McDonald’s on the south side of High School Road, now occupies a prominent place above the intersection.

Walgreens is tucked behind. Both buildings feature drive thrus.

Key Bank Manager Jon Phelps said the new branch shows the bank’s commitment to the Bainbridge.

“We didn’t want to be one of the banks that pulled up roots and moved off the island,” he said. “We’re here to stay.”

Wintergreen Walk is being constructed in phases, and could eventually offer 60,000 square feet of leasable space for restaurants, retail and medical offices, spread across seven buildings.

Headed by Visconsi Companies, a midwest development firm, the shopping center incited backlash from its inception.

Islanders held protests on street corners, decrying what they saw as unnecessary suburban sprawl. In August 2014 a teenaged protestor climbed 70 feet into a Douglas fir and camped for 40 hours to draw attention to the development plans.

In the end, the trees came down and construction moved ahead. The city issued the first building permits in March.

Watch for a full story in the Monday Kitsap Sun and Nov. 20 Bainbridge Islander.

Larry Steagall photo

Kitsap retail sales jumped 11 percent in second quarter

Q2.retail.graphicTaxable retail sales in Kitsap County took a big jump in the second quarter of 2015, increasing 11 percent from the same quarter of 2014.

That was the largest year-over-year jump in quarterly sales for the county since the start of the recession.

Sales totaled more than $963 million in the second quarter, according to the Department of Revenue. 

Statewide, retail sales reached $33.9 billion, marking a 9.4 percent increase from the same quarter of 2014.

Retail trade sales

retail trade sales

Sales reported by Kitsap’s retail trade industry in the second quarter were up 10 percent from the same period of 2014.

Retail trade accounted for about $512 million of Kitsap’s taxable sales in the second quarter.

Retail trade sales include sales made by stores, dealerships, online sellers and other traditional retailers.

County comparison

Here’s a look at how Kitsap’s second quarter sales stacked with other Puget Sound counties:

 

Kitsap highlights

The auto, building material and construction sectors continued their resurgence, posting double-digit increases from the second quarter of 2014.

Though a much smaller player by sales volume, manufacturing enjoyed a 19 percent increase in taxable sales.

Here’s a look at year-over-year growth for a few major industries in Kitsap:

Sales by industry

And finally, I’ve posted a full breakdown of second quarter retail sales by industry for Kitsap County: