Category Archives: Development

Apartments in the works in Bremerton

screen-shot-2016-11-09-at-2-12-56-pm — Spyglass Hill will open in early 2017.

Be it the possibility of property tax breaks or a chance to deliver on Bremerton’s thirst for housing, developers have pushed more than a handful of apartment projects through city hall in recent years. Some are more likely than others to materialize.

Here’s a list of those projects, what we know about them, and where they currently sit in the realm of possibilities.

Water, Wind & Sky: This one’s new. City community development officials have received plans for a 110-unit complex off Lower Wheaton Way at Schley Boulevard, overlooking the Port Washington Narrows. Seattle Developer Mark Goldberg, who spearheaded the 400 Condos in downtown Bremerton, has been working on the project. There’s a city sign up about the project but it is merely at the start of the permitting process.

Spyglass Hill: Work is wrapping up on the $15 million, 80-unit project on Highland Avenue (see photo at the top of the blog). It looks like the project, developed by Sound West Group, will open in late winter. Pre-renting has begun.

Fourth Street North: And speaking of Sound West Group — the Bremerton-based development company is also at work on Fourth Street, having purchased the Roxy Theater and two properties east of it (as well as others downtown). They received about $240,000 of federal grant funding from the City Council to install new facades on the dated buildings there. That work could begin soon. Once done, the developer plans 35 or so apartments to go with existing parking and two commercial spaces. (This is also the area where Quincy Square is proposed.)

screen-shot-2016-11-09-at-2-39-32-pm — Wheaton Way apartments underway.

The Wheaton Way Apartments: Work has already begun on the 160-unit complex off Broad Street in East Bremerton. The seven-acre property will be home to 10, three-story apartment buildings. In the future, Kitsap Transit plans to build its new transfer station between the development and Wheaton Way.

The 1010 apartments at Burwell Street and Warren Avenue.

1010 Apartments: The Bremerton City Council recently decided to give Lorax Partners, the developers of the 25-unit complex, $210,000 to demolish the dilapidated row housing currently on the property. The federal money to do it won’t come until next year. But the project could get underway once that work is complete. Lorax is the same developer that built the Park Avenue Plaza and 71-unit 606 apartments.

Inhabit Bremerton: The 51-unit project by longtime Kitsap County resident and developer Dale Sperling is being built in blocks in China and will then be constructed at the site of the former Nite Shift Tavern and Evergreen Upholstery. I don’t have word yet for when the “modules,” as they are called, will arrive. But when they make it here, I am told putting them together on site will be quick.

Evergreen Pointe: The 104-unit complex would be built beside Evergreen-Rotary Park on Sheldon Boulevard. Goldberg pushed it through city permitting. I’ve talked to Kingston developer Trish Williams, who owns it now, and she’s hopeful to start construction soon but says there’s still some work to be done.

Smaller projects downtown: Last, but not least, there are some smaller commercial-retail projects going downtown. Chung’s Teriyaki, under construction near the Bremerton ferry terminal, will have three apartments atop it. And Sound West Group is doing one other project on Pacific: the 707, which is a renovated retail space and five apartments above. That project has cleared the city’s design review board.

The Towers: Last but not least, I will mention the Towers, which started as a condo development on Washington Avenue at Sixth Street. Goldberg also steered this one through permitting. It’s now owned by Absher Construction. I had been told of a plan to alter the development to include apartments, a restaurant and hotel. Absher paid more than $200,000 to bury power lines on the street as part of the Washington Avenue project.

Tweet This Post

New development coming to 11th and Warren

josh farley

A new look at 11th and Warren. Photo by Tristan Baurick.

The heavily-traveled corner at 11th Street and Warren Avenue has been home to tennis matches, radio-controlled cars, and even aspiring ninjas.

Now, it’s becoming a place for homes.

Earth movers have been busy busting up ramshackle tennis courts and an old RC track to make room for six homes that will be built on the site — which actually abuts 12th Street — in the coming months. Brad Young, a developer and house-flipper who moved here three years ago, believes the location will flourish.

“I’m really looking forward to building there,” he said, noting it’s within walking distance of the ferry. “I think the market is really good in Bremerton.”

Each residence, constructed by Young’s company Spectrum Homes, will be about 1,600 square-feet and will include garages and covered decks. The construction comes at a time when the city has serious demand for housing.

The area has seen its share of changes over the years. Before the Warren Avenue Bridge was constructed in 1958, 11th Street didn’t even reach Warren Avenue due to an embankment near Chester Avenue. The Pee Wees have long practiced at the playfield and tennis courts at 11th and Warren were once home to city league matches. There was also a Girl Scout’s hall on the site, according to former Kitsap Sun Editor Chuck Stark.

Bob Fredericks, a sports community legend and one of the founders of Kitsap Tennis and Athletic Club, had run tournaments on the public courts there since 1947.

More recently, one of the courts was converted into a miniature race track for radio-controlled cars. And the corner was the popular spinning spot of the Bremerton Ninja until he moved to Port Townsend.

The city, which purchased property closest to Warren Avenue, added a right turn lane there in 2013.

Bye bye, tennis courts. Photo by Tristan Baurick.

Tweet This Post

Bremerton’s Chase building will have its rocks checked

josh farley

No rock will be left untouched.

You may have noticed scaffolding now surrounds the Chase Bank building on Pacific Avenue (pictured). There’s good reason for that, as the building’s property managers are embarking on a two-week project that will secure every rock in its rather unique facade and will add a sealant and epoxy over them to ensure they don’t go anywhere in the future.

“We’re going to make sure the exterior is maintained,” said Melissa Marsh, a senior property manager with Beverly Hills, California-based Cardinal Equities. Cardinal manages the building for its owner, Bremerton Capital Group, also based in Southern California.

Marsh said that other options to remake the facade proved too costly. So, for those fans of the Mo-Sai architecture, you’re in luck: it’s here to stay. I was amazed at the range of the 80+ Facebook responses Wednesday when I asked a simple question: what do you think of the building’s facade?

“I love it, and so do my kids,” Sara Lyn commented. “I like the earthy, Natural feel to it, versus brick and mortar everything, and my kids love to examine the cool rocks!”

“Hate it,” Will Maupin wrote. “Looks like a cheap 1960s apartment building.”

And every opinion in between.

One thing’s for sure: it’s recognizable. As Craig Johnson noted on my Facebook post, which contained an oddly angled picture (above) of the facade, “Notice how everyone knows what it is, even from a somewhat abstract photo?”

The building was built in the site of a former Methodist church (pictured) which was demolished in the mid-1960s. In its place first rose the First Federal Savings & Loan. Its architects built it in the Mo-Sai style (see pictured ad), a series of quartz rocks that filled the sides of the seven story building like some kind of a vertical beach. (The city’s Carillon bells also happen to ring from the top of the building).

At some point, a rock or two was bound to become loose from the facade.

In November, staff at the Department of Labor and Industries — which has an office in the building — expressed concern after a customer brought in three rocks he said had fallen off the building.

“As you can imagine, we are concerned that a rock could potentially fall on a pedestrian,” Lori Oberlander, an office manager with L&I, told the city’s Department of Community Development in an email.

City staff attempted to investigate, but had no way of contacting the man without his name or contact information.

The property management company decided to nip any potential problems in the bud. They’ve hired Applied Restoration to perform the masonry work over the next two weeks. Each rock on the building will be individually checked, to be on the safe side, Marsh said. I’ll keep an eye on the project as it proceeds.

Lastly, I must add the pun-filled Facebook comments of Jeff Coughlin, who happens to be a NASA scientist living in Bremerton: “I think it rocks, but we probably take it for granite. A change could be gneiss. Perhaps clean the slate and lime it with some sort of trendy new schist.” Oh, dear.

Tweet This Post

County’s first ‘fiber-service’ coming to Bremerton

josh farley

The county’s first large-scale fiber-optic Internet service is coming to Bremerton.

Or, as you can see from the map above, pockets of it. CenturyLink recently informed city officials of a summer project to extend fiber-optic lines throughout many areas of West Bremerton and Manette.

While fiber-optic cable forms the backbone, or “trunk” lines of Kitsap County’s high-speed network, it’s not been delivered to neighborhoods in Kitsap before, according to Paul Avis, Superintendent of Telecom for the Kitsap Public Utilities District. Avis applauded their efforts as an improvement for the city’s residents.

“From the PUD’s standpoint, it’s outstanding,” he said.

Many other companies, including CenturyLink and Comcast, have been operating on copper cable or telephone lines. The result can be slower service. CenturyLink has been mailing postcards to some city residents boasting of speeds of up to one gigabyte fiber Internet service.

In terms of delivery, Avis uses a water utility analogy. A two-inch water pipe and a 10-inch water pipe will have the same pressure. But once multiple users begin to consume, 10 inches goes a lot further than two.

Of the improvements, a company spokeswoman would only tell me this: “CenturyLink is working on plans to extend fiber services to thousands of homes in the Bremerton area. We hope to make those services available to customers at the end of 2016.” No word yet on what that home service will cost. I’ll keep you posted as I find out more.

Tweet This Post

Bremerton’s newest arcade has flair for nostalgia

josh farley

Calling all pinball wizards and nostalgic gamers: the arcade tailor-made for you is finally set to open in Bremerton.

Another Castle Arcade Edition will open its doors for the first time at 3 p.m. Thursday, with a full grand opening 24 hours later at 305 Pacific Avenue. It’s full of retro arcade games like Pac-Man and Tetris that will speak to a generation of gamers who grew up on the cusp of the 21st century. But it also has an array of pinball machines whose popularity has been blossoming, according to Jason Greye, its manager.

All that with a full compliment of liquor and local beer on tap.

“You can spin it any way you want, but I’m a nerd bar,” Greye said. “This is a place for people to geek out as much as they want.”

He envisions a pinball league forming likes ones that have exploded around Seattle. He’s also excited to be part of the downtown Bremerton community. He’s forged a partnership with LoveCraft Brewery, in which they’ll be hosting beers on tap in exchange for a pinball machine on loan at the Fifth Street brewhouse.

And, in one of the more creative uses of window dressing ever realized, visitors can play the Super Nintendo version of Super Mario World while the Pacific Avenue world passes by.

Greye’s been working for 14 months to bring Another Castle to Bremerton. Company management was picking between Bremerton and Everett for their next location, to go with ones in Edmonds and Belligham. A South Kitsap High School class of 1999 graduate, he fought for Bremerton.

On the eve of its opening, he’s feeling glad he did. An initial Facebook post announcing the opening has been making the rounds like nothing he’s seen before.

“Nothing we’ve ever done has had this kind of response,” he said.

The arcade is not alone in Bremerton. The Bremerton Beat last year broke news of Quarters Arcade’s arrival on Fourth Street near Park Avenue. And The Coffee Pot Arcade (pictured below) recently opened on Callow Avenue and plans to grow into a space there near Safeway.

Another Castle is limited to those 21 and older. It plans to be open every weekday at 3 p.m. and at noon on weekends. Most every night, it will be open until midnight and sometimes later, Greye said.

Tweet This Post

Cul-de-sac transformation on Navy Yard City’s F Street

josh farley

It’s a common sight these days to find home remodels in progress all over Bremerton.

But what about the overhaul of an entire cul-de-sac?

That’s what you’ll find at the eastern edge of F Street in Navy Yard City, where a development duo has snatched up six lots once overgrown with weeds, covered in litter and frequented by squatters.

Veteran builders Noel Larsen and John Stallings started their own company in 2013. Proserpina Construction — whose name shares that of a Roman goddess sometimes known for rebirth or renewal — aims to construct or remodel not only individual homes, but blocks of them when such possibilities arise.

Yes, there is a house in this photo. Somewhere. Google maps. — Before the remodel: Yes, there is a house in this photo, somewhere. Image by Google Maps.

The pair say they’re helping to “control the destiny” of the street’s end, as Larsen puts it, and breathe new life into it.

“It’s recreating this end of F Street,” Stallings said. “Taking it from a low point to a high point.”

That work began with a dilapidated yet robust 1937-built white house (pictured above) that was so overrun with brambles and trees you couldn’t see it from the road.

“We thought it was a vacant lot,” joked Larsen.

The house, whose residents at one time appear to have been hoarders, had been abandoned 15 years. Once the brush and trash outside had been removed, they started on the inside. There were still signs of the home’s former coal-powered heating source. Layers of junk, from wrappers left behind by squatters on top to layers of newspapers and romance novels underneath, had to be cleared away.

“It was like an archeological dig,” Stallings said.

The home has those wonderful curved archways inside that we Bremerton residents know well. The builders added a staircase to the home — the original had a door that was maybe five feet tall — and in doing so, they actually produced another archway to match the original.

It’s a sign of the times that builders now have the financial incentive to come into Bremerton and complete such projects. But the builders say they specifically wanted to create quality housing for young families. Stallings noted that builders looking to complete a remodel on the cheap might’ve put down vinyl flooring in the kitchen; they went with tile.

The duo has just about wrapped up a remodel on the home, and is at work on a second one (pictured). They’ll build four more too, hoping to have construction complete by October. They’re also planning to place a playground on some neighboring property owned by a church, to add an amenity for the children of families they hope will live there.

Later this year, I will revisit F Street and share some photos of its completed transformation.

The first of five new homes the company will build on the street. They’ve left behind some Madrona, Douglas Firs and Western Red Cedars.

Tweet This Post

The evolution of the Evergreen Park neighborhood

josh farley

Despite a relentless rain shower, we had one heck of a turnout for Saturday’s Story Walk of Evergreen-Rotary Park. The park — and the neighborhood around it — is changing rapidly. Here’s a rundown of all the things we learned Saturday:

The park — back then just the 11.5 acres closest to Park Avenue — was leased to the city by Warren Smith in 1901, and formally became a park in 1908 or 1909.

An early pavilion constructed there was known as a “blind pig” and “bawdy house” due to the drinking and other debauchery that took place there.

The city’s first power plant was a lumber mill that existed near Smith Cove. The lumber mill’s operators would burn refuse that would operate a primitive turbine that generated power.

The park had campgrounds following World War I; during the war years, it was taken over by the federal government for training and housing military personnel.

The Bremerton Memorial Swimming Pool was constructed there (outdoors) in 1953, thanks to an $80,000 donation from the Lions Club. It would remain open until an indoor pool was built in East Bremerton in 1979.

Photo by Patrick Kerber. Thanks, Patrick!

The “other side” of the park — where the 9/11 Memorial exists now — was once an industrial zone. Steam laundries, coal and gravel bunkers, and bulk oil storage abounded. One of the oil tanks was actually an old ~~submarine~~ torpedo boat once known as the USS Fox. It would take years, and hundreds of thousands of dollars, to cleanup the area, to include the Chevron site.

In recent years, the park has seen a number of improvements. The 9/11 memorial was completed in 2013 with private funding. The All-Accessible Playground was completed in 2014 with a combined $523,000 in grants and private funding. This year, close to a half-million dollars is going to revamp the boat ramp and launch, a combined project by the state, Port of Bremerton and city.

Trish Williams, developer of the Evergreen-Pointe Apartments near the park on Sheldon Boulevard, was on hand Saturday to answer questions. Her project, which she says will start “going vertical” in the late spring, will have a 95 unit complex and a smaller 14 unit one off Sheldon Boulevard. Williams said she’s working with the city to establish a public walking path through the middle of the project.

845255_5548946_ver1.0_640_480 — Evergreen Pointe apartments rendering.

Williams also touched on some retail possibilities in those spaces she’s constructing, to include a wine bar, bike store and donut shop.

The Quonset Hut on 13th Street near the park continues to develop as Saboteur Bakery (which also just opened a location downtown).

The city’s Washington Avenue reconstruction contractor, RV Associates, continues to mend the two sides of what will now be a larger park together. Thanks to shutting down a beach sewer line, crews have been able to remove a sewer pump station, roadway and power lines. In their place will be more grassland, walking pathways and a way to relax and enjoy the waterfront.

Inside Honor Bar, where we warmed up following the rainy walk, Chef and Owner Alan Davis explained why he and his wife Jodi opened the restaurant in Bremerton — and also gave an overview of Paella (as he makes a crazy good version of it).

Also, a special thanks to CJ’s Evergreen General Store for giving us a starting point for the walk.

And as for that rock with the face on it? We couldn’t find it Saturday, but here’s the story about it.

Thanks to all who attended!

Tweet This Post

Saboteur Bakery to open Fourth Street location

josh farley

We won’t have to wait for Bremerton’s newest bakery to open in its destined space near Evergreen-Rotary Park. Matt Tinder, the acclaimed baker behind Saboteur, confirmed to me this week that he’s opening up a retail space at 245 Fourth Street, in the heart of downtown.

Tinder said he’s excited to open as soon as Feb. 1 in his first permanent space in Bremerton.

“I can’t just be doing popups,” Tinder told me. “I want to start doing something more than that.”

Tinder and his fiancee Kate Giuggo will share a space with Envy-Fit, the pole dancing studio run by Adrienne McLaughlin. Classes will still be held there toward the back of the building, with Saboteur occupying the front. Patrons can look forward to “a nice mixture of pastries” and bread, to include bagels and croissants. The product will be mostly “savory and healthy,” he said. They’ll also serve up coffee.

The couple really likes Fourth Street, to include new brewery Wobbly Hopps and the iconic Roxy Theater. Tinder, who grew up on Kauai, recalls fondly a Roxy theater there too, that has sadly since been demolished.

The couple’s longterm plans are to move in to the Quonset hut off 13th Street near Evergreen-Rotary Park. But it will take some time to remodel the steel drum-shaped structure and, as Tinder said, they’re eager to get going. Currently, he’s baking at a facility in Redmond for the pop-ups he’s been hosting — a daunting commute.

It’s going to get a lot shorter. Tinder plans to bake at Evergreen Kitchen just down the street.

And even when the Quonset hut has been transformed into a commercial bakery, Saboteur would like to stay downtown. He sees an emergence of nightlife on the street and is contemplating cooking up pizzas to satisfy nighttime appetites.

If you can’t wait ’til February you’ll want to be at LoveCraft Brewing Company, 275 Fifth Street, at 4 p.m. Saturday. Saboteur will open a pop-up there at that time. I’ll be near downtown for my monthly Story Walk and plan to stop by. Hope to see you there.

Tweet This Post

COUNCIL SCORE CARD: A new cop and a new president

josh farley

In case you missed it, here’s three highlights from Wednesday night’s city council meeting, the first of the year.

New cop on the beat

Derek Ejde was sworn in as the city’s newest police officer (pictured). The North Kitsap High School graduate’s brother Jordan is already a Bremerton officer, and their father, Andrew Ejde, was a longtime Kitsap County Sheriff’s deputy. I did a story on the brothers in November, which you can read here.

New Council president

Councilman Greg Wheeler had been president for ~~two~~ three years. But on Wednesday night, he nominated Councilman Eric Younger for the job, and the vote was unanimous. Councilman Dino Davis was sworn in as the Council’s vice president.

What does it mean to be the Council’s president? The president, it goes without saying, is the Council’s leader — he or she runs the meetings, appoints members to committees and monitors and approves business on the Council’s agenda.

“I certainly have big shoes to fill,” Younger said of his predecessor.

Wheeler, who retired from the shipyard this past year, is contemplating a run for mayor in 2017. Mayor Patty Lent said she intends to run, setting up a possible showdown between the two for the city’s top job.

Developing stories

Bremerton Mayor Patty Lent presented a laundry list of projects occurring around Bremerton in 2016, including the new Chung’s Teriyaki restaurant, Spyglass Hill apartments, Carl’s Jr. restaurant and several others. She mentioned that Bremerton’s community development department issued a record 683 permits worth $81 million in projects in the city in 2015. She also noted that 40 of the 71 units of the new 606 Apartments in downtown Bremerton have been rented.

Lent also predicted she’d work well with the Council in 2016.

“We’re going to be in stride and marching to the same drumbeat,” she said.

She also introduced interim Bremerton Parks Director Jeff Elevado. Elevado, who replaces a retired Wyn Birkenthal, has been with the parks department in 1981.

“We do have our challenges, but we find ways to get things done,” Elevado said.

Tweet This Post