PORT ANGELES — Downtown Port Angeles had a net loss of zero businesses in 2011, Barbara Frederick, executive director of the Port Angeles Downtown Association, told about 80 businesses leaders at Monday’s Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce luncheon.
In 2011, 11 businesses departed downtown and 11 moved in, Frederick said.
There are now 185 businesses in the area that employ 1,200 workers.
Private investments in the area amounted to $350,000, Frederick said, and $2 million was spent on government-funded projects, including new crosswalks and other street improvements.
This year is also looking good, she said, with the recent opening of Northwest Tobacco Emporium at 114 N. Laurel St., and Elliott’s Antique Emporium at 135 E. First St., and the expansion of Captain T’s Custom Stuff at 114 E. Front St., where the Elwha Theatre cinema once operated.
Frederick announced that three new businesses are expected to open their doors soon — the Gypsy Art Gallery, Iron Apparel and Angeles Brewing Supplies — while Country Aire Natural Foods, 117 E. First St., is preparing to unveil its major expansion.
Country Aire’s new location at the corner of West First Street and South Oak Street is in the remodeled Gottschalks department store building and is expected to open by May 1, Frederick said.
It is possibly the most anticipated business opening in town, she told the chamber.
One of the least improved properties in the downtown area, the former DeLaney’s Restaurant and Lounge at the corner of Front and Lincoln streets, is slated for improvements to attract new tenants, said Charles Smith, vice president of the downtown association.
The downtown association was formed in the 1980s in response to a shift of businesses moving from downtown locations to indoor malls.
“We were one of the founding members of the Washington Main Street Program,” Frederick said.
Downtown association programs include Art on the Town, which has displayed $500,000 in public art projects throughout the downtown area; a property improvement program that will match funds for storefront improvements and signs; and a winter holiday lighting of the many trees that line downtown streets.
PADA also sponsors Heritage Days, an annual festival that celebrates the history of Port Angeles.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
