PORT ANGELES — The suggestion of “buy locally” could be stamped all over the new Eagles Aerie 483 building — inside and out.
The fraternal organization spent more than $1 million with Clallam County contractors, vendors and business owners in designing, building and outfitting its new home at 2843 E. Myrtle St. off U.S. Highway 101 just east of the city limit, Eagles Secretary Patti Morris said Friday.
Even the Eagles’ famous “floating” dance floor — it’s easy on the feet and legs — was purchased from McCrorie Carpet One Floor & Home in Port Angeles, she said.
“It’s all local,” she said Friday.
“It can be done. It doesn’t take that much effort.”
The group’s old suspended dance floor had to be left at the Eagle’s former home at 110 S. Penn St. after the U.S. Border Patrol purchased the land and building for $1.8 million last year.
“We made the decision to take that money from the Border Patrol and put it back into the local economy so there was a benefit from the Border Patrol money,” Morris said.
“We had no issue saying to contractors, ‘We want to go out of our way to go local, but we need you to sharpen your pencils and give us good prices. You have to show that we need to use you.’”
The Border Patrol is in the process of moving from its current, cramped headquarters at the Richard B. Anderson Federal Building in downtown Port Angeles to its new $9.8 million headquarters at the former Eagles’ site, Mike Milne, spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which oversees the Border Patrol, said Friday.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony is planned for Sept. 14, Milne said.
The Eagles also will move into their new headquarters some time in September, Morris said.
They’ve been renting temporary quarters at the former St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store at 112 E. Eighth St. for more than a year.
The organization went through Realtor Alan Barnard of Windermere Real Estate Port Angeles to buy land for their new home for $187,000, Morris said.
The land owner was Brad Maxhimer of Port Angeles.
They hired Zenovic & Associates of Port Angeles to design the new 5,800-square-foot new building, Hoch Construction Inc. of Port Angeles to build it and Trisa & Company Interior Design to plan the interior, Morris said.
Kitchen appliances were purchased from Olympic Restaurant Equipment of Sequim, she said.
“It’s basically turning around and recharging our economy,” Morris said.
The new facility has Wi-Fi, a fireplace and a ballroom.
“We were trying to create an environment that is truly like a lodge,” she said.
“It’s wonderful to see that we can reinvest in our community.”
She did not know if the project would have cost less or more if the organization had opened the project to out-of-town businesses.
But the community loses when money is not spent locally, she said.
“There’s got to be a number to that,” she said.
“You can talk about sales tax revenues going down. That certainly didn’t happen on our project. There’s a standard sales tax on everything we buy.”
The organization has 900 members, including 300 in the ladies auxiliary, building committee member Kevin Wheeler said.
The club had 3,000 members in 1980.
The smaller building “reflects our ability to support it,” he said.
Eagles club members are looking forward moving into their facility, Wheeler said.
That’s when they will get a feel for the new dance floor.
“Dancers notice it when they get out there because it’s like running on the track at the high school as opposed to running on the road,” Wheeler said.
Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5060, or at paul.gottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
