PORT TOWNSEND — As tenants on the Fort Worden property continue to face uncertainty around the details of future lease agreements, many say their outlook remains optimistic.
For Centrum, an arts nonprofit founded by the state simultaneously with the founding of Fort Worden State Park, programming will move forward with only a few notable changes, CEO Rob Birman said.
Centrum’s programming primarily consists of weeklong workshops with attendees and instructors flocking to the property from all over, Birman said.
Centrum is the largest sub-tenant of the Public Development Authority (PDA). It is continuing despite last month’s closure of Fort Worden Hospitality (FWH), which managed operations of the fort’s lodging, food and drink services.
The closure presented Centrum’s 2025 season with a major challenge, as historically, program attendees have utilized onsite lodging, managed by FWH since its formation in 2022, Birman said.
“We’re standing up a housekeeping service and a food service,” Birman said. “What we’re negotiating with (state) parks is limited access to housing, which is mainly the dormitories that are on the campus, which is what we use for the bulk of our programs and access to the kitchen and laundry facility.”
The expanded service is likely to cost Centrum $250,000 in contracted labor, not including food, and is not intended to last more than six months, Birman said. Details are still to be worked out, and the arts organization is requesting additional support in the way of donations and volunteers, he added.
Programming for the season went live Friday and can be found at https://centrum.org/events-calendar.
Meanwhile, Peninsula College president Suzy Ames said college leadership met with state parks when news of the PDA’s dissolution broke. While specifics were not discussed, she said an understanding was reached that the two state agencies would engage lease discussions when the time is right.
“Two state agencies in a conversation is a very different conversation than when you have one agency that’s not a state agency,” Ames said. “I’m not worried about the timing. The presence of Peninsula College at Fort Worden will continue far into the future. I have no concerns of it changing.”
Ames said the school invested $6.5 million into the remodel of the 202 building at Fort Worden.
Nothing has changed for the college in terms of campus programming. Visit the school’s remote campus website to learn more at https://pencol.edu/locations/port-townsend.
Madrona Mindbody Institute is continuing to offer health and wellness classes across a variety of modalities, co-owner Renee Klein wrote in an email.
“Near term, we are eager for State Parks to stabilize management at Fort Worden,” she wrote. “Longer term, there needs to be a big, bold vision for Fort Worden. The park is an extraordinary resource, a place of unparalleled beauty and potential, and we cannot let the buildings and infrastructure continue to decline. We must marshal local, state and even national resources to preserve, protect and enhance Fort Worden for generations to come.”
For information on the movement focused institute, visit https://madronamindbody.com.
The Coast Artillery Museum has a lease agreement with state parks and has been assured that its situation will maintain stable moving forward, board member, manager and volunteer Les Jones said.
It’s yet to be seen what the impact of the loss of hospitality will have on their visitation rates, Jones said. Historically, many of the museum’s visitors came from people lodging on the property, he added.
For now, the museum is not in a financially vulnerable position, should a drop in visitation accompany FWH’s closure, he said.
The by-donation museum is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Sunday.
Rainshadow Recording Studio has paused capital improvement projects planned for the space, with the fort’s uncertain future, studio manager Simon Lynge said.
“We’ve been busy here throughout January with various projects,” Lynge said. “Bands, solo artists, a bunch of voiceovers. (Thursday) we did a voiceover for Bill Gates’ book tour. Really, overall hopeful that things will resolve in a positive way here at the fort and that we can stay in the space because we love being here.”
The full-service analog and digital studio offers tracking, mixing and mastering services and records live concerts at a high quality, Lynge said.
For those seeking details, visit the studios website at http://rainshadowrecording.com.
Corvidae Press, a printmaking guild, rents a room in the 205 building, as subtenants of Centrum.
“We haven’t heard anything about a change in our lease,” said Edward Thompson, Jr.
“We are assuming that we will be able to continue using our studio. I have every confidence that Rob Birman and Centrum will work out a favorable arrangement with state parks.”
Details about Corvidae Press can be seen on its website, https://corvidaepress.com.
Copper Canyon Press, a poetry publication, also is a subtenant of Centrum. Its website is https://www.coppercanyonpress.org.
The Port Townsend School of Woodworking offers 12-week intensives, classes for beginners, courses on timber framing, Japanese woodworking, forestry and joinery, among other offerings.
“The closure of Fort Worden Hospitality and the PDA has only a minimal effect on the daily operations at the Port Townsend School of Woodworking,” said Emmy Gran, communications and marketing manager. “We are going ahead with our regularly scheduled 2025 courses.”
Readers can explore a course catalogue and learn about the school at https://www.ptwoodschool.org.
Point Wilson Light Station also remains fully operational and continues to welcome guests, Lighthouse Keeper Mel Carter said in a press release. The U.S. Lighthouse Society, which manages the Coast Guard-owned site, offers rentals on the lighthouse property.
Visit https://www.pointwilsonlighthouse.org for details, contact Carter by email at mel@uslhs.org or call 360-821-9057.
It took a significant investment to install radio station KPTZ in its fort location, board president Jon Pinnow said by email. The investment was made with property collaborations and community in mind, he said.
“KPTZ remains committed to our mission and operation from our studios here,” Pinnow said. “We look forward to working with State Parks and neighbors like Centrum and others to ensure a vibrant future for Fort Worden.”
Learn more about KPTZ, visit https://kptz.org.
Changes at the fort are having an effect on Port Townsend Marine Science Center’s (PTMCS) spring plans, executive director Diane Quinn said in a press release.
“In the meantime, our biggest project, the remodel of building 502, formerly known as the Museum, as our primary visitor experience for the next several years, remains on track,” she said.
Learn more at https://ptmsc.org.
In an email, Northwind Art’s executive director Martha Worthley said Fort Worden is an economic driver.
“Be assured that Northwind Art is in full operation, both at 701 Water Street and on the Fort Worden campus,” she wrote. “Plans are being laid for the best use of facilities and program growth moving forward.”
For more, see Northwind Art’s website at https://northwindart.org.
Camping at the fort remains open.
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Reporter Elijah Sussman can be reached by email elijah.sussman@sequimgazette.com.
Studio manager Simon Lynge, left, with chief engineer Conor Sisk in Rainshadow Recording on Friday. (Elijah Sussman/Peninsula Daily News)
