PORT TOWNSEND — One year after assuming control of the campus area of Fort Worden State Park, the Public Development Authority has implemented tangible improvements, according to its leadership.
“We have a lot of things to brag about,” said Dave Robison, the PDA’s executive director.
“There has been a whole change in customer service at the park, which is a huge change in Fort Worden. There is never a backlog of calls for people who call in for reservations or a camping site.”
Coinciding with the first anniversary is the long awaited groundbreaking for the $6.1 million renovation of the dilapidated Building 202 into a fully functional branch of Peninsula College, an event that takes place at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.
The PDA’s first year will be celebrated at an open house from 2 p.m. through the evening June 13.
The open house will feature Rhythm Planet, Lobos Del Mar and Locust Street Taxi, among other performers.
Fort Worden Commons is now the epicenter of visitor activity at the park.
Instead of a cramped check-in with limited hours located in the park administration building, visitors are greeted at a reservation desk that resembles a luxury lodge.
The desk is staffed from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. daily with an around-the-clock on-call number available for guests who need help in the middle of the night.
“When we talk about customer service it means taking a broader approach to hospitality at the fort,” said PDA board member Norm Tonina.
“Before, things were pretty hit or miss here, so we’re trying to put hospitality first and foremost.”
Robison said the PDA has also improved the area’s economic structure.
After one year, it employs 57 to 100 people with a yearly payroll of $1.5 million.
“This makes us one of the largest employers in Jefferson County at this point.”
Tonina added that “we’ve created jobs and built economic development at the fort. This is a big deal.”
The symbolic groundbreaking for the Peninsula College renovation project represents the beginning of the process that is expected to end with a full slate of classes in time for the Fall 2016 semester.
A brief program will include remarks from Peninsula College President Luke Robins and Trustee Mike Maxwell, along with representatives of the city of Port Townsend and the PDA.
After the ceremony, refreshments will be served in Fort Worden Commons.
“Building 202 is a game changer for us in East Jefferson County,” Robins said in a news release.
“Our current facility is totally inadequate, and our Board of Trustees has made a clear commitment to providing state-of-the-art learning spaces for our students, regardless of location.
“Our newly renovated Peninsula College at Forks site is evidence of that ongoing commitment, and 202 will provide a similar 21st century learning space for students in the eastern part of our service area.”
Once renovated, the building will include four general classrooms, a science classroom, a studio/art room, a learning lab, a workforce training room, student study space, reception and advising areas, and faculty offices.
When the college space opens, Fort Worden will look quite different than it does today, though Robison can’t predict specific changes.
There are more than 70 historic buildings on the campus that can be tailored to suit new partners or used on a temporary basis.
There will also be some shifting around, such as the relocation of the gift shop from the visitors center at the park’s first crossroads into the space vacated in the administration building when the reservations desk moved into the commons.
In July, the visitors center will open as the Guard House, a full service restaurant that Robison said will both enhance the park experience and attract a significant number of local customers.
“The Guard House is really intended to be a gathering spot for visitors at the park, but I’m sure it will draw customers from throughout the community,” Robison said.
The restaurant will open serving beer and wine with the possibility of a full liquor license, and will have a small performance space similar to several local bars.
Robison said the food service component has succeeded beyond expectations, underscored by bringing in 250 paying customers for a lavish Mother’s Day Brunch on Sunday.
One of the surprises for the PDA was the sudden departure of provider Bon Appetit in September, leading to the creation of its own food service department.
“It’s amazing. The cafe made a $12,000 profit last month,” Robison said.
“In April 2014, Bon Appetit lost money.”
The PDA isn’t a profit-making venture, Tonina said, and any surplus will be channelled into new or existing projects.
“What we are trying to do here is reposition that concept of profit to being one of building a reserve for the future,” Tonina said.
“Every dollar of that reserve is being reinvested somewhere in the fort.”
For more information, visit www.fortworden.org or phone 360-344-4434.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
