PORT TOWNSEND – Port Townsend Chamber of Commerce leaders are gearing up to relocate a visitor information center building to Jefferson Transit’s Haines Place Park and Ride by May.
“We just feel that this has a whole lot of win about it,” said Tim Caldwell, chamber general manager, who is also a Port Townsend-Keystone Ferry Partnership Group member and Port Townsend Ferry Advisory Committee chairman.
As planned, the existing visitor center at 2437 E. Sims Way would be razed to make room for a future 80-vehicle overflow parking site to serve the Port Townsend ferry terminal during peak season.
Caldwell said that he and Susan Grantham, visitor information center administrator, are working with Larry Grohn, Kitsap Bank facilities manager, to acquire a 700-square-foot modular building.
Although the modular building would not be much bigger than the existing 611-square-foot visitor information center building, additions could be built on the modular structure as needed, Caldwell said.
Dave Turissini, Jefferson Transit general manager, said the Jefferson Transit board has approved the concept of moving the chamber visitor center to Haines Place Park and Ride, which is at state Highway 20 and Sims Way.
“It would most likely go on one of the concrete areas near the passenger waiting area,” Turissini said.
The park and ride has 275 park spaces, and perhaps 20 of those would be used for the visitor center.
Turissini said Jefferson Transit was interested in using part of the building for a supervisor’s office.
