PORT TOWNSEND — A donation to the Northwest Maritime Center brought the organization $100,000 closer to its goal of raising $12.8 million by the end of March.
If the center can raise another $435,000, the Bill & Melinda Gates and Kresge foundations will supply the organization with the remaining $1.1 million to fulfill the goal.
Edmund W. Littlefield Jr. gave the $100,000 to the center, adding to another $10,000 in recent donations from other sources.
Littlefield and his Sage Foundation have donated before, said Stan Cummings, executive director of the Northwest Maritime Center and Wooden Boat Foundation.
Littlefield is also a board member of the center.
“Our existing donors are stepping up to the plate to finish off the campaign, and that’s very gratifying,” Cummings said.
The national Kresge Foundation and Gates grants will cap the campaign and bring to a close the maritime center’s 10-year fundraising effort that has led to the center’s opening at 431 Water St., in Port Townsend, next to Point Hudson Marina.
The Maritime Center is expected to throw open its doors for a public open house May 1 to celebrate the project’s completion.
More than $11.2 million has been raised to date through a $12.8 million building campaign, and construction of the center is essentially complete, save for final touches such as for the McCurdy Maritime Library on the second floor of the center’s Maritime Heritage & Resource Building.
With local, state and federal funding sources and private foundation grants already tapped out, Cummings said most of the donations will have to come from local sources.
Challenge deadline
The March 31 challenge deadline was set by the Kresge Foundation in early 2009, after construction of the center’s two buildings began and before the extent of the banking crisis was known.
Campaign fundraisers raised $2.9 million last year.
“Hopefully, we can close that [$435,000] gap by March 31,” Cummings said.
“Otherwise, we will have to put in the effort to raise the last $1.1 million locally.
“It would be a fantastic thing for them to fill in that last $1.1 million.”
Besides the $12.8 million total construction cost, a previous center campaign raised $3.15 million for the Thomas Oil waterfront site purchase, site cleanup and maritime center dock construction.
The final money raised will be spent to match a Port Security Grant for furniture, fixtures and equipment to outfit the pilothouse, meeting rooms, catering kitchen and classrooms and for information technology.
The amount spent on capital-campaign fundraising is $726,000, or about 5.6 percent, of the goal.
Primo Construction of Carlsborg, west of Sequim, built the project, which ties in with the city of Port Townsend’s downtown streetscape project at the end of Water Street.
In September, the maritime center celebrated the grand opening of Chandler Maritime Education Building, First Federal Commons and public walkways and grounds, along with the Helen Keeley Boathouse opening to rowers.
In November, administrative offices moved from leased Point Hudson facilities at the Cupola House to the Maritime Heritage & Resource Building.
The boat shop also began operation, teaching students the craft of small wooden boat building.
Plans for May include the opening of the center’s chandlery in the lower level of the Maritime Heritage & Resource Building, along with Aldrich’s Galley coffee shop.
H.W. McCurdy Library also will open in the Maritime Heritage & Resource Building, upper level. It will move from the Cupola House and be greatly expanded.
For more information visit www.nwmaritime.org.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
