PORT TOWNSEND — Whether to demolish all or part of the former Landfall Restaurant building or spare the former military structure that dates back to the 1940s is part of the question before Port of Port Townsend commissioners.
Commissioners also are pondering what to do with the 5,000-square-foot site at the end of Water Street overlooking Point Hudson Marina that the decrepit structure stands upon.
The building was vacated two months ago, after The Landfall owners went into default with the port on back lease payments, and the state Department of Revenue placed a lien on the business.
Port officials such as Executive Director Larry Crockett envision for the site an open market-like structure, with garage doors that could open in summer months, serving fish and chips or chowder along with other retail uses, possibly fresh farm produce.
Little public input
After two public meetings — one in November and the second on Wednesday — Crockett said he has not received any comments from the general public either supporting or opposing clearing the port property.
Two restaurateurs have come forward, one wanting to restore at least part of the building, another who wanted to demolish and rebuild a restaurant building, Crockett said.
“If we knock it down, we’ve got to do something with it,” Crockett said of the site.
Wednesday’s meeting, which was held at the site, drew about 10 people.
Eric Toews, a planning consultant for the port who is facilitating public involvement in what to do with the highly valuable property, said the site could be developed for mixed uses under city codes, with 20 percent of any development available for non-water-related uses such as retail.
County Commissioner John Collins said that if the site were cleared, he did not want it to remain unused for more than two years.
Carol Hasse, owner of Hasse & Company sail-making company in the port’s Sail Loft two doors down Jackson Street from the Landing site, said the property could be used for open space for awhile until it was publicly vetted for future use.
Hasse was not inclined to spare the structure.
“I think that the big concern is that the scale might not be right” for a large-scale three-story marketplace, such as Pike Place in Seattle, she said, after talking to others.
Crockett said he believed there were federal Department of Agriculture grants available that could be used to develop the site as a marketplace.
“The consensus is, it’s an opportunity to do something new,” he said, adding that the port would move forward with the city and discuss possible demolition.
Relocate part of building
He said another option is to relocate the oldest section of the building that fronts Water Street, across from the Northwest Maritime Center.
Port officials have said that the cost of upgrading the building as a restaurant to meet county public health code would be about $104,000.
To continue to operate the building as it is would require an investment of about $39,000 in repairs.
The site lies within the city’s Maritime Heritage Corridor Subdistict with an emphasis on marine trades, water dependent or water-related uses.
________
Port Townsend-Jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
