PORT TOWNSEND — Power will be out in some areas of Port Townsend for several hours today and sections of streets will be closed while a two-story apartment building is moved on a truck from the waterfront to a vacant lot on the corner of Cherry and Van Ness streets.
The apartment building was brought across the Strait of Juan de Fuca on a barge from Victoria on Wednesday and is part of a city plan to increase the availability of affordable housing in Port Townsend.
Outages will start at 7 a.m. today and will affect residences and businesses along the waterfront from the Boat Haven Marina to Kearney Street, according to the Jefferson County Public Utility District.
All of Kearney Street will have no power, as will Blaine Street from Walker Street all the way up to Discovery Road.
According to the PUD, the apartment is tall enough that crews will need to drop some power lines to allow the apartment building to move up to the lot.
Traffic is expected to be backed up along the building’s route to Cherry Street.
The building will be unloaded from the barge to a truck at 9 a.m. today at the Pourhouse on Washington Street, the PUD said.
It will then head down Decatur Street, take a left onto Sims Way, a right on 12th Street, a right onto Landes St. then a right onto19th Street to Blaine Street, then a left onto Walker Street where it will then head up the driveway to its final destination at the corner of Cherry and Van Ness streets.
Sections of those streets will be closed as the building is moved through them.
The building is expected to be in place at about 3 p.m. Power is expected to be restored at that time.
The cost of moving the house on the barge and then on a truck on Thursday is expected to be $210,000.
The Port Townsend City Council approved a loan to the Olympic Housing Trust for the moving expenses at a meeting in late April.
Last week the city declared the property at Cherry and Van Ness streets as surplus. The property originally was intended to be a part of the Port Townsend Golf Club but was cut off when Cherry Street was completed.
The apartment complex has four two-bedroom one-bath units, roughly 900 square feet each. Once the structure is put on a foundation, those units will be for rent from no more than $1,100 per month plus utilities.
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Jefferson County Editor/Reporter Cydney McFarland can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 55052, or at cmcfarland@peninsuladailynews.com.
