PORT ANGELES — A large hole where once-vibrant businesses were in downtown Port Angeles illustrates that demolition to clear space for a new $24 million, 100-room hotel has moved more quickly than expected.
By the end of last week, the buildings that once housed Necessities & Temptations gift shop (which closed) and Harbor Art and Budget Rent a Car (which relocated) had been demolished.
“Things have moved along fast this week.” said Robert Utz, manager of the hotel to be built by the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, on Friday.
On Monday — a week earlier than anticipated originally — demolition will begin on the industrial-storage garage on Front Street, Utz said.
Crews work from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday.
During that time this week, Front Street sidewalks will be closed and one lane of the street may be closed intermittently.
The garage is expected to be razed in a week, when demolition will move to the Downtown Hotel and Cornerhouse Restaurant building.
That should be about a three-week process, Utz said, with completion expected around the third week of October.
Before construction begins, some 1,500 cubic yards of contaminated soil must be removed from under the garage.
The environmental cleanup is set to begin Oct. 28, Utz said, and completion is targeted for early January.
After that, weather permitting, construction can begin, Utz said.
Completion is expected in spring 2021.
In addition to hotel rooms, the finished four-story facility will have a restaurant and lounge, an indoor pool, a spa and banquet facilities, Utz said.
Possibly, it also will offer a small rental space on Front Street, he added.
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Executive Editor Leah Leach can be reached at 360-417-3530 or at lleach@peninsuladailynews.com.
