When Port of Seattle staffers sat down to analyze the best way to utilize Fishermen’s Terminal during the next 20 years, they came up with what many might say is a novel conclusion: leave the facility pretty much as it is.
The Port is in the process of creating a 20-year Asset Condition Assessment Plan for Fishermen’s Terminal. The planning effort is meant to assess certain development opportunities for the terminal properties that could contribute to the Port’s long-term goal of self-sustainability for the terminal facility. Port officials are trying to see if it makes financial sense for the Port to pursue a different development model or to leave things as they are.
Joseph Gellings, the Seaport Senior Planner, said that based on the current economic conditions and the strength of the fishing industry fleets that call the terminal home, the terminal’s current uses earn the port about as much money as the other options they studied. He said they looked at ground leasing certain properties to developers and having them refurbish the sites for retail use. They also studied the option of having the Port replace some aging buildings and develop more retail sites, itself. The third option was to keep the current configuration.
“We didn’t find any silver bullet concerning revenue issues,” Gellings said. “The ground leasing modeling showed a slightly higher net value versus the status quo, but the port development option showed slightly lower revenue projections than the status quo.”
However, Gellings said even those distinctions are somewhat misleading because all of the revenue ranges created by each of the three scenarios overlapped to the point that there was very little difference between them.
The Port is looking at ways that it can maximize income from the terminal properties while still meeting the needs of the fishing companies, which moor their vessels at the terminal during the off-season. Despite the fact that many of the vessels fish off of Alaska in the North Pacific, Fishermen’s Terminal remains their headquarters because of the infrastructure of nearby ship suppliers and repair services and access to a fresh-water port.
A 2009 economic impact study found that the Fishermen’s Terminal is responsible for 3,424 local jobs and $179 million in business revenue.
Gellings said the terminal is doing quite well. The terminal is home to a variety of restaurants, retail businesses and fishing industry companies and is nearly full. The moorage is near capacity with the help of the local fishing industry. During the fishing season, recreational boats are allowed to rent moorage at the terminal. The move does not impact the fishing boats.
Between 2002 and 2011, the Port invested nearly $70 million in the terminal, including modernizing many of the docks, replacing the south and west walls of the terminal, upgrading the terminal’s utilities and installing a dock fender system.
Port staff briefed the Port of Seattle Commission on Dec. 6 concerning the status of the planning process. After an extensive outreach program to tenants at the terminal and to members of the fishing fleet, Port officials received several suggestions for new types of upland services while, at the same time, confirming that they are already providing the crucial fleet-support services. These include net sheds, a net repair yard and open storage.
An assessment of the physical condition of the terminal buildings revealed that they are all serviceable for their current uses with the exception of the former Seattle Ship Supply building.
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