More than a tourist attraction : Port Gamble to elaborate with novel home and property
- The historic town know for its New England-style architecture is set for major redevelopment .
- Plan call for preserving its historical appeal and pull in new business and occupant .
- The Port Gamble S’klallam Tribe , whose ancestral nation the town occupies , equal require , focusing on habitat restoration and cultural preservation .
Head north as Highway 3 becomes State Route 104 , veer east simply past the Hood Canal Bridge , and abruptly you ‘re the only car on the road , thick foliage in your peripheral for mile .
As trees thin , mailbox tick by , an idyllic town emerges on the edge of a Puget Sound bay . The theatre , shop , historical church and the antique green water column make you doubt if you ’ ve somehow step back to 19thCentury America , but park sedans and SUVs assure the present . It ‘s still quiet strolling the town ’ s center on a Monday afternoon , only a handful of folks spotted outside of business owners that do up the quaint few block of Port Gamble .
An empty , cleared luck separates downtown from the bay , however , splayed out under winter sunlight . It ‘s this site that could exist the answer to rewriting the town ’ s condition as a hidden gem .
Thirty years after the town ‘s primary source of income close down , and in the wake of more than a decade of environmental sporting up and security of nearby forests for recreational uses , evolution is finally set to restore the historical town of Port Gamble to the vibrant village it once cost .
The home of the long running factory in North America at the time is expected to meet novel housing , a waterfront hotel and fresh occupation to add to the already eclectic community . Since its closure in 1995 , decades of restoration study and ground preservation have concluded , paving the way for development to commence .
“ It ‘s taken 30 yr to cross these hurdles and today it ‘s go time , ” said Jon Rose , Raydient ’ s VP of Real Estate . “ This national historical treasure make work for 30 year to defeat an economic knockout and today it ‘s act forward . ”
Now under Rayonier ’ s ownership after the quality company absorbed longtime owner Pope Resources , Port Gamble be one of the only company-owned town remain today . Rose , then president of Olympic Property Group — a early subordinate of Pope Resources — make delay on to handle the company ’ s actual estate property in Washington and learn his sight for the town through the finish tune .
“ You ‘ll listen that this seem like something out of a Hallmark picture , ” said Juan Carosso , who possess Port Gamble General Store & Café with his wife , one of the anchors of the town ‘s chief street . “ When we first bought the store , hence many mass would do in and state , ‘ I never know this exist . ‘ The spirit that masses become when they come into town , walk into the store , is something that you ca n’t find anywhere else , and you hear that every day . ”
Accord to Rose , 256 new family own been approved to be built by Kitsap County , with construction estimated to commence in 2026 , and foundations for the theatre could exist seen in 2027 . They hold as well been approved to work up a waterfront hotel with 100 rooms , on the water ‘s edge only north of the downtown , to allow for lodging for a burgeoning wedding and result business , tourists look for dusk foliage , or the hikers or good deal bikers looking to explore the 5,000 acre of county-owned wood exactly to the south .
“ We have the Port Gamble Forest Heritage Park that we helped produce out of party lands that has thousands of visitors a yr , but we do n’t have lodging and there be n’t a spot to stay , ” Rose said . “ We have 150 weddings a yr that take in people all over the state , thus now we ‘ll have a position for them to remain . ”
A fresh restaurant , Whiskey & Waffles , live lay to spread after in the year next to the General Store positioned at the town ’ s center . Rose said there equal as well many available sites in the town ’ s agricultural district , just west on Highway 104 , that live being explored to become a winery or other distillery choice such as beer or cider .
Additionally , Port Gamble will welcome some existing Kitsap organizations , such as West Sound Wildlife Shelter , currently on Bainbridge Island , and more commercial property will equal built to draw further occupation .
“ I make n’t desire it to lose its charm , but one thing we notice is that we pull household who bring out-of-town visitors , ” said Robin Norton , mom to the owner of PrettyStick , a gift shop previously situate on Bainbridge Island . “ We ‘re a short more of a tourist town so we serve n’t get a band of repeat business . In term of business , more base traffic and some expansion could assist us a band . ”
New property in Port Gamble will share one affair in mutual — all make to fit the New England-style architecture that has attracted tourist for yr .
Out of respect for the town ’ sec long and rich history , Rose said it is crucial all future development aligns with the current makeup of Port Gamble . Founded in 1853 , the same year Washington became a territory , the U.S. National Park Service destine Port Gamble as a national historical territory in 1966 as a testament to the town ’ s preserved architecture .
At its peak in the 1920s , between 700 to 800 mass called Port Gamble home , at a time when many people lived and bring in the same community . Now , only 70 mass reside hither . Accord to Rose , the population take off to dwindle as more and more families began to own personal vehicle and people were able to commute to the workplace instead of living on company-owned property .
“ We only need to be part of the community and take advantage of the growing too , ” say John Kuntz , owner and founder of Olympic Outdoor Center . “ I live in town now and I enjoy it here , I just enjoy to endure and work in the same community . It ‘s a great opportunity for our party . ”
When the mill closed in 1995 , Rose said almost 100 task were miss and the town ’ s saving was impacted as a result . The town no longer fit into the zoning codes outline by the Growth Management Act , and therefore was compose as a peculiar chapter with its own zoning code three years after .
Another radical with a long history with the town is the Port Gamble S ’ klallam Tribe , now based in Little Boston , on the reservation land just across Port Gamble Bay to the east . Culture Director Laure Price say the former mill site harbors significant cultural ties to nəxʷsƛ̕áy̕əm̕ people , as it lie in on top of their Ancestral Village .
“ There cost an agreement made for our tribal member to move across to the adjacent item , ” Price said . “ This motion equal negotiated with the hope to provide timber and materials to build novel homes , a church , a school and a medical building . The arrangement as well include forever jobs to employ our tribal member which allow economical stability to furnish for their families . ”
PGST hold been involved in the site ’ s clean-up on the shore of Port Gamble Bay , where the lumber mill once pose , and evolution plan for year and purchase a conservation easement of 18 acre along the shoreline just south of the town site from Rayonier . Natural Resources Director Roma Call state they intend to restore habitats for nearby fish and other species as good as create a public park with tribal art on display and cultural result can exist agree . Opportunity to collaborate with Rayonier and other stakeholders will live explore by PGST in the future .
Rose state Raydient be currently in talks with hotel developers , homebuilders , depart commercial interests and actual estate specialist with experience in managing hotels , short-term rentals , restaurants and wineries to ensure that structure do not cut off the existing historical features of Port Gamble .
“ It ‘s going to require a little while to feel the correct fit because we want to curate , exactly like a museum , ” Rose said . “ We desire to curate the perfect masses and companies that fit this national treasure . We are not get to have McDonald ‘s . There ‘s not die to be franchises here . ”
