The Port of Port Townsend is in the early stages of a $5.17 million Western Shipyard Expansion Project, which has the potential to more than double the boatbuilding and aluminum welding jobs at Boat Haven by 2030.

Eron Berg, the port’s executive director, summarized the project, which was first laid out in the recent Port Report. He said that it aligns with the port’s goal of supporting the local economy.  

“The clear intent for the port is to maintain some of the best working jobs in Jefferson County, where people are still making things, producing parts and pieces, and repairing and building boats,” Berg said. “As we look at these expansion plans, we’re really looking to the next generation. The port wants to make sure that young people today have some of the opportunities that their parents and grandparents had in the boatyard of yesteryear.”

The expansion could also involve an extension of the Larry Scott Trail to the Haines Place Park and Ride. 

“We’re trying to enhance access to the trail and also shift cars out of the industrial boat yard where we have conflicts between cars and work,” Berg said. 

The project’s design has not been finalized and substantial funding has not yet been secured, but Berg said the intention is to expand the working boatyard by 6.2 acres, which would provide space for up to 30 large boats or ships. The expansion would allow more room for existing businesses to grow while attracting new ones, according to the port report. Increased enrollment at the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding is also expected. 

Maritime trades make up a whopping 20% of the total job base in Jefferson County, according to a 2017 study. At that time, Boat Haven alone was home to 60 businesses with over 450 employees. It generated nearly $340 million in economic value — a majority of which comes from outside the county — at that time. 

Those numbers have increased since, Berg said, who spoke about the port’s mission to create even more jobs.

“Ports are the only entity of local government in the state whose primary mission is job creation. In our case, we express most of our job creation efforts in the marine trades,” Berg said. “For us, whether we’re looking at the west expansion or the north expansion, the clear intent is that the port wants to maintain some of the best working jobs in Jefferson County.”

The westward expansion will include 4.7 acres of undeveloped port land between Boat Haven and Port Townsend Paper Co., plus 1.5 acres that are being used for dry ground boat storage. Port staff are focused on finalizing site plans before applying for grants, Berg said.

The expansion, which will involve ballasting tons of rock and gravel to support boat lifts and vessels, could break ground as early as April 2027, assuming planning, permitting and funding stay on schedule. 

Berg expects the port will leverage half of the westward expansion funding from the U.S. Economic Development Association, a bureau of the U.S. Department of Commerce. The remainder

“We anticipate applying for funding from EDA as early as next month,” he said. “Once we can bingo on more dollars, we’ll be able to advance that project further.

To support the eventual western expansion and the planned northern expansion of 25 feet along Sims Way, the boatyard is also moving forward with a new stormwater system. 

Required to meet certain stormwater treatment requirements set by the state Department of Ecology, the port is upgrading its current system, which has several collection and treatment points.

“This will allow us to bring all of our water together in one spot,” Berg said. “We will have the capability to meet the permit and to adjust our system and adapt to changing permits in the future.”

A majority of the funding of the $6.13 million stormwater system budget will come from the state, while the port’s Industrial Development District fund will cover 18% of the cost.

The port met to discuss the project with council members on Feb. 10. Berg said they plan to apply for a project permit with the city soon.