Washington Business Winter 2016 | Page 35

washington business “There are plenty of places to put condos and other development. But there’s only one place you can put cargo-related activity, and that’s the waterfront.” and marketing of the two ports. Port of Seattle Commission co-president Courtney Gregoire noted that the alliance is now the “third largest cargo gateway in America,” and “will make our region more competitive in the global economy and create new jobs in Washington.” — Steve Sewell, former Department of Commerce official infinite demands placed on a finite resource Bryant remains concerned about development pressures. Commenting on proposals for a new stadium south of downtown Seattle near the port, he says, “Whenever you have a city that would contemplate building a new arena right outside our container terminals, without being prepared to invest in transportation infrastructure to make an arena and a port work side by side, that’s a concern.” Designer views and proximity to downtown contribute to the demands on the waterfront. And the cost pressures tighten the squeeze on industry. As Sewell points out, “There are plenty of places to put condos and other development. But there’s only one place you can put cargo-related activity, and that’s the waterfront.” Once condos are sited, other pressures inevitably follow. “People move here from other places and buy a house on the waterfront and don’t like the noise and lights. They don’t like that welding, trucks backing up, the glare and they would like to stop it,” says Eric Johnson. “It’s happening all over.” The loss of waterfront for industrial uses would have lasting, potentially irreversible impacts. imminent opportunities for growth At the same time as maritime leaders rally to protect erosion of the working waterfronts, two significant opportunities for boosting the maritime economy are widely discussed: construction of new export terminals and the recapitalization of the North Pacific fishing fleet. Industry-wide, revenues have grown 6.4% per year on average with the largest growth rate in Maritime Logistics and Shipping, at a robust 10.2% Bulk-commodity export terminal projects proposed for Top: Touring the state’s newest ferry, the Tokitae. Longview and Bellingham would potentially bring billions of Bottom: The last day in drydock for the MV Puyallup. dollars of private investment to the ports, generate thousands of new jobs, and further secure Washington’s position in global trade. Organized opposition and extraordinary regulatory hurdles have dogged the projects. Yet a coalition of labor, agricultural and other business groups support them. AWB president Kris Johnson recently pointed out, “We need to protect our position as a global trade leader…Projects like [these] help us enhance our trade efforts and help diversify our workforce.” winter 2016 35