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.”
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