A gravel parking lot across the street from the Northwest Maritime Center in Port Townsend could soon become the new home of the center’s Port Townsend Maritime Academy.

The Port of Port Townsend, which owns the land, will get a briefing on the proposal at its meeting Wednesday, May 12.

Northwest Maritime Center wants the port to ink a 30-year lease with the center so it can construct a 3,000-square-foot structure on the southern half of the parking lot owned.

The property is the former location of the restaurant “Landfall.”

Deputy port director Eric Toews said in a recent memo that paid parking at the lot has not been the source of significant revenue.

The 27-space parking lot has generated “minimal revenue for the port pre-pandemic ($7,479 in 2019) and parking enforcement has created an additional administrative burden for Point Hudson staff,” Toews wrote.

Under the maritime center’s proposed terms for a lease, the group would pay $1,008 per month for the use of 4,032 square feet of the site (not including a leasehold excise tax, if one is applicable) at a rate of 25 cents per square foot.

The lease would start June 1 and continue through May 31, 2051.

If accepted, market rate adjustments could be applied at the beginning of the third year of the lease’s term and every three years thereafter.

The Northwest Maritime Center offered a potential timeline for the building’s completion, which includes construction of the building’s cross laminate timber possibly coming by October 2021 and a tentative grand opening by May 2022.

“Before the pandemic, our campus was beyond capacity, classrooms were filled to the brim with students, and, lacking options, some classes were forced to meet in the hallways,” Northwest Maritime Center said in its proposal. “As we ramp back, we are anticipating even more demand for in person experiences, and we are looking to the near future to needing more space to bring our maritime mission to life and to continue to strengthen the maritime economy and culture of Port Townsend.”

The building’s design would also include sustainable features such as rainwater collection and treatment, a solar array including Tesla batteries for storage, plus low-flow fixtures and LED lighting. 

Port commissioners were not expected to make a decision on the matter during their meeting this week.

Barring any significant issues raised by the commissioners for the project, port staff are expected to prepare a draft of a long-term lease.