A replacement building for the Landfall Restaurant at Point Hudson will be at the top of the agenda for the 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 9 meeting of the Port of Port Townsend commission at Point Hudson.

A site committee narrowed the field of qualified applications to two out of the three submitted. Those finalists, both offered by teams of local businessmen and designers, will be presented to the full commission at the meeting, although a decision may not be immediate.

The lot, now empty with the Landfall buildings removed, is 5,000 square feet and sits across from the Northwest Maritime Center on Water Street.

One proposal, called the Landfall Marine Trades Building, comes from builder Jim Jackson and architect Richard Berg. It is a two-story, multi-use structure that could include Brion Toss Rigging and the Sail Loft, along with other workshops, small retailers and outdoor market stalls for several small-scale vendors. It would be owned by a consortium of investors, according to proponents.

“The goal of the investment group is primarily to provide a home for these two businesses where they will be able to have secure, long-term leases that will increase the value of the business and increase the likelihood that they can be passed on,” said proponents.

They noted that this proposal is focused on marine trades businesses rather than a restaurant, and asserted such uses are closer to the zoning intention for Point Hudson.

Crockett, in reviewing the application, noted it might cost some current parking at the site and relies, in the exterior space, on creating a new one-way street between a boat shop and the Swan Hotel. If so, he said, “it will be on their [the proponents’] dime,” he said.

Funding for this proposal is still prospective, however proponents said that investors have expressed “a definite interest,” as have the anchor marine trades tenants.

The second proposal comes from the Maritime Heritage Group, consisting of hotel owners Joe and Cindy Finnie, Pete and Sherri Hanke (owners of Puget Sound Express), and Gary and Nancy Tocatlian (owners of T’s Restaurant). They are being assisted by consultant Dave Robison and architects Norm and Sue Lei.

The building would be one story, and its primary use would most likely be as a specialty restaurant and sports pub. It would also include a few small business offices.

Proponents say that a second phase of development is possible, depending on whether the port is able to acquire a high-speed foot-passenger ferry running from Port Townsend to the Seattle area. The expansion could be to add on to the building or construct a second floor.

Cost of the single-story building is estimated at $400,000 to $500,000.

“The partners have met with their banks,” the proponents said. “The banks are on board but await a fully fleshed-out business plan.”

No to Lamy plan

The third application was submitted by Doug Lamy, with support from builder Rob Gruye. Lamy was the builder of the Swan Hotel, which the Finnies currently own. Drawings of this option show a full two-story building with marine trades on one side of the main floor and a restaurant or bar, called the Harbor, on the second floor, with a full, wrap-around exterior seating deck. It was accompanied by a hand-written description from Lamy.

The selection committee consisted of port executive director Larry Crockett, facilities manager Jim Pivarnik, planning staffer Eric Toews and Commissioner Dave Thompson. That group decided against passing the Lamy project on to the full commission.

Crockett said the Lamy proposal fell short on two counts.

Lamy, he said, does not have financing lined up, as do the other two proponents. In fact, on Jan. 27, Lamy asked the port to guarantee “all or part of the construction loan for the building. No risk at all.”

The request for proposals issued by the port on Nov. 21, 2010 specifically said the port would not help finance the project, and Crockett later said doing so would violate state law that does not allow the lending of public credit for private projects.

In addition, the Lamy proposal appeared too big for the lot, using the entire 5,000 square feet, rather than leaving room for pedestrian uses on the lot.

“All three commissioners said they wanted to keep it as small as possible,” said Crockett.

Crockett had expected more applicants for the project, saying he had heard in early days from several entrepreneurs.

At the Wednesday meeting, he said the commission would consider the applicants but might wait for a couple weeks before making a decision. He added that regardless of the selection, the decision meant the port would enter into a letter of intent with the top selection to give them several months to make more specific drawings in keeping with historic preservation laws and to finalize financing.

Crockett expects the final agreement to be a lease of at least 20 years and possibly up to 30, and the cost to be in the range of 20 to 22 cents per square foot. The one-story restaurant proposal, for example, would probably cost about $700 per month. There would be inflation clauses.

“That’s pretty cheap,” said Crockett. “It’s on the water, the utilities are provided. But it’s in concert with what we get at Point Hudson.”