2010 - 2018
Timeline
2010
The Port Commission votes unanimously to dismantle the Collins Building (aka North Coast Casket Company), a waterfront fixture since the 1920s. Deconstruction begins soon after the vote; the Port plans to salvage some of the materials for reuse in other state historic properties.
2010-2011
In December 2010, the Port relocates its administration and marina offices to Waterfront Center, its new 76,000-square-foot mixed-use building and state-of-the-art boatyard facility in the heart of Waterfront Place Central. In 2011, the Port officially opens the building and boatyard to the public.
2011
The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln leaves its home base at Naval Station Everett for good after nearly 15 years.
2011
Kimberly-Clark announces plans to close and sell its bayfront mill and pulp operations, bringing to a close decades of pulp and paper businesses at the site between 21st Street and Everett Avenue — which formerly held Puget Sound Pulp and Timber, Soundview Pulp Company and Scott Paper Company.
2011
The Port and the Fisherman's Tribute Committee — formed by Everett residents Kay Zuanich and Barbara Piercey, both descended from area fishing families — unveil the lifelike (but larger than life!) Fisherman's Tribute Statue, created by artist Kevin Pettelle of Sultan, Washington, at the Port’s new Waterfront Center. The bronze sculpture of a fisherman in old-style rain gear pulling in a salmon-laden net honors the contributions made by the men and women of the local fishing community — those who have fished, built boats and worked in the canneries. The Port also constructs the Fisherman’s Tribute Plaza to house the statue as part of its Craftsman District.
2011
Boeing and the Port of Everett welcome the first shipment of parts for Boeing’s one-thousandth 777 from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., of Hiroshima, Japan. The December shipment is loaded on rail at Mount Baker Terminal for transfer to Boeing's Everett facility. Mount Baker Terminal handles all the oversized airplane parts for the 747, 767, and 777 airplane programs.
2011: The Port completes the first Puget Sound Initiative cleanup in the central marina area.
2011
The Japanese city of Ishinomaki — with which the Port has had a Friendly Coalition Agreement since 1994 — is devastated in 2011 by the 9.0 magnitude Tōhoku earthquake and resulting 23-foot tsunami. In the aftermath, it takes Port officials nearly two months to make contact with their peers in Ishinomaki, which is located on Japan’s eastern seaboard, one of the hardest hit areas. The Port community supports Japan’s relief and rebuilding efforts, and Everett log exports help with reconstruction. Both ports share similar interests, including maritime industries, fishing, forest products and other industrial activities.
2012
The Port works with hundreds of longshoremen, tug operators, truck drivers and loggers to load 5.2 million board feet (or 1,300 truckloads) of logs for export to China — on the first full log ship since 2002.
2013
Community members gather on the bluff at Everett’s Legion Park Overlook to dedicate and unveil the First Neighbors project — three interpretive signs that honor the Native Americans who once inhabited the site. The signage describes life in and around the Snohomish tribal village of Hibulb, which for generations was located on the beach below the installation. Port-managed property includes some of the lands below the bluff, at Preston Point.
2013
After more than a dozen years of work on a transition, Mukilteo Tank Farm, a now-decommissioned (and cleaned up) fuel tank site — first built by the U.S. Air Force (USAF) in 1950 — is officially transferred to the Port from the U.S. Air Force.
2013-2015
The Port constructs a new $1 million roll-on/roll-off (Ro/Ro) cargo berth at South Terminal; a year later work begins on a $2.55 million upgrade to strengthen a portion of the wharf. The investment, made possible through a grant from Washington state taxpayers, bolsters 140 feet of the 700-foot dock, creating a “heavylift” pad in the northwest corner of the dock.
2014
The 65-acre Waterfront Place Central cleanup is complete and the site is ready for development. The Port plans to create a neighborhood that unifies the marina and surrounding property with a pedestrian-friendly commercial, recreation and residential community.
2014
A construction boom means cement is again shipped to and unloaded at the Seaport’s storage dome (the former alumina dome) — the first time in five years.
2014
Boeing picks Everett as the final assembly site for the 777X jetliner (a new version of Boeing’s 777 twin-engine widebody jet already being built in Everett). The company also announces that the city will be the site of its $1 billion Composite Wing Center, which will manufacture the world’s largest composite wings for the 777X.
2015
Royal Dutch Shell moors the oil-drilling rig Noble Discoverer at the Port’s Pier 3, which serves as a hub for loading and unloading supplies for the company’s arctic exploration activity that summer. While “kayaktivists” and some others protest the ship, it brings a record number of jobs, commerce and revenue to the Port.
2015
The fuel tank pier at the Mukilteo Tank Farm is dismantled, and for the first time in nearly 70 years, legal access to the site, located northeast of the current Mukilteo ferry terminal, is restored to the public. A new roadway features a 10-foot-wide shared-use pathway to promote public access to Edgewater Beach and Mount Baker Terminal. A new Washington State Ferries terminal is also planned for the site.
2015
The Port celebrates 10 years of weekly, direct aerospace shipments from Japan to Everett with partner Westwood Shipping Lines. Previously, ships with aerospace cargoes unloaded in Seattle or Tacoma, and the parts were barged to the Port of Everett. This changed when, in the previous decade, the Port installed two 40-ton gantry cranes at Pacific Terminal, constructed Mount Baker Terminal and purchased three 45-ton reachstackers. These investments allowed Everett to successfully compete for the Boeing 787, 777X and other airplane programs.
2015
The Port earns the Environmental Project of the Year award from the Washington Public Ports Association for its significant cleanup projects. Between 2006 and 2015, the Port completed a fast-paced, innovative cleanup program across 65 acres of waterfront property, which is now being transformed into the Port’s Waterfront Place Central, a mixed-use development.
2015
The Port changes its operating philosophy to be more community focused and implements strategic capital initiatives.
2015
OceanGate, a provider of manned submersibles, relocates its headquarters from the University of Washington in Seattle to the Port’s Waterfront Center, where it plans to develop, assemble and operate a fleet of next-generation manned submersibles. (In 2017, the company announces that it will conduct the first expedition since 2005 to the shipwreck and debris field of the RMS Titanic with its newly constructed vessel, Cyclops 2. That expedition is planned for 2018.)
2015-present
The Port begins a long-term project to modernize the Seaport facilities at South Terminal. Efforts include infrastructure upgrades to accommodate larger vessels, and preparations for the next generation of cargo at the Seaport, including aerospace parts for Boeing’s new 777X airplane.
2015-2016
The Port makes Marine Terminal rail improvements to boost the capacity of rail freight at its Seaport. Included are some 4,000 additional lineal feet and expanded on-site storage, from 46 rail cars to a total of 106 rail cars.
2016
The Waterfront Place Central conceptual site plan is approved by the Port Commission and the Everett City Council.
2016
The Port receives a $10 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant to modernize transportation infrastructure at the Seaport’s South Terminal.
2016
On July 13, the iconic 80-foot by 65-foot, 350-ton Weyerhaeuser Office Building, built in 1923, is moved for a third time: this time overland and at night from its location at West Marine View Drive and 18th Street to the Port’s new waterfront two-acre Boxcar Park, west of Waterfront Center. The Port plans for the building to become a vital element of its Waterfront Place Central mixed-use development. The historic structure, which will be known as the Weyerhaeuser Muse, is slated to reopen for public use in the 2020 timeframe; plans call for it to serve as a marine clubhouse and an outdoor performance venue.
2016
In November, the Port Commission authorizes its CEO to sign a Purchase and Sale Agreement with American Classic Homes (ACH) to build approximately 254 multifamily housing units in the new Fisherman’s Harbor District in Waterfront Place Central. The deal includes ACH acquiring 5.44 acres in Fisherman’s Harbor for the negotiated sales price of $7 million to construct two residential buildings.
2016
The Port Commission directs staff to move forward with plans to acquire the vacant Kimberly-Clark property at West Marine View Drive and 26th Street to support maritime Port purposes; the Port also agrees to sell about 26.5 acres of the 38-acre Riverside Business Park, located in north Everett on the Snohomish River.
2016
In July, the Port kicks off its first-ever Sail-in Cinema at Boxcar Park — a series of free, family-friendly outdoor movies. The farmer’s market, in its 23rd season, also moves to the park.
2016
The Port breaks ground on Fisherman’s Harbor, the first phase of the Port’s 65-acre Waterfront Place Central mixed-use development.
2017
Bellingham Yacht Sales signs a new two-year lease with the Port, expanding its business with a second location at the Port’s marina. The company, the first boat dealer to offer new yacht sales at the Port, opens in February.
2017 In April, Granite Construction starts work on a new 3,300 lineal-foot double-rail siding near the Port’s South Terminal to support international cargo movement.
2017
The Port marks 20 consecutive years of clean financial audits.
2017
Work begins on a new Mukilteo ferry terminal, which will relocate to the tank farm site one-third of a mile northeast of the existing terminal. The project is a collaborative effort between the Port, Washington State Ferries, the city of Mukilteo and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The terminal will be a safer and more efficient facility that can better withstand earthquakes.
2017
The City of Everett breaks ground on the Grand Avenue Park Bridge pedestrian crossing, slated for completion in late 2018. The bridge’s eastern landing will be at the Grand Avenue Park bluff south of 16th Street and run above West Marine View Drive and the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railroad tracks. The western landing will be on Port property, providing additional public access to the waterfront.
2017
Riverside Business Park, an 86-acre industrial riverfront business park, is now full. The property, which the Port bought in 1998, is located at the site of the former Weyerhaeuser Mill B plant along the Snohomish River. The business park is designed to accommodate a mix of manufacturing, assembly and warehouse uses.
2017:
The Port bids its $36 million South Terminal modernization project — the largest project in Port history — to prepare for larger ships.
2018
The $36 million South Terminal modernization project begins to strengthen the former Weyerhaeuser Mill A lumber dock to handle modern day cargo handling equipment, and to prepare the site to accept the larger and heavier airplane parts for the 777X, as well as other cargoes on the horizon.
2018
The first Boeing 777X parts are scheduled to arrive at the Port of Everett Seaport.
2018
Private construction on residential units, a hotel and restaurants will start at Fisherman’s Harbor.
2018
In July, the Port of Everett celebrates its centennial (1918-2018) — its first 100 years as part of the community.
Preparing for the Next 100 Years
Through strategic multiyear capital planning and a more regional approach to business development, the Port realized several sizable plans in this decade as its 100th anniversary approached. In 1999 the Port had begun planning for redevelopment of its northern bayfront (now called Central Docks) with its Waterfront Place Central mixed-use development, transforming it into a boat repair and marine craftsman district, as well as a pedestrian-friendly waterfront neighborhood of living and office space, shops, restaurants, hotels, and recreational and community gathering spots. Some of those spaces — such as the Waterfront Center mixed-use building — opened, and other kickoffs were on the docket. There was a bittersweet element of the massive project as well, as the Port and community said goodbye to the Collins Building, a fixture on the waterfront since 1926. The brick-red, 60,000-square-foot warehouse sat on the spot of the proposed boatyard and, because it had been built with post-and-beam construction on pilings over Port Gardner Bay tidelands (that had since been filled), it could not be easily moved. For years, the Port, the public and preservationists had explored options for retrofitting, rehabbing and reinvigorating the property, but it was not to be. The icon was deconstructed in 2010.
The following year the Port bid another goodbye as the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln left its home base at Naval Station Everett for a new homeport after a decade and a half as an important — and meaningful — part of the waterfront and community. The USS Nimitz, the Navy’s oldest aircraft carrier, was named as the Abraham Lincoln’s replacement in Everett.
The Port honored its historic ties with the commercial fishing community in 2011 with the Fisherman’s Tribute Statue at Waterfront Center, and it celebrated delivery of Boeing’s one-thousandth 777 jetliner. Soon after, Boeing announced that it had picked Everett as the final assembly site for its 777X widebody jetliner and accompanying Composite Wing Center — ensuring plenty of airplane-part cargo work for the Port into the coming decades. And in 2012, the Port saw its first full log export ship since 2002 leave the harbor.
A burst of new activity began on the property tucked between the Everett and Mukilteo waterfronts as the Port was granted ownership of the 20-acre Mukilteo Tank Farm, a decommissioned fuel tank site first built by the U.S. Air Force in 1950. The project had been in the works for more than a decade; in thefuture it will serve as a transportation and community access hub, as well as offer public access to the water at Edgewater Beach. Work also began on construction of a new Mukilteo ferry terminal at the site. The current station is the state’s busiest car ferry terminal — the Mukilteo/Clinton ferry route moves more than two million vehicles and nearly four million riders annually between Whidbey Island and the Everett- Seattle area. Its last significant improvements were in the early 1980s.
And the venerable Weyerhaeuser Office Building, built in 1923 and originally located at the company’s south bayfront Mill A site, was moved for a third time — to the Port’s new Boxcar Park. Plans call for it to serve as a community gathering space and event hub.
As the Port’s 100th anniversary approached, it had $407 million worth of capital improvement plans in the pipeline, encompassing 115 projects in the 2016–2020 timeframe — along with scores of blue-sky ideas. Those plans and ideas aim to further the Port’s vision to create and maintain a waterfront that offers a healthy balance of industrial and recreational uses for the community and region that will reach into the decades — and the next century — to come.