Port moves ahead with public market plan at Terminal 1

Terminal One - Focus
A rendering of a redeveloped Terminal 1

The Port of Vancouver USA has taken another step toward bringing a public marketplace and several other amenities to its Terminal 1 property in Vancouver.

Last week, the port submitted a concept development plan (CDP) application to the City of Vancouver. The application contains information about planned land uses at Terminal 1 (the former home of the Red Lion at the Quay), including plans for a public marketplace, hotel, commercial and retail space, public art and connection to the city’s Renaissance Trail.

“We did a lot of public process last year and worked very closely with our commissioners to make sure that what they wanted to see in Terminal 1 is going to be part of the CDP,” said Abbi Russell, communications manager for the port.

City staff have a little less than a month to review the port’s application for completeness. After that, the City will issue a notice for a 30-day public comment period.

On that note, Russell said she has heard concerns from the public about how a Terminal 1 marketplace might affect the Vancouver Farmers Market, but she said both parties are working together in the planning process.

“We don’t want to replace the farmers market, we want to supplement it,” she said. “Working together, we think there may be some great opportunities to assist one another. Because the farmers market is seasonal and on weekends, vendors of the farmers market may be able to offer things at different times of the year or different days of the week. There are definitely some things we can do [together].

Ultimately, the Vancouver City Council will vote on whether to approve the port’s application and, if approved, it would move on to the Washington State Department of Ecology for review and permitting.

The port expects the approval process to be complete in 2017.

What might it look like?

While the exact look and feel of a public marketplace on Vancouver’s waterfront has yet to be determined, a workshop held earlier this month provided a few ideas.

On Tuesday, December 13, Project for Public Spaces (PPS), a New York-based nonprofit, presented port commissioners with the results of a community-based market feasibility study for the development. The study looked at what the marketplace might look like, how it could be implemented and the keys to its success.

PPS found that the adaptive reuse of former Red Lion hotel rooms could work for a variety of tenants, including crafts and arts, massage therapists, body care products and prepared foods. Other areas of the hotel could be utilized for a brewpub, coffee shop, art gallery and dance studio.

Additionally, the site could house both indoor and outdoor marketplaces as well as outdoor event space for festivals and food trucks.

“We all picture something iconic for that area because it is such an iconic property,” said Russell. “We like to see things like Pike’s Place Market and the Pybus Market in Wenatchee – great iconic things that reflect community. We have a lot of brewpubs here, we have unique artisans, we have restaurants — we have a flavor that we’d like to reflect in the marketplace.”

You can view PPS’ feasibility study presentation here.

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