Michael Stringer of Maul Foster Alongi answers questions during an open house at the Nolan Center, held Feb. 17. The evening presentation dealt with possible development of the Silver Bay Logging Company mill site, which the city hopes to repurpose for industrial and maritime uses.
Wrangell residents gave their input about what they would like to see happen to the former Silver Bay Logging Company mill site, which the City and Borough is interested in acquiring and eventually developing for maritime and industrial use.
One of the borough's first steps was to initiate a feasibility study of the 110-acre site, with a bid going to Maul Foster & Alongi of Bellingham, Wash. The bid was approved by the Borough Assembly in early November, funded through a $90,000 Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development grant.
A site team arrived last week to examine the mill and on Feb. 17 an open house was held for the benefit of the public at the Nolan Center to explain its progress so far. MFA vice-president Jim Darling and project team manager Michael Stringer met with interested residents to answer questions and identify hopes and concerns with the site.
Darling explained MFA has undertaken several similar projects, such as a former a mill site near Camus, Wash. Better than half of the property there was sold to private developers, with the rest used for public green space and water access to the Columbia River.
He pointed out that a number of communities in the Pacific Northwest are in a similar situation to Wrangell's, finding themselves with a decommissioned industrial site and being faced with the challenge of reinventing themselves economically. Repurposing such properties for new use can be an expensive process, with no guarantee of a payoff.
"I know they can seem daunting to a community," Darling said of the costs. "But you shouldn't feel alone in that."
Comparatively speaking, he pointed out that Wrangell's mill site is in better condition than similar properties. The former yard received a certification of upland cleanup from the state Department of Environmental Conservation in 2014, and identified areas of contamination have by now been mitigated.
"It appears at first blush that all the environmental conditions at the site are okay," said Darling. Existing infrastructure at the site, such as the dock and bulkhead, are slumping and failing in a few places and will need to be updated or replaced. But the site has access to deep water, which Darling identified as a regional advantage.
"It's a great opportunity," he said. The city would like to eventually see the site used for marine and industrial usage, and MFA will include market considerations as part of its study.
Looking at the site, Darling pointed out that other factors to consider when approaching development include any future activities effects on traffic, energy usage and solid waste disposal. Existing sewage and water lines stop half a mile short of the mill property and would need to be extended, and the aging power infrastructure would have to be replaced and upgraded. Backup generation capabilities for the island's power grid would need to be increased.
Stringer noted that with a property as large and as old as the mill, it would always be possible that further contaminants and environmental risks could be uncovered as development moved forward.
"There are protocols for handling that. It's not a show-stopper," Darling explained. However, such occurrences could delay projects and would incur additional costs, which already would be high to start with.
The property itself is at the moment privately owned, and the cost of acquiring it might run in the neighborhood of $2 million.
"I think the purchase of the property is going to be the cheap part of it," commented Borough Manager Jeff Jabusch.
To help move forward with repurposing the site, he pointed out that federal funding sources could be a possibility, as with The Marine Service Center. The successful investment of government funds there could give Wrangell a stronger case for seeking additional support at the mill, Jabusch reasoned.
"That successful track record means a lot, especially when you're going after competitive federal grants," Stringer agreed. Part of MFA's feasibility report would identify potential funding sources, including from charitable foundations.
One other area of concern to consider would be affordable housing, to accommodate the additional workforce needed to fill new jobs. That need intersects with plans for development of Wrangell's former Institute property, for which the city has also initiated a feasibility study. That 134-acre site has potential for residential use, and a public master plan meeting is planned for Feb. 29 in the Nolan Center at 6:30 p.m.
Community members are invited to attend the presentation, which will include an overview of the local economy and housing situation, as well as site analysis of the Institute property. The following two days will allow for an open-door workshop with the site's planning team, followed by a presentation of two or three draft conceptual plans on March 2. A project contacts list, schedule and background information can be found online at http://www.wrangell-institute.blogspot.com.
The two development projects compliment the conclusions reached through last year's waterfront development meetings, which envisions shifting barge operations and larger scale boat repair and construction projects to a repurposed mill site.
Stringer and Darling intend to have a preliminary report ready to present this May, with a finalized report turned in by June. This will include site concepts and a more concrete idea of what the project might cost, as well as potential economic effects for Wrangell. The MFA team will also present strategies for arranging a private and public partnership in the site's development, as well as the pros and cons therein.
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