Tacoma port approves first contract for Blair-Hylebos development

Port of Tacoma commissioners gave final approval June 19 to a major demolition contract that will clear more than 130 structures from the port's Blair-Hylebos Peninsula and make way for the development of new container facilities.

The commissioners approved an initial $17.7 million demolition contract, the first of three contracts that will fully remove the old industrial buildings from the peninsula. Work on the first contract, which would remove 61 structures, is to begin by the end of this month with a scheduled completion date early next year.

The three demolition contracts, which are expected to total more than $50 million, will be bid out separately, one each year. Demolition work includes the removal of structures on the peninsula previously used for such activities as chemical processing, woodworking, power generation, storage, and other heavy industry.

In January, the port issued $131.3 million in general obligation bonds to help fund the myriad infrastructure projects related to the redevelopment of the throughout 2008.

The peninsula developments are a part of the port's five-year, $953.6 million capital improvement program, which includes the redevelopment of the Totem Ocean Trailer Express terminal and a development of a 168-acre container terminal for Yusen Terminal Tacoma Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of NYK Line. 

Source: American Shipper