A business that never gave up on downtown Bremerton
Since the moment in 1983 a young architect by the name of Steve Rice decided to open his own firm on Fourth Street, the business never wavered from its commitment to downtown Bremerton.
As the office Rice opened grew over the years to a firm with over 50 employees they were faced with finding a larger building — which could have meant moving to Silverdale or even Seattle. But Rice and his partners, Dave Fergus and Mike Miller, made the decision they wanted to stay in downtown. In 2009, still in the midst of an economic recession, they decided to purchase the old Sears Auto Store on Fifth Street, across from the Norm Dicks Government Center. They proceeded to design and build one of the most interesting and energy efficient office spaces in the northwest. They even included a public meeting space in the lobby of the building to host community events.
With the recent retirement of Fergus, joining Miller's from last spring and Rice at the end of 2021, the city owes them a debt of gratitude for their commitment and belief in downtown Bremerton.
I was mayor of the city during some of the time they were considering relocating. I had concerns that if they did move out of downtown Bremerton it would send a terrible message to other potential businesses interested in coming to downtown and the core of the city might never achieve its full potential. Losing one of your downtown's most respected private business and the leadership that the company brings to the community would have been a terrible blow. When Steve Rice informed me that Rice Fergus Miller and its employees would stay in the downtown core I was very relieved and happy, to say the least.
Why was their decision so important to the city of Bremerton? Private business brings leaders to a community, professionals who get involved and really lead change.
During the 1970s and '80s downtown Bremerton lost many of its major retail business to the Silverdale Mall, like Sears, JC Penney and a Nordstrom outlet all left and the city lost many of the private leaders who worked for those companies. These people had been serving on the boards of the Bremerton Chamber and the Bremerton Rotary and even the Bremerton School Board, then suddenly were no longer as active because they were no longer working in downtown Bremerton. With the loss of the business leaders and with little direction from the elected officials, downtown Bremerton suffered economically and socially for over 25 years.
With private firms like Rice Fergus Miller – now led by Greg Belding, Jennifer Fleming, Gunnar Gladics and Dean Kelly— and Art Anderson & Associates committed to downtown, things have started to change. The big change in downtown was the development of condos and apartments located in the core and on the waterfront. These projects have brought new leaders, people willing to serve on boards, run for elected office and even start their own business in the city. Downtown Bremerton is showing signs of becoming a vibrant urban neighborhood with a mix of residential, small and medium-sized business, and government offices.
A successful city must have two things: strong business leaders who are willing to get involved, and elected officials who are willing to take difficult positions on important issues. I'm grateful Steve Rice, Dave Fergus and Mike Miller did that.
Cary Bozeman is a current commissioner for the Port of Bremerton Commissioner and former Mayor of Bremerton (20XX-2008).
This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Opinion: A business that never gave up on downtown Bremerton
