Port reaches agreement with seafood company for pier development
Jun. 17—The Port of Astoria is taking the first steps toward implementing the vision of a new waterfront master plan.
The Port Commission voted unanimously on Tuesday to approve a memorandum of understanding with Astoria Crab & Fish Co. to work toward development on Pier 1. The group is a subsidiary of Pacific Dream Seafoods, a wholesale distributor that operates a seafood processing and storage facility in Anacortes, Washington.
While the exact plans for the space have yet to be solidified, Matt McGrath, the Port's deputy director, said the agreement is intended to get the ball rolling with development on Pier 1.
"The goal is to create a facility that is a community landmark for Pier 1, for Astoria, that can be utilized by both Astoria Crab & Fish Co., local fishermen, tourists coming off the cruise lines and then locals — for coming down and enjoying some form of facility at this site, whether it be retail, food, a pier to walk on, et cetera," Jeremy McNett, an architect for the project, said.
To kick off development, Astoria Crab & Fish is eyeing the construction of cranes along the side of the pier for unloading fishing vessels.
The group is also looking to potentially add a small-scale processing facility and a number of fishing services, such as cold storage, shower and laundry facilities and leasable space.
Following construction of the cranes, the rest could take time given the engineering, planning and permitting that needs to happen first, McNett said.
Down the road, Pier 1 could hold spaces for retail, a restaurant and community gathering.
The Port has been looking to occupy Pier 1 since log exports dried up during a U.S. trade war with China.
"This is step one — a very important step — to bring commerce to Pier 1," Frank Spence, the president of the Port Commission, said.
Discussions with Pacific Dream Seafoods have been ongoing for over a year, McGrath said, and were done in conjunction with the development of the waterfront master plan.
The plan, a collaboration between the Port and the city, will seek to encourage redevelopment along the Columbia River between Pier 1 and the Astoria Bridge.
A large emphasis is to make the area more suitable for the community while complementing the city's working waterfront.
"A lot of the information from the master plan and what the community has been discussing is having something on the piers, having something along the central waterfront that is not just going to appeal to just the cruise visitors or just tourists, but something that can be used by the community, as well, even when we don't have tourists, when we don't have cruise ships," McGrath said.
For Will Isom, the Port's executive director, the new agreement is a sign of progress for the agency following years of financial struggle.
"It feels like, as we've gone through the pandemic and the natural business cycle sometimes, you have these periods of contraction and expansion," he said. "It just feels like with the pandemic and a loss of log ship revenue over these last few years, we've really been in that state of contraction and trying to cut our costs wherever we can.
" ... I am hopeful that as we move forward we can get more into that expansion state where we're really looking at opportunities for development and hopefully looking to do some things that we just couldn't do as we've navigated the waters of the pandemic."
