Gig Harbor, WA awarded $200,000 for Brownfields revitalization project at Eddon Boatyard

The city of Gig Harbor, Washington was selected to receive a $200,000 Brownfields grant to clean up contamination in and around the Eddon Park Boatyard, located in the downtown scenic waterfront. The federal funds will help move the environmental cleanup ahead in and around the historically important (1920’s) Puget Sound boat building location. The site also serves as one of the few public access points to Gig Harbor, itself named after small watercraft associated with early European exploration of the Northwest.

Today’s funding announcement follows an EPA grant awarded in 2006 to clean up an adjacent property (3805 Harborview Drive) including a historic boat house, all of which will be redeveloped into a city park honoring the town’s boat building heritage.

Gig Harbor Mayor, Chuck Hunter, long a project proponent, sees this as a major step forward in the effort to realize his dream for the community.

“This particular park has been a passion of mine even before I was elected Mayor,” said Hunter. “I am so pleased to see it moving forward and getting the funding it needs to progress"

According to Tom Eaton, EPA Washington State Director, the Gig Harbor project is fortunate to have such strong community support, demonstrated by the recent passage of a $3.5 million, voter-approved, land acquisition bond.

“This is a stellar example of a Brownfields project,” said EPA’s Eaton. “It’s a textbook case of how a project built on multi-level collaboration, local partnerships and community investment can turn formerly blighted land into a civic ‘jewel’ for residents and visitors alike. Many state and local agencies, the Suquamish Tribe and several community groups have all played a key role in making greenspace preservation central to the City’s vision for historic preservation and education.”

EPA’s Brownfields Program empowers states, communities and other stakeholders to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up and reuse brownfields in a sustainable manner. A brownfields site is real property, the expansion, redevelopment or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant.