Published June 2004

Port of Everett unveils amphitheater proposal

By Mike Benbow
Herald Business Editor

Plans for a public amphitheater along the city’s waterfront that could accommodate 2,000 people for a concert or simply provide a great place to have lunch were unveiled by the Port of Everett in May.

The proposal, which port officials called preliminary, could cost between $900,000 and $1.5 million and become the first thing completed in a $200 million redevelopment of the port’s north marina area.

“People have been wondering when they are going to see this stuff,” said Kim Buike, the port marina director who has been coordinating the project. “Here’s something to see.”

The proposal was developed by Hough Beck & Baird Inc., landscape architecture and design consultants in Seattle, after interviews with a number of groups and organizations that might use the space and reviews of public plazas around Puget Sound.

The firm’s president, Colie Hough-Beck, said it could have a number of elements, including a covered and raised stage and permanent seating of about 400; a plaza that could hold 1,200 temporary seats, with grassy areas for more seating; columns; and water fountain jets flush with the pavement.

“Kids tend to really enjoy them,” Hough-Beck said of the fountains.

Under the company’s design, the raised stage would have an awning that mimics a boat’s sails.

She said the space was designed to handle a range of activities and events and also to be attractive for people who just want to go there and relax.

The amphitheater would be located within an area slightly larger than a half-acre at the end of 13th Street, which would become a view corridor in the development. The public space would hook up with a public walkway on the waterfront designed to go through the entire redevelopment.

Buike said the design is not a final one and will change based on what’s available to spend. Construction could begin in February and be completed in September 2005 at a minimum cost of $900,000 to $1 million, Buike said.

Talks are under way with the area’s three Rotary clubs for a major fund-raising project that could add another $500,000 or more to provide all the amenities, Buike said.

Ralph Quaas, representing Rotary, said the clubs want to do something to honor the organization’s 100th anniversary and are now working with Cogswell College to develop a fund-raising plan.

Port Commissioner Jim Shaffer said he wanted to learn more about who would maintain and operate the facility and whether there would be enough parking.

Buike said he hopes the fund-raising would come up with seed money that could be used to run the amphitheater until it becomes self-supporting by bringing in money from concerts and events.

He said he’d like to see the city of Everett operate the venue. He also said that parking should be available on nights and weekends in spaces used during the day by office workers at the development.

Wendy Becker of the city’s Parks Department, which has developed a successful summer concert series on the waterfront, said the city would be glad to do it if the money was there to pay for it.

“The opportunities there are endless,” she said of the project.

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