Port of Bremerton

8850 SW State Hwy 3

Port Orchard, WA   98367

360.674.2381

Fax:   360.674.2807

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, September 19, 2008               Contact:   Kenneth Attebery, CEO

                                                                                                                              360.674.2381 x 21

                                                                                                                kena@portofbremerton.org

Port of Bremerton Awarded Economic Development Administration Grant

Port Orchard, Wash. – The Port of Bremerton has received word that the US Department of

Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) has approved the Port’s application for a grant award in the amount of 2.58M to construct a new clean technology business development building at the Port’s Olympic View Business and Industrial Park on SR 3 southwest of Bremerton.   The building will be designed to house a small business incubator program to serve the clean technology business sector and assist with commercialization of green products and services.

The grant award is coming from EDA’s FY 2008 allocation of economic adjustment assistance funds from the Public Works and Economic Development Act, and includes funding from the federal Global Climate Change Mitigation Incentive Fund signed into law in December of 2007.   The inclusion of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) features in the planned building was important in the award.  

Port Commissioner Bill Mahan who has championed this project through a long and complex funding cycle stated that, "we have been working for the past three years for this grant offer.  The Kitsap SEED project is the number 1 project in the region as determined by the Puget Sound Regional Council’s Economic Development Board.   The US Economic Development Administration has selected the Port of Bremerton to receive $2.58 million dollars of job creation money to help Kitsap County in this time of economic distress.  This is a great day for the Port and for Kitsap County.”

The Port of Bremerton and the Kitsap SEED (Sustainable Energy and Economic Development) project were awarded a Vision 2020 award in the 2007 round of Puget Sound Regional Council’s (PSRC) recognition of notable projects in the four-county region.   In 2006 the project had ranked number one in the regional competition for federal Economic Development Administration funds through the same four county’s Economic Development District Board.   It was the only project in the 2006 competition that tied directly to the PSRC’s Prosperity Partnership’s regional industrial cluster strategy for creating 100,000 new jobs in the region.   This regional strategy listed Kitsap SEED as one of its actions in this cluster initiative.  

The Kitsap SEED project also ties directly into one of the Kitsap Economic Development Alliance’s community wide economic development strategies contained in “Kitsap 20/20” KEDA’s county-wide vision and action plan for sustainable economic prosperity.

The project received unanimous support from Senators Murray, Cantwell, and Congressmen Dicks and Inslee along the way toward this federal funding.   The Washington State Legislature also provided funds over two years to assist with the planning and infrastructure for the project.

The Port Commission will be considering the acceptance of the grant offer at an upcoming meeting.