Tacoma leaders break ground on new maritime center
On a sunny day in early January, attendees excitedly greeted one another at the groundbreaking ceremony for Tacoma's new Port Maritime Center. The 20-acre project, including a maritime skills center for high school students, will transform the east side of the Thea Foss Waterway. It should be completed by 2026-2027.
The port commissioners gave their final approval for the project in November 2024. The event brought together leaders from the City of Tacoma, Port of Tacoma, Washington State Legislature and Tacoma Public Schools, who all have a stake in the promise, and potential, of the new center.
— John McCarthy, Port of Tacoma Commission president
The new Port Maritime Center will be located along the Foss Waterway, south of the 11th Street Bridge, at the former site of the Wheeler-Osgood door mill. After environmental remediation, the parcel of land sat cleared with construction equipment waiting in the wings, and a dozen shovels staged for the event.
There will be two new buildings: a Port Business Center and a Maritime Skills Center. The plans also include public walking trails and shoreline access.
Port of Tacoma Commission President John McCarthy, who has been a commissioner for over 40 years and is a former longshore worker, thanked the Puyallup Tribe of Indians for their consultation on the project. A large area of the port falls within the tribe's reservation. The land used for this project is in an area that was originally the site of a spuyaləpabš (the Lushootseed word for the Puyallup people) village.
First photo: The cleared site along the Foss Waterway awaits the groundbreaking ceremony. Second photo: Local elected leaders grab their ceremonial shovels. Third photo: Aprons, like those the Maritime 253 students will wear, were presented to public officials. (Cara Kuhlman/Future Tides)
Speakers praised the partnership and collaboration required for this project to come to fruition. The economic role of the port, along with the regional education and career opportunities through Maritime 253, also boosted support of the project.
Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards, who is in her final year in office, called the new center “a true testament” of investing in education and workforce development. She praised the port for thinking bigger, saying they could have just “built your own building and been done with it.”
The port and the school district are the key partners, and future tenants, but a broader coalition of Pierce County politicians lent their support, including for funding from the Washington State Legislature.
The loudest applause of the day came when students were mentioned. Maritime 253 is Tacoma Public Schools’ new career and technical education center for transportation, logistics, skilled trades and manufacturing. Courses begin Fall 2025.
Renderings of the new Port Maritime Center by TCF Architecture. BNB Builders is doing the construction which will be completed in two phases. (Port of Tacoma)
State House Speaker Laurie Jinkins reiterated her commitment to another $4 million for the center, despite a state budget deficit. She called the port "the economic growth engine for our county."
“Hundreds of students are going to be here every single day, and it's going to connect our community even more strongly to this waterfront," Jinkins said.
While a long term endeavor, the groundbreaking comes at an uncertain time for additional investment in maritime infrastructure, potential trade wars, negotiations about the role of automation in port operations, and a slump in cargo volumes at the Northwest’s seaports.