50
¢
Thursday, March 27, 2014
VOL. 19, NO. 34
Bringing new life
File photo
The Victoria Clipper brings nearly 200 people each time it visits.
Clipper visits bring boost to economy Once again, the Victoria Clipper will be making stops this spring, bringing hundreds of visitors for two-hour stops to downtown Coupeville. The gray whale touring boat started incorporating the two-hour Coupeville lunch break into tours four years ago. Coupeville Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Lynda Eccles said the partnership is a great way to bring people and extra money into the town. In 2014, the Clipper will arrive at approximately noon and leave at 2 p.m. on April 5-6, April 12-13, April 26-27, May 4 and May 10-11. On May 17-18, there will be a 4 p.m. arrival and 6 p.m. departure. The boat docks at Coupeville Wharf, where they are greeted by members of the chamber. Eccles said she sends the touring company electronic versions of a Coupeville map and dining information, which is printed and provided to customers when they board the boat. “We make it easy for them,” Eccles said. Passengers then have two hours to explore downtown, get a bite to eat and do some shopping. In the later sailings, Eccles said the farmers market also sees visitors. Each boat can bring up to 200 people, but Eccles said numbers usually run anywhere from 160-180 people. “It’s a pretty good amount of people,” she said. “If you figure $10 per person for lunch. That doesn’t include the shopping and the ice creams they get or the coffees.” In 2013, Coupeville hosted 12 sailings with 1,734 passengers. “It’s fun and I’m proud we got it here,” Eccles said. “We have actually had people come back and stay. “All the promotion and time we put into greeting is worth it.”
Above: Plans for the empty building at 10 Front Street include splitting the space into multiple retail, office and residential spaces (Megan Hansen photo). Right: This artist rendering shows proposed changes to the building site at 10 Front Street, which include future public beach access.
Plan in works for Front St. building By Megan Hansen Editor
Plans for Front Street’s only vacant building could breathe new life into the historic structure and offer multiple retail and office spaces in the commercial district. Proposed changes to the old Mad Crab building, owned by Thom Kroon, include a mixed use of retail, office and residential space. Kroon’s proposal calls for the creation of four spaces on the street level floor, two retail and two retail/office spaces. The floor below street level, which was once a bar, is proposed to be turned into two spaces, one residential and one undetermined use, said Coupeville Town Planner Bridget Smith. An attic space on the third level is also proposed to be turned into a residential space. The project has been informally presented to the Historic Preservation Commission, but will be presented formally in April. Smith said the next meeting of the HPC is Thursday, April 24, but if a meeting is called earlier she will present the proposal then.
Former Coupeville Town Planner Larry Kwarsick is serving as the applicant agent on the project. He said in addition to getting approved by the HPC, the project must also obtain a shoreline substantial development permit. “There is no expansion of the building footprint or height being proposed,” Kwarsick said, “and the project does come with a new stairway to the beach that will be available for the public.” The initial proposal presented to the HPC was returned because it didn’t meet the guidelines set by Ebey’s Landing Historical Reserve, Smith said. Some modifications to the proposal in-
clude changing the material proposed for the roof and creating a clear definition between the historic part of the building and the addition. The initial proposal also identified the two spaces below street level as residential, however, code says there can only be one residential space per level, Smith said. Some of the proposed changes to the water-facing side of the structure include creating a slanted roof in the back. “The purpose of the project is to bring the historic structure back to an architectural style more consistent with the original (c. 1870’s) of this and other buildings on N.W. See PLANS, page 12