PORT ORCHARD — Kitsap Bank’s new headquarters on Bay Street will likely be a glassy 43,000-square-foot three-story timber building that’s across from the city’s future community events center, including a plaza between the two buildings as a key part of the major overhaul planned near the waterfront.
The latest design of the new office building at 625 Bay Street was presented by Kitsap Bank to the Port Orchard City Council early this month. The city bought the company’s headquarters at 619 Bay Street in December 2021, part of a plan is to build a South Kitsap Community Events Center at the bank’s original site. That project is planned to also include a Kitsap Regional Library branch and some public space. Before knocking down the bank property, a new home for Kitsap Bank, located at the corner of Bay and Frederick streets, will be built to keep the nearly 115-year-old company in downtown Port Orchard.
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Jeff Foster from GGLO, the firm to design the building, presented its latest design to the city council at the meeting on June 13.
“We’re still at a late schematic, early design development stage of the project, but you can see that it’s much more glassy and taking advantage of the opportunity for views to the north across the water to the shipyard, and the mountains in the distance,” said Foster at the meeting.
City council members appreciated the wood look and expressed excitement to see this project moving forward, they said in the meeting. The project is part of a four-year planning process to redevelop the west end of downtown Port Orchard.
The city anticipates the project to add 50 new jobs in downtown besides the existing jobs in the current bank building, according to the city’s staff report.
Following a public hearing the city council passed unanimously an ordinance authorizing a development agreement with the bank for the new headquarters.
“Approval of the development agreement is a significant milestone in this project,” said Janet Silcott, vice president and marketing director at Kitsap Bank. “We have worked with the City for several years on this process and they’ve been an excellent partner.”
The bank looks forward to its continued collaboration with the city, Silcott said.
Design with sustainability
The timber office building will house most of the bank’s administrative and back office employees and have a full-service branch and retail space. A new plaza will be built between the building and the future community events center for the public to enjoy, according to the bank.
Also, there will be a small amount of visitor parking on the east side of the facility.
With a commitment to preserve limited resources, the bank would use solar panels in the project and the building will be constructed to attain LEED, FitWel and Salmon-Safe certifications, Silcott said.
“Sustainability is at the forefront of construction and design plans for the new facility,” Silcott said.
The bank is working toward the interior design phase. Construction could begin in the first half of 2024, Silcott said.
According to the proposed development agreement between the city and the bank, Kitsap Bank is required to install public improvements on Bay Street and Fredrick Avenue as a condition of permit approval.
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The improvements would include concrete sidewalks and tree-planting areas: the bank will install the sidewalks on Bay Street, and the city will install curbs, lighting, and street trees as part of its Bay Street Project. As of Fredrick Avenue, the bank will transfer funds to the city in the amount of $51,160 to let the city install the Fredrick Avenue improvements on the bank’s behalf as part of its Bay Street Project.
“This will ensure that the public is only inconvenienced once, as the projects will be done together. This will also ensure better matching of materials and connections,” according to the proposed agreement.
