Community Government

City accepts $3.6 million bid for Commercial Fishing Homeport construction

Construction of the Commercial Fishing Homeport may soon commence, after the city of Gig Harbor accepted a bid from Bainbridge Island-based Redside Construction.

The city council voted 4-0 on Aug. 10 to accept Redside’s bid of a little more than $3.6 million. Three council members missed the meeting.

City staff previously estimated the bid could come in as high as $4.2 million, an increase from original estimates in 2023.

The city has been working toward a commercial fishing dock at Ancich Park since 2012. Several hurdles delayed the project, including environmental regulatory issues that forced the city to revise plans several times.

After a hearing examiner approved a needed shoreline permit in June, the city solicited construction bids. Five contractors bid, with Redside Construction offering the best price. The city also hired Redside to build Gig Harbor’s Maritime Pier, completed in 2012.

When will work start?

Washington allows in-water construction during the so-called “fish window,” which is when the fewest spawning or migrating fish will be in local waters. Public Works Director Jeff Langhelm explained in an email to Gig Harbor Now that construction can’t begin until Redside and the city have a pre-construction meeting. Redside will submit required paperwork, including a construction timeline, before that meeting.

Senior Engineer Stephanie Seibel said in an email that the pre-construction meeting will take place on Aug. 24.

“While we don’t yet have the timeline from the contractor, we do not anticipate them to be on-site until late fall or early winter 2026,” she said. “As always, timelines are subject to change based on contractor scheduling and conditions encountered in the field.”

Project advocates Guy Hoppen, Gregg Lovrovich, and Erin Babich said in a brief statement that the vote “is certainly a milestone in the 14-year Homeport saga and we’re grateful to council for advancing the project to a final phase. We look forward to catching the lines of the first fishing vessel to tie up at Gig Harbor’s Commercial Fishing Homeport.”