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Consultants: Marina purchase ~$20M; redevelopment could yield years of revenue but needs sewer and investment
Summary
Consultants and Port staff told the Point Roberts advisory council that buying and redeveloping the privately held marina would require a roughly $20 million purchase and another ~$20 million in capital improvements over 20 years, but could generate significant mortgage revenue and public benefits if sewer and access constraints are solved.
At a June 26 Point Roberts Community Advisory Council meeting, consultants presenting with Port of Bellingham staff laid out four redevelopment scenarios for the privately owned marina and a high‑level benefit/cost model. The presentation said the purchase price for the 135 acres (about 60 developable) would be "$20,000,000," and listed capital improvements of roughly $20,000,000 over the first 20 years.
The presenter cautioned that sewer access is a gating constraint for denser development but argued public ownership could unlock both public access and private investment. "This scheme was developed... it shows a mix of single cottages and duplexes, surrounding the marina," the consultant said, and later noted that sewers would "unlock the ability to develop at a 22 dwelling unit per acre rate." The consultant also gave revenue figures: an estimated $3,400,000 in annual mortgage revenue and about $34,000,000 in net revenue over 20 years if the port procured and improved the property.
Residents asked how likely a sale of the marina actually is. A resident noted the project may never materialize while the property remains private: "The fact remains the marina is private," a resident said during Q&A. Presenters and community members discussed intermediate steps — updating port due diligence, pursuing funding for acquisition and capital improvements, and targeting redevelopment to parcels not constrained by wetlands and buffers. The presentation left a clear constraint: without sewer and without agreement on ownership the most transformative scenarios remain aspirational rather than immediate.
