January 14, 2022

111-unit Bremerton waterfront project bound for foreclosure

Rendering by Veer Architecture [enlarge]

The Beacon project, at right, is said to be entitled and shovel-ready. The plan for Beacon II, at left, seems to be less advanced.

Developer Mark Goldberg, of MBG Co., announced a pair of nearby Bremerton apartment projects some five years ago. One of those, at 1943 Wheaton Way, is now headed to a May 6 foreclosure sale unless a new lender or buyer can be found. Goldberg's Water Wind & Sky LLC now owes about $2.8 million to MGP Beacon Guaranty, which is calling in the prior loan.

The sloping, vacant waterfront site is in Manette, or what locals also call East Bremerton. It's got about 1.3 acres overlooking Dyes Inlet, and is a little northeast of downtown. Goldberg acquired it in 2016 for about $375,000. It's now fenced, cleared and graded. Goldberg said in 2017 that he hoped to find a financial partner and contractor, then break ground that same year.

Designed by Veer Architecture, the six-story, 111-unit project began life as Water Wind & Sky; later sales efforts by NAI Capital called it the Beacon. NAI had said, some two years back, that it was entitled and shovel-ready. It was then offered at $3.6 million. NAI's broker, based in Los Angeles, didn't confirm if it still has the listing or not.

Goldberg previously estimated the project cost at a little over $25 million; inflation and subsequent cost increases for materials and labor would now mean a higher figure. Veer says that townhouses were originally contemplated, before the program shifted to a more expensive multifamily proposal. So the apartment plan may or may not survive, whatever the fate of the land.

Goldberg had also been planning a second apartment project a few steps north, also overlooking the water. That, at 2313 Wheaton, was to replace the old Bay Bowl building with a seven-story, 186-unit building. Beacon II seems to be the working title there. Goldberg and a Mercer Island partner assembled those 2 acres during 2016–2018 for about $1.8 million.

There's been no foreclosure notice for that property. The same old NAI sales listing said the apartment project, also designed by Veer, had been approved by the city of Bremerton. That project was offered at $6.7 million. The seemingly vacant Bay building is still there, with Rimnam Thai restaurant as its last tenant. Demolition awaits, though it doesn't appear that all permits are in place.

Website Cinema Treasures says the Bay was constructed by the federal government during WWII to entertain workers at the shipyard; it was converted to a bowling hall in the early 1950s, with the city as owner. It traded into private hands during the same decade; there was an addition in the 1960s, and bowling ceased in 2002. That was followed by use as storage and the restaurant.

Lastly, in downtown Bremerton at 205 Sixth St., MBG and Veer had previously obtained all permits for a seven-story, 115-unit project now dubbed Eagle Pointe. (The corner site was once home to the Eagles club.) MBG sold that project last year for $4.8 million to Galena Equity Partners of Boise, possibly with NAI as its broker. Unlike the two sites on Wheaton, the Eagle Pointe site is in a federally tax-favored Opportunity Zone; and it's about a 10-minute walk south to the ferry terminal.

Pavilion Construction is listed as the contractor, though there's no sign of demolition or construction.