July 10, 2026

Hotel developer sought to anchor Anacortes waterfront redevelopment

Image from RFP [enlarge]

The hotel planned at Q Avenue and Ninth Street sits at ‘Pad D,’ at the main entry to Cap Sante Marina. Three other sites will soon be offered for restaurant and mixed-use redevelopment.

The Port of Anacortes is seeking a developer for a waterfront hotel to anchor mixed-use redevelopment of its Cap Sante Marina district.

The 1.18-acre hotel site at Ninth Street between Q and R avenues sits at the main entry to Cap Sante Marina in Fidalgo Bay near Cap Sante Head, walking distance from downtown and a quick drive to ferries to and from the San Juans.

It's flanked by a popular 1,000-slip marina, the Cap Sante Marina RV Park and Maritime Heritage Center, and right next to a future events center being jointly developed by the port and city of Anacortes.

That project is being designed by RMC Architects, with plans to go out for bid and move into construction next year. RMC also created the subarea master plan guiding redevelopment of the entire Cap Sante Marina site, also sometimes called the West Basin Upland Development.

A notice of the RFP for a hotel developer ran in Thursday's DJC. Proposals are due Aug. 27, and developer interviews are set for Sept. 8 to 11.

The 51,177-square-foot Commercial Marine zoned site's bonus height incentives allow hospitality buildings of up to 50 feet. Terms likely include a 50-80 year ground lease.

THE LARGER REDEVELOPMENT

The larger Cap Sante Marina waterfront redevelopment vision includes the new 11,773-square-foot event center, two waterfront restaurants, and a mixed-use office and retail building.

Rendering by RMC Architects [enlarge]

The future event center next door is being developed by the city and port and is expected to go out for bids and break ground next year.

As part of the first phase of redevelopment, the port is making road, parking and infrastructure improvements to build connections to the city's historic downtown and make the sites development-ready. That includes dedicated hotel parking to be managed by the hotelier as well as other parking for marina visitors.

The second phase includes the event center and hotel, with the hotel ideally breaking ground soon after the events center.

The restaurant pads and the mixed-use building are slated for Phase III, and the port said it plans to offer those three sites for ground lease later this year and next year.

The event center will be run by the port with space for up to 400 people at a time at private and public events, RMC said in a 2024 article for the DJC. The city estimates its construction budget at around $8 million, and is funding the project through a combination of local bonds backed by lodging tax revenue, and local, state, and federal grants.

The marina is popular with boaters year-round, the port said in the RFP, with an estimated 20,000 moorage nights clocked in its 100 guest slips over a recent year-long study period.

The port said site redevelopment has broad support from the city and the community, suggesting a favorable entitlement environment.

“As Anacortes moves from potential to transformation, the window to establish a first-mover position in quality waterfront lodging is open now, but will not remain so indefinitely,” reads the RFP. “Developers who act in this moment will not simply be building a hotel — they will be defining the hospitality standard for one of the Pacific Northwest's most compelling and fast-evolving destinations.”