PORT ANGELES – The Port Angeles Waterfront District has launched and is now a nonprofit organization. This week, the group announced its Board of Directors and a full-time Executive Director.
Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Marc Abshire sits on the board. He says the new group stems from ELEVATE PA, which focuses on enhancing the downtown business area.
“In that plan are 64 actions. One of them was to develop an organization to sustain this effort. The focus of ELEVATE PA has always been getting things done not so much who’s going to do it,” said Abshire. “We’ve done a lot of the actions like the downtown police officers there the shuttle to Hurricane Ridge, 24-hour bathrooms all these things that are in the action list to make what we’re calling now the Waterfront District more welcoming place. That’s that people want to come and spend time.”
Launched in 2020, ELEVATE PA plans to make the Waterfront District a vibrant community hub with cultural and entertainment programs, all while serving as a gateway to outdoor adventures.
Abshire explains the difference between the new organization and the now-defunct former Port Angeles Downtown Association.
“The easy way to explain is the Waterfront District is being led and guided by a five-year strategic plan that’s going to renew as we go through the years, The Downtown Association didn’t really have a defined written purpose or vision or even a strategy. It was really just an association of merchants downtown,” said Abshire.
Sam Grello, former general manager of the Port Angeles Wharf, is the new Executive Director of the Waterfront District. The district’s office is located at 104 E 1st Street.