PORT ANGELES — Fundraising for the design of exhibits for the $27 million Marine Discovery Center is more than one-quarter of the way to its goal, said Melissa Williams, executive director of Feiro Marine Life Center.
“We have raised $130,000 of $500,000 so far. Every dollar after that is going to construction,” she told listeners on Wednesday’s “Coffee with Colleen” podcast.
Williams said in June that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has dedicated $3 million toward the completion of a new Marine Discovery Center, which will replace and combine the current Feiro Marine Life Center facility on Port Angeles City Pier and NOAA’s Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary Discovery Center in Port Angeles Wharf.
A capital fundraising began last fall with the goal of raising $10 million from individual donors and $15 million from foundations, corporations and governments. The goal is having 80 percent of the money raised before breaking ground, hopefully in 2027.
“Primarily we see individual gifts as a way to unlock gifts from foundations and governments,” Williams said. “People are really excited about this project. We are hoping to build this as quickly as possible.
“We will have an entire downtown waterfront campus versus a vacant lot,” she said.
Williams said in June the design and scale of the new building had been determined and NOAA’s $3 million would help complete core schematic designs and site work.
No economic impact study has been conducted on the new building because every dollar is going toward construction, Williams said.
“We feel pretty good. You can get through the current Feiro Marine Life Center in 15 to 20 minutes. The minimum projected time for the new building is one or two hours. So then people can get lunch or coffee. That alone will help tourism,” she said.
The new facility is projected to attract 75,000 visitors annually, which is five times as now.
The construction estimate is $25 million to $27 million over 18 months, Williams said. The facility is working with MIG in Seattle, which is well-known in the business, she said.
The business describes itself in its LinkedIn profile as “an integrated design firm that blurs the boundaries between landscape architecture, civil engineering, planning and applied ecology.”
The new center will be a joint operation between NOAA and Feiro, which will administer the building. It will be 13,000 square feet and two stories but only one floor, which will allow them to hang exhibits such as a humpback whale from the ceiling, Williams said.
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Reporter Brian Gawley can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at brian.gawley@peninsuladailynews.com.
