PORT ANGELES — Local officials are trying to sweeten a deal that could bring Westport Shipyard’s planned luxury yacht building facility — and 200 well-paying jobs — to Port Angeles instead of Anacortes.
Last week, port officials in both Port Angeles and Anacortes agreed to sell about three acres of waterfront land to Westport if the company will locate its planned $13 million, 60,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in their community in 2003.
The average salary for a Westport worker, including benefits, would be about $40,000 a year — an $8 million payroll — and there would be numerous sub-contractors.
Westport Shipyard officials rate Port Angeles and Anacortes about equal, saying that while the land in Port Angeles is cheaper, the skilled labor pool may be slightly larger in the Anacortes area.
Company officials expect to make a decision in about two weeks on where they will build their new plant.
—————–
The rest of the story appears in the Sunday Peninsula Daily News. Click on SUBSCRIBE to get the PDN delivered to your home or office.