Community
Looking ahead to 2024: What we expect to be covering in the new year
We don’t have a crystal ball, but we know enough to have some idea of what will make big news in the Gig Harbor area in 2024. Here are some of the stories we expect to be covering in this new year.
Community Sponsor
Community stories are made possible in part by Peninsula Light Co, a proud sponsor of Gig Harbor Now.
Local elections
The coming year will be a big one for local elections, headlined by a race for an open seat in Congress representing the Sixth Congressional District.
Gig Harbor Democrat Derek Kilmer announced in November that he will not seek a seventh term in 2024. He will serve out the remainder of his current term, through the end of this year.
Derek Kilmer
Several candidates already have entered the race, including the 26th District’s state senator, Democrat Emily Randall of Bremerton. Washington State Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz, a resident of Grays Harbor County, dropped out of the race for governor to seek the Sixth District post. State Sen. Drew MacEwen, R-Shelton, announced he will seek the Republican nomination. Jefferson County Commissioner Kate Dean, a Democrat, declared her candidacy but later dropped out, according to the Peninsula Daily News of Port Angeles.
Several high-profile Pierce County posts also will be on the 2024 ballot. They include county executive (currently Republican Bruce Dammeier), county sheriff (currently Ed Troyer) and assessor/treasurer (currently Mike Lonergan).
Both state representatives for Gig Harbor’s 26th Legislative District, Republicans Michelle Caldier and Spencer Hutchins, must face voters in November if they wish to keep their seats. The 26th District is one of the few true swing districts in Washington state.
Candidate filing week is May 6 through 10. The primary election is scheduled for Aug. 6 and the general election will be Nov. 5.
2024 Legislature
The 2024 legislative session starts Jan. 8 and runs through March 7.
The city of Gig Harbor’s agenda for the session, approved by the City Council in November, includes:
- The city is asking for $1.5 million from the state’s capital budget for the Gig Harbor Sports Complex.
- Gig Harbor seeks $2.2 million from the state Climate Commitment Act to install an energy-efficient HVAC system at the Civic Center.
- Gig Harbor and other cities will ask the Legislature to allow police officers to engage in vehicular pursuits of suspects in property crimes and vehicle theft. Such pursuits are not allowed under current law.
- The city is asking the Legislature to allow a parent or guardian to provide consent for police to question or search a juvenile in law enforcement custody. Current law requires juveniles to be assigned an attorney before obtaining consent for search or questioning.
The state Capitol building in Olympia.
PenMet legislative requests
PenMet Parks plans to ask for state capital budget funds to complete design and do demolition work at the 9-acre Peninsula Gardens property.
The parks district acquired the former nursery and commercial retail property in 2011. It is currently closed to the public.
PenMet will ask the state for money to finish design work at the park and to demolish greenhouse and retail structures that it describes as “at the end of their useful life.”
PenMet also plans to seek state funds to for shoreline restoration, improved water access and conservation education at Tacoma DeMolay Sandspit Nature Preserve on Fox Island.
Parks
Peninsula Metropolitan Parks District expects to complete construction of the Community Recreation Center, located at the former Performance Golf Center driving range between Highway 16 and 14th Avenue.
The 58,300-square-foot structure will house a 175-by-75-foot turfed soccer/football/lacrosse field; three full-sized multipurpose sports courts for basketball, pickleball and volleyball; a two-lane elevated walking/jogging track; and rooms for community gathering. The district is paying for the $31.6 million facility using $11.6 million from the its capital projects fund, $16.6 million in bonds, and $4 million in public and philanthropic support.
PenMet staff members at the front of the renovated community resource center welcome guests to the groundbreaking for Phase 2.
PenMet’s contractor officially broke ground on the project in August. Work is expected to take about 13 months.
Across town, expect to also see progress on the city’s Sports Complex, located near the YMCA.
The city expects to break ground in the spring on the $3.8 million Phase 1B, which includes pickle ball and bocce ball courts, a playground, event lawn, sheltered performance stage, two covered picnic areas and parking.
The YMCA is responsible for Phase 1A, which includes two lighted, turfed multi-sport fields. The Y continues to raise $7 million for the project, which won’t break ground until its fully funded.
Transportation
The Washington State Department of Transportation expects to finish building a bridge carrying the westbound lanes of Highway 16 over Purdy Creek by the end of 2024. Contractors finished a new bridge for the eastbound lanes on Aug. 15.
The new bridges will help salmon reach spawning grounds along Purdy Creek, which flows 6.5 miles through rural residential property to about Burley-Olalla Road.
The city of Gig Harbor plans these road projects to begin in 2024:
- A new stoplight at Wagner Way and Wollochet Drive, to completed in summer or fall
- A new right-turn lane on the eastbound Highway 16 off-ramp to Wollochet
- A new right turn lane for drivers turning from Wollochet to the westbound Highway 16 ramp. The city estimates work will begin on both turn lanes in 2024.
- Sidewalks, lighting and other improvements on Peacock Hill Road from about 105th Street Court to Ringold Street.
- Pedestrian, lighting and other improvements on Prentice Avenue and Fennimore Street between Harbor Ridge Middle School and Peacock Hill Avenue.
Wagner Way looking across at the Shell gas station. Several accidents have occurred here. Photo by Ed Friedrich
Peninsula Shopping Center
Gig Harbor Now reporters asked around about the fate of the Peninsula Shopping Center on Judson Street several times in 2023. Every time, we got some variation of “nothing new right now, but stay tuned” as an answer.
An item in a city of Gig Harbor newsletter last summer raised some eyebrows. The city wrote that officials met with representatives of the shopping center “to determine what, if any, development is expected on those properties in the future.”
The Peninsula Shopping Center on Judson Street. Vince Dice
“Representatives stated they will meet with the city again soon to discuss zoning codes and design. … No formal proposal has been made to the city and the public will be noticed if this occurs.”
The shopping center has been largely without an anchor tenant since 7 Seas moved to the waterfront in 2021. For a few months in 2022, it appeared Bainbridge Island-based Town & Country Markets would move into the space, previously home to QFC and Thriftway. But the regional grocer later backed out, throwing Peninsula Shopping Center’s future back into limbo.
Grocery merger
A merger between two giant grocery chains could affect Gig Harbor shoppers in 2024. Word on whether the merger proceeds could come soon.
Kroger (owner of Fred Meyer) and Albertsons (owner of Safeway as well as its namesake stores) announced plans to merge in October 2022. If the merger wins regulatory approval, the combined company would sell 413 stores (104 of them in Washington state) to C&S Wholesale Grocers.
While the parties have not announced which specific stores would be sold, it’s worth noting that Fred Meyer and Safeway operate stores within a half mile of each other off Point Fosdick Drive.
A published report out of Boise, Idaho — where Albertsons is based — indicates that the Federal Trade Commission could rule on the proposed merger and store sell-off as soon as this month.
Kroger, which owns Fred Meyer, is merging with Albertsons, which owns Safeway. The two chains currently operate grocery stores within a half-mile of each other on Point Fosdick Drive.