Kitsap SEED Project Open House

(Port Orchard, Washington) - On Wednesday, August 15, the Port of Bremerton is holding an “open house” for the public to hear detailed information and ask questions of the experts about the Kitsap SEED Project (Sustainable Energy and Economic Development). The gathering will be held beginning at 6 p.m. at Klahowya Secondary School on Newberry Hill Road in Central Kitsap County.

The Kitsap SEED project is a multifaceted program centered on a clean technology business park to be located on Port property southwest of Bremerton including a business incubation program for this rapidly growing business sector. A second facet of Kitsap SEED is a sustainable business practices program for park tenants and those in the wider Kitsap and Puget Sound community.

Formal presentations will include visual displays and demonstrate the significant expertise which has gone into the design and development of this advanced business recruitment and job development center.

Following an overview and background of SEED, the first presenter will be Carol Lauffer of Business Cluster Development of Menlo Park, California. She is the principal designer of the proposed Northwest Clean Tech Incubator, which will be the first SEED construction phase, and hold the highest concentration of business assistance resources for SEED clean technology companies.

“We were fortunate to be introduced to, and to gain the interest of, Carol and Jim Robbins of BCD, which has an outstanding national track record of developing successful business incubators, which have turned out hundreds of successful companies.” stated Port of Bremerton Commission President Mary Ann Huntington.

The second presentation will come from Bert Gregory. Mr. Gregory is the CEO and President of Mithun, a 150 person architectural firm based in Seattle which is a national leader in green-build and clean technology integration. Recently Mr. Gregory was designated by Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels as the regional representative to the international Mayor’s conference on climate change. “The mere fact that Mithun is our project architect has provided us outstanding regional credibility, which is critical for us to attract businesses from across Washington and beyond,” noted Commissioner Huntington. Due to his acute interest in the project, Gregory has taken on the role of project manager for Kitsap SEED.

Bainbridge Island resident Kathleen O’Brien, principal of O’Brien & Company, will make the final presentation. Her firm has been the lead developer of the Sustainable Practices Institute concept, an important part of the SEED complex. Her work included a nationwide and international review of what makes programs such as SEED successful. Additionally, several Kitsap community discovery workshops resulted in an enthusiastic and diverse group of stakeholders. “Our investment in SEED and the sustainable practices initiative will ensure that Kitsap’s leadership role, in perhaps the most rapidly growing business sector in the world, remains intact as we grow through the years,” said Commissioner Huntington.

This two-hour evening event will conclude with each of the three experts making themselves available in an informal setting for questions from those attending to give even more project detail as attendees wish. Other small businesses and clean technology-oriented organizations are also invited to share table space.

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