FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                             For More Information Contact: Tim Thomson
October 27, 2009                                                                                               (360) 674-2381 x 24

Port of Bremerton Announces Lease with Electric Boat Company

Subsidiary of General Dynamics Corporation

Bremerton (WA) –

The Port of Bremerton announced Tuesday it has come to agreement with General Dynamics Electric Boat to lease more than 9,000 square feet of office and industrial space in the Port’s premier new building in Olympic View Business Park.

The lease is subject to approval by the Port’s Board of Commissioners at its regular meeting Tuesday night.

Electric Boat, headquartered in Groton, Conn., is known for its construction of the Virginia Class submarine, and as the prime contractor for conversion of Trident SSBNs to SSGN submarines at Bremerton’s Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and at Virginia’s Norfolk Naval Shipyard. But the company’s rich history dates back even farther to the Navy’s original submarine force, and the company has been involved in construction and overhaul of every submarine class in the Navy.  

The company’s highly skilled workforce has worked on Navy projects in the Puget Sound area since 2003. The lease gives the company a new building to meet the continuing demands of its ongoing work with the Navy.

Cheryl Kincer, president of the Port’s Board of Commissioners, said the Electric Boat workforce typifies the Navy’s value as a creator of economic opportunity in Kitsap County. She said the lease agreement represents an important step toward the Port’s goal of creating a Department of Defense business and industrial campus.

“We have long believed that creating a DOD campus at the Port is an idea with great potential for creating well-paying jobs and boosting the Kitsap economy,” said Kincer. “We couldn’t ask for a better start than having a nationally known company of General Dynamics’ stature choose the Port to be the Kitsap County home for its Electric Boat subsidiary.”

 

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Port CEO Cary Bozeman said bringing in a company with the prestige of Electric Boat was especially gratifying after the Port’s year-long effort to lease its new building in the midst of the national economic recession. “We’ve been offering the finest industrial and business space available in our region during a very difficult time, and it is no secret that this has been a financial challenge for the Port. Securing this lease with Electric Boat provides the company a first-class facility that meets its needs. It also moves the Port a big step forward in providing greater value to the community for its tax dollars.”

Tim Thomson, who as Director of Real Estate & Industrial Park Development handled the Port’s negotiations with the company, said Electric Boat intends to take occupancy in January 2010. The Port will make certain negotiated improvements to the building and the company will then further outfit the building to meet its specific needs. Building improvements have been designed by Rice Fergus Miller Architects in Bremerton, and most of the work will be completed by local contractors.

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