A former oil-products depot on Lake Union's north shore could become a "community wharf" operated by The Center for Wooden Boats under a concept supported this week by the Metropolitan King County Council.

The King County-owned site west of Gas Works Park would not replace the existing Center for Wooden Boats on South Lake Union, but would be an additional location, one that could accommodate educational projects, tall-ship moorage and restoration, a small-boat rental center and other maritime uses.

Proposals under consideration even include a waterborne shuttle service to Lake Union Park at the lake's south end as a way of exploring the "blue space of Seattle."

"We've got pretty much everyone agreeing that they would like this to occur, but there are details that will have to be worked out," said County Councilmember Larry Phillips, who proposed the measure, which drew a unanimous council vote Monday.

The site of the proposed Northlake Community Wharf, adjacent to the Seattle Police Harbor Patrol pier, includes 220 feet of shoreline, 470 feet of existing moorage, 5,000 square feet of warehouse space, one-third of an acre of open yard, and access to the Burke-Gilman Trail.

Standard Oil of California built the facilities in the 1920s and operated it as a bulk-fueling facility for decades. More recently, King County purchased the site and operated it as a Metro Transit fueling station until 1989.

The idea of turning it into a center for educational, recreational and heritage activities goes back more than a decade. A feasibility study completed last year said the site's $2.8 million value put it out of reach for the nonprofit Center for Wooden Boats to purchase, leading to consideration of it being leased by the center.

Phillips said negotiations between King County and the Center for Wooden Boats stalled last year but have since progressed, leading to the possibility that an "interim lease" could be completed, possibly by the end of the year.

The interim agreement could allow the Center for Wooden Boats to begin work on some of the land-based facilities, such as the warehouse and parking lot, while study continues on more complex issues surrounding environmental cleanup and potential liability that could arise once the site is open to the public.

A cleanup study may have to determine whether sediment lining the site's shore has pollutants attributable not only to activities on the site, but from the operation of the former gasworks nearby.

Dan Leach, spokesman for the Center for Wooden Boats, called the council's action a vote of confidence in the center's stewardship and commitment. Some of the activities envisioned at the Northlake site, such as maintenance and restoration of tall ships and other heritage vessels, could not occur at the center's current site, either because of physical limitations or restrictions on the use of park facilities, he said.

Jack Broom: 206-464-2222 or jbroom@seattletimes.com