Buzz about Bremerton comeback is ringing true this time

Ask a local businessperson to describe downtown Bremerton, and the words "up and coming" seem to be a popular refrain.

Not long ago, this description would be taken with a grain of salt. After all, buzz about Bremerton's big comeback seems to have been circulating for nearly two decades without results.

In 1990, Money magazine selected Bremerton as the nation's "Most Livable City" (one year after Seattle received that honor), and for the most part, both residents and visitors were bemused. Bremerton?

But these days, the up-and-coming sentiment is sounding more genuine. There's a feeling that something's happening here.

The optimism is not without foundation — some very large foundations, in fact. For one, there's the foundation that was laid for Bremerton's new Conference Center, completed in 2004 and including more than 100 hotel rooms, a waterfront restaurant and 10,000 square feet each of retail space and business offices.

Then there are the foundations more recently put in place for two new waterfront condominium developments, now going up just blocks from the Conference Center and the Bremerton-Seattle ferry terminal.

A condominium complex called The 400, at 400 Washington Ave., includes 70 units with prices ranging from $259,000 to $886,000.

Downtown Bremerton

City population: 35,910 (2006 estimate)

Distance to downtown Seattle: 18 miles, including the hourlong ferry crossing.

Schools: Bremerton School District. (Parts of Bremerton are also served by the Central Kitsap School District.)

Recreation: Louis Mentor Boardwalk at Second Street and Washington Avenue and Evergreen Rotary Park with 1,900 feet of shoreline, five shelters, one boat launch and a sand volleyball court.

Historic fact: In 1891, Navy Lieutenant A.B. Wyckoff purchased 190 acres of waterfront on Sinclair Inlet, part of which was owned by the Bremer family. This $9,512 purchase provided the initial land and water access for what is now home to the oldest naval installation on Puget Sound. William Bremer, a German immigrant, realized the economic potential of founding a town so close to the naval station and platted the town of Bremerton in 1891. It was incorporated in 1901.

— Seattle Times news researcher Miyoko Wolf

At the top of the price range are 1,700-square-foot two-bedroom, two-bath condos with views.

Lower-priced units include one-bedroom, one-bath condos and a location on the street side of the building. Most of the units sold quickly.

The Harborside Condominiums, at 232 Washington Ave., have units priced from about $300,000 for a one-bedroom, one-bath to $1.5 million for a three-bedroom, three-bath penthouse.

Development plans for Bremerton's Harborside area also include expanding the marina by more than 100 new slips, building a 3,200-foot boardwalk and creating a Maritime Park featuring fountains, green space and a naval museum.

As you move away from the water's edge, the picture begins to change. Here, homes may date to the beginning of last century and few would be considered luxurious.

Average square footage runs from 1,500 to 2,000, and lot sizes typically fall in the range of 4,000-8,000 square feet. With prices averaging in the mid-$200,000s, affordability and "character" tend to be the biggest attractions of homes in this area.

Opportunity could be another. If downtown Bremerton's revitalization efforts succeed this time, dramatic changes could be visible just a few years down the road.

"In five years, a lot of these major projects will be almost completed," says Amy Burnett, a fourth-generation Bremertonian and owner of the downtown Amy Burnett Art Gallery. "In 10 years, Bremerton will be a large, contemporary, sweet city that's still involved in the arts."

Amy Jablonski, a 12-year resident and owner of Amy's Decadent Chocolates on Sixth Street, offers a similar view.

"In the last five years, Bremerton has changed hand over fist," she says. "It's gone from wanting to have something to offer, to really offering a lot. In the next five years, it will sweep people off their feet."