Port Side -- Pier 69 Project: A Beautiful Building Or A Waste Of Space And Money?

Depending on your point of view, the new Port of Seattle building on Pier 69 is one of the most beautiful office buildings in the Western world, or an inefficient use of space that amounts to what one critic calls "a classic boondoggle."

To Port commissioners, employees, urban planners and the architectural community, the building is a triumph, full of light and space and an aesthetic reflection of the Port's waterborne mission.

To Port critics, the building is an expensive indulgence. They're miffed that the building's advertised cost of the renovation of Pier 69 is considerably less than the actual money spent.

The Port's press release says that "renovation of Pier 69" cost $19.1 million, plus $3.05 million for Pier 69 acquisition. But the $19.1 million figure doesn't include other project costs such as furniture, art and architecture fees, and doesn't mention $7 million spent separately on Pier 69 to strengthen it against earthquakes and make it more accessible to the Port's marine operations, notes Diana Swain of the watchdog group PortWatch.

When all costs are considered and once revenue from private tenants is subtracted, the Port's costs are about $25.5 million, plus $7 million for the pier work, according to figures supplied by Karen Waltz, development manager for the Port.

Waltz blames the confusion of figures on the difference between construction costs - the $19.1 million - and development costs for the whole project.

Port commissioners feel the money is well-spent. Commissioner Paul Schell says that the building's beauty bodes well for the Central Waterfront Project, the Port's gigantic investment in the moribund portions of Seattle's central waterfront. The local architectural firm Hewitt-Isley has drawn critical raves for the building's design, and is also responsible for the overall design of the Central Waterfront Project.

That project, which will be centered at Pier 66 once the Port's former headquarters there is demolished, is an ambitious plan aimed at resurrecting the waterfront, creating an urban center opening onto the city's spectacular waterfront views.

The project is a joint venture by the Port and private development interests. The Port's slice of the project, west of Alaskan Way, will include a contemporary maritime museum, a working fish-processing operation open for public tours, international and Alaskan cruise ship mooring facilities, an international conference center featuring simultaneous electronic translation equipment, retail businesses and residences, and an 83-slip basin for 48-hour boat moorage.

On the east side, in an area roughly bounded by Bell and Pine streets on the north and south and Alaskan Way and Elliott Avenue on the east and west, the Port plans to pick a developer who will build an office and retail center, a luxury hotel, a motor inn and luxury residential units on Port-owned land.

The Port has picked five finalists for that project, and at least two of them propose moving Alaskan Way east of the project to make the development all of a piece. The Port proposes at least two pedestrian linkages from the city to the waterfront via Bell and Lenora streets, bridging the wall created by the Alaskan Way viaduct. Schell says the project is a chance to "knit the city and the waterfront back together," offering residents of the developing Denny Regrade residential community pedestrian access to the waterfront.

The completed headquarters, the first stage in the project, is a visual delight. Lead architect David Isley took the shell of the old American Can Co. and built the new building around the massive concrete posts that were an integral part of that structure. Several pieces of lovely artwork are wrapped around those posts, including sculptor Nancy Hammer's renditions of barnacle- and seaweed-covered pilings, two pieces that flank the grand staircase of the entrance lobby.

The main floor includes a public cafeteria and space leased to two water-dependent uses, the Victoria Clipper Service and SEAFLOOR Surveys, an ocean floor surveyor. In the main-floor Port Commission offices, portraits of Port employees by photographer Marsha Burns add a gritty realism to the smooth modern lines of the semicircular chamber.

On the second and third floor are Port offices, consisting of small work stations created by low dividers. Even the commissioners' offices are a modest 12 by 12 feet, albeit with spectacular water views. The work areas are rounded out by meeting rooms and "service cores" with copying equipment and other office machines, painted blue-green and lipstick red.

Huge spaces make the building light and airy - the light showcases many pieces of the Port's art collection, out of storage after many years languishing in the old headquarters. A 400-foot water course runs the length of a wide second-floor hall, and the top of the building is broken up by a series of two-story atriums. This use of space makes the building inefficient as office buildings go - 325 employees will use 160,000 square feet of space in the building. A commercial office building with an equivalent amount of space would house from 700 to 800 workers, according to local developers.

Whether the public uses and enjoys the building remains to be seen. The public can use the Portside cafeteria, which offers spectacular views of Elliott Bay from its tables and from adjacent balconies. There's continuous access to the building's pier in areas not in use by private tenants, and a lobby with an interactive video display featuring Port activities, open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. Whether the public is diligent enough to negotiate the building to get those views - and enjoy the lovely surroundings - will tell the tale of whether the headquarters gets the public use its design so richly deserves.

------------------------------------- SEE THE PORT'S NEW HEADQUARTERS

The Port of Seattle will open its new headquarters at Pier 69 to the public Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Activities are geared to families and children - the port will offer building tours and free harbor tours that leave at 12 noon, 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. About 1,200 harbor tour tickets are on a first-come, first-served basis.

Visitors can also meet the building architects, see plans for further development of the waterfront and meet the artists who decorated the structure, as well as see the headquarters of SEAFLOOR Surveys, an ocean floor mapping company located in the building.

On Pier 70, just north of the new building, there will be Native American exhibits and entertainment as well as displays, entertainment and food by several of Seattle's sister cities, including Chongquing, China, Galway, Ireland and Kobe, Japan.