KEITH THORPE/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
The Port Angeles Red Lion Hotel and adjoining 48º North Waterfront Restaurant, shown Friday, are working on plans to expand and upgrade the current facilities, which will include incursion into the existing parking lot -- a proposal that would have an effect on the annual Port Angeles Crab Festival.

Port Angeles city seeks Red Lion expansion comments

Plans won’t affect CrabFest this year but will in future

PORT ANGELES — The public is invited to comment on the expansion of the Red Lion Hotel as part of the construction process that will impact the Port Angeles City Shoreline Master Plan.

Plans also will impact the future of the annual Dungeness Crab & Seafood Festival, which draws thousands of visitors to downtown Port Angeles from across the U.S. and British Columbia.

The Red Lion is planning an extensive remodel of the existing hotel and grounds at Lincoln Street and Railroad Avenue with construction beginning as early as October of this year.

The anticipated completion date is May 2026.

Hotel personnel submitted a request for a Shoreline Substantial Development pending SEPA determination permit on May 1 and because that application falls under the city’s shoreline master program it is subject to a public comment period, according to Jessica Straits, Port Angeles communications manager.

“The intent of the project is to upgrade the existing hotel and grounds to result in a built project which promotes the economic vitality of the Red Lion Hotel business and associated services as well as the nearby area,” reads the letter included in the permit application which can be found here: https://www.cityofpa.us/DocumentCenter/View/13151/PZ-23-29-SMA-Application-

The comment period will close on June 28. Comments are to be sent to the city Department of Community and Economic Development at ced@cityofpa.us and or by mail to 321 E. Fifth St., Port Angeles, WA 98362.

“The Red Lion Hotel wants to attract locals, tourists, and non-guests throughout the year through the creation of a public-facing plaza at the Northwest corner of the project site and the addition of a coffee shop and renovated restaurant fronting the plaza itself,” the letter continued.

The Red Lion Hotel’s plans to transform its parking area on the west side of its property into a pedestrian-friendly plaza poses a challenge to the annual three-day Dungeness Crab Festival, whose 17,000-square-foot tent has taken over the space every October for more than 20 years.

The internationally-known event shuts down Lincoln Street from Front Street to Railroad Avenue and takes over City Pier and The Gateway transit center. A large contingent of visitors come over on the Coho ferry each year from Victoria.

The 22nd edition of the internationally-known festival is still on for Oct. 6-8 this year in the Red Lion’s parking lot, but this will likely be the festival’s last in that location.

Scott Nagel, director of the festival, said Friday that Crabest 2023 still will be held there since the event will take place prior to the start of construction.

Nagel and city officials are discussing alternative locations for the 2024 version of the festival with one possibility being west of Laurel Street near Pebble Beach Park.

“We have been working on this for a couple of months now,” Nagel said. “I think this location will work out well and become the new home for the festival in the coming years.”

Donya Alward, general manager of the Red Lion Hotel, has said in the past that efforts were being made to come up with a plan that works with the festival.

“We understand the importance of the event,” she was quoted as saying in January.

Alward could not be reached for comment on this story.

The permit application for the Red Lion Hotel Expansion included a tentative three-phase construction schedule.

Phase one would focus on constructing the northwest plaza, pedestrian circulation, and landscaping, resurfacing the parking lot west of the restaurant, removing a driveway and repairing the sidewalk, and construction of stormwater management facilities.

That is expected to run from October this year to May 2024.

Phase two of the project would see the renovation of the restaurant to include a second-floor exterior deck, renovation of the current guest services and pool cabana building, construction of the port cochere connecting the restaurant to the guest services building, and the resurfacing and reconfiguring of vehicle entry to the property.

The estimated completion date for the second phase is November 2025.

The third and final phase of the project would see the interior and exterior renovation of guest rooms, improved landscaping between the hotel and the Olympic Discovery Trail, and patching and repairs to the existing parking lot, according to plans.

_______________________________

Reporter Ken Park can be reached at kpark@peninsuladailynews.com

More in News

Rear Admiral Charles E. Fosse, right, U.S. Coast Guard District 13 commander, was the guest speaker at the U.S. Coast Guard Station Port Angeles’ annual Veterans Day celebration on Monday. Chaplain Mike VanProyen, left, and Kelly Higgins, the commanding officer at Coast Guard Air Station Port Angeles, also participated in the ceremony. (Paula Hunt/Peninsula Daily News)
Hundreds gather in Port Angeles to honor service members

High school band, choral groups highlight event

Former Marine Joseph Schwann of Port Townsend smiles as he receives a Quilt of Valor from Kathy Darrow, right, and another member of Quilts of Valor during the Veterans Day event at the American Legion Marvin G. Shields Memorial Post 26 in Port Townsend on Monday. Group leader Kathey Bates, left, was the emcee of the event. (Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News)
Quilts of Valor

Former Marine Joseph Schwann of Port Townsend smiles as he receives a… Continue reading

Port Townsend ethics complaint dismissed

Officer examines argument on open meetings

Friends of the Library to host annual meeting

The Port Angeles Friends of the Library will conduct… Continue reading

Peninsula College to stage ‘The Thanksgiving Play’

Peninsula College will present its production of “The Thanksgiving… Continue reading

Ceramic sculpture “Flora-Fauna” by Thomas Connery.
Library to host reception for ‘Second Look’ exhibition

The North Olympic Library System will host a reception… Continue reading

Sequim City Council members finalized through their consent agenda to ban the sale of fireworks effective October 2025. They held a public hearing last month that garnered mostly support for the ban. (Matthew Nash/Olympic Peninsula News Group)
Sequim finalizes ban on fireworks

Ordinance change will go into effect next October

Matthew Nash/Olympic Peninsula News Group
Rich Krebsbach, manager of the Highland Irrigation District, asks questions of Rhiana Barkie, Clallam County public works project coordinator. The map is one of four new options for the Dungeness Off-Channel Reservoir project. Public input is being taken through the county’s website at https://www.clallamcountywa.gov/188/Dungeness-Off-Channel-Reservoir-Project.
Sequim reservoir project draws crowd, questions

Clallam County, FEMA public comment period open through Nov. 21

Christmas gift inspires playground cleanup

Veteran volunteer collects playground metal

Weekly flight operations scheduled

There will be field carrier landing practice operations for aircraft… Continue reading

World War II veteran Arthur Bradow, right, and his daughter Barbara Cason admire a quilt sewn by his niece for his 100th birthday on Dec. 13. Bradow served in the Merchant Marine in the Pacific Theater of Operations and stateside in the U.S. Army Air Forces. (Paula Hunt/Peninsula Daily News)
Veteran has 100 years’ worth of experience

Looks back at long life and wealth of knowledge