A quiet kitchen that once played host to bodies rushing around stainless steel and steam could again see life on a Columbia River pier.
The Port of Vancouver and Clark College are embarking on a broad agreement that could house the school’s culinary program while providing a new use for what remains of the former restaurant in the Red Lion Hotel Vancouver at the Quay building at Terminal One.
“This is a public facility, and we want to keep it for the public good,” port spokeswoman Abbi Russell said Monday while standing under the door frame that still reads “Galley.”
Port commissioners will learn more about the agreement and are expected to vote on the lease at this morning’s commission meeting.
Though no specifics will be set, Russell said the agreement opens the door to new ways for the port and the college to work together. That could include opening the commercial kitchen for school use and plugging in students with future food and beverage tenants at the port’s waterfront development.
“The possibilities for the next couple of years are endless,” Russell said.
Portions of the hotel and restaurant will be demolished in a few years, she said, but in the meantime, the facilities can remain vital and relevant.
Joining forces with Clark College also creates a pipeline for jobs between the school and Terminal One, where a multiuse building, restaurant, hotel and public market are in the planning or discussion phases.
Russell, who grew up in the area, reminisced on what the nearly century-old building means to the community.
“People love this place, and we want to keep that sentiment here,” she said.
The Port of Vancouver commissioners meet at 9:30 a.m. today at 3103 N.W. Lower River Road. Other than the Clark College agreement, the commissioners will hold a workshop on public outreach and hear an update to channel deepening from Columbia River pilot Captain Paul Amos.
An executive session at 8:45 a.m. precedes the regular meeting.
