None of the heavy equipment on downtown Gig Harbor's waterfront this fall is building the commercial fishing homeport. The barge cranes, debris boxes and dump trucks are doing the work that had to come first. That work pays for the floats with restored habitat, one stretch of shoreline at a time. The dock that fishing families have asked the city for since at least 2013 won't start going in until winter.
That explains why the work is spread out. It explains why the Maritime Pier by the Tides Tavern closes this week even though the homeport site is several blocks east. It also explains why the calendar is tight.
What the city agreed to before it could build
The homeport site is Ancich Waterfront Park at 3589 Harborview Drive, about 275 feet east of Novak Street. The city approved the shoreline permit with conditions on June 9, 2026. The approved design calls for a 280-foot main walk float, fifteen 60-foot finger floats, two 80-foot finger floats and an 80-foot gangway. In total, the dock would add about 4,852 square feet of structure over the water.
Federal regulators don't let new overwater coverage go in for free. The project's permits went through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which relied on biological opinions from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service. Changing environmental rules sent the city back to resubmit several times. The city finished design and permitting in June 2026. According to George Hilen, the city's senior engineer and project manager, the agreement that won Fish and Wildlife Service approval included specific mitigation measures. Those measures were folded into the same $3.6 million contract as the dock. The total project cost is about $4.9 million. That figure includes a $480,000 payment to the Puget Sound Partnership for environmental impacts.
So the dock comes with a list of things to fix first. Here is that list in the order crews have worked through it.
- Removing the old Jerkovich Pier at Ancich Park. Redside Construction, a Bainbridge Island company, started the week of Sept. 14. Debris boxes arrived Monday, Sept. 21. Hilen said taking out the old asphalt dock and its chemically coated pilings will make the surrounding water more fish-friendly. By late September the pier was gone, and Ancich Park stayed open to the public throughout.
- Building a rock apron at the storm drain by the Tides lot. For years, a 36-inch city storm drain under the parking lot next to the Tides Tavern sent heavy flows straight into the harbor. Crews have now placed a pile of rock 4 feet deep and 12 feet wide that reaches at least 16 feet out from the drain. It spreads the flow to protect sea life and slow erosion.
- Nourishing the beach at the Maritime Pier, Oct. 5–9. This week crews will run a large conveyor to spread gravel and sand on the beach. The city describes the work as ensuring "there's no net loss of shoreline habitat."
- Installing the homeport floats. This is the last step. Hilen said in late September that installing homeport elements "may not begin until January."
Steps two and three are why the work keeps showing up blocks away from the park that gets the dock.
Where the work is this week
| Location | What's happening | When | What stays open |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maritime Pier, by the Tides Tavern | Pier, restrooms and several parking stalls closed. Dump trucks, equipment and a conveyor placing gravel and sand | Mon., Oct. 5 to Fri., Oct. 9, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily | The Tides Tavern and its ADA-accessible ramp |
| Ancich Waterfront Park, 3589 Harborview Dr. | Jerkovich Pier and creosote piles already removed | Removal finished by late September | The park, and the Jerkovich family's private fishing floats |
| Homeport floats | No in-water installation yet | Expected to start in early 2027 | Not applicable |
The floats at Ancich that still have boats tied to them belong to the Jerkovich family, not the city. The city owned the pier on the park side, which is the part that came out. The family's aquatic lease covers its private float area, and those floats stayed in use after the pier was removed.
You may also have seen a second crane nearby. A private marina project right next to the homeport site drew its own crowd earlier this month. The Quigg Brothers crane Skookum, pushed by the tug Mary Margaret, set new pilings at a private dock near the harbor entrance on Sept. 22. Not every crane on the water this fall is a city crane.
Why the schedule is so tight
In Puget Sound, in-water construction is allowed only in a window that usually runs from July 15 to Feb. 15. The window follows fish migration patterns. In September the city engineer told The News Tribune that in-water construction "isn't expected until the winter." He said the window "runs through mid-February 2027" and that the float work would be scheduled once mitigation was done.
The city's newest notice, posted today, says: "Construction of the Homeport is expected to begin in early 2027." If the floats start going in around January, the contractor has roughly six weeks of in-water time before Feb. 15. In August, Public Works Director Jeff Langhelm said the contractor had until that date to finish in-water work. He added that upland work could continue for a month or two afterward, and that the city anticipated a ribbon-cutting in spring 2027. Langhelm's spring estimate came before the newer start date, and the city hasn't restated it. Treat it as a target, not a promise. City staff have also said timelines can change with contractor scheduling and field conditions.
The construction itself should be easy on Harborview traffic. The city engineer expects "very minimal, intermittent delays" for deliveries and Peninsula Light electrical work.
What the finished dock is for
The homeport is built for working boats. It will provide moorage for up to 17 commercial fishing vessels. In July, Gig Harbor Now reported that the permit covers commercial fishing vessels, not transient moorage. That rules out visiting pleasure boats. City staff recommended opening the dock to the public every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. as a tourist and educational attraction. That is still a recommendation, not an adopted rule.
The reason for the dock is where local fishers keep their boats now. The Gig Harbor Commercial Fishermen's Civic Club gave $200,000 toward the project. In the city's words, many nearby fishers moor in Seattle, Bellingham and Anacortes because local facilities are so limited. Guy Hoppen, a commercial fisherman and longtime supporter of the homeport, described the timing this way after the contract was awarded:
"The Gig Harbor fishing fleet has been relying on fishing-family properties for moorage far longer than other places and there's few of them remaining."
Mayor Mary Barber pointed to the community visioning process the city started in 2013. In August, the fleet celebrated 150 years at Fishermen Feed the World in Skansie Brothers Park, where the city ran a booth to answer questions about the homeport.
The ground under Ancich Park
The site has been tied to fishing families for more than a century. Nicholas Castelan bought the land in 1901. A family "Honeymoon Cottage" stood where the park's viewing platform is today. Castelans married into the Jerkovich family and other Croatian immigrant families. Later, Peter and Katie Ancich set up their netshed and fishing operation there. The city bought the waterfront property and netshed in 2012, restored the shed and made it available to fishermen for net and gear work.
A short walk down Harborview, the Skansie Netshed shows the other side of the same history. Andrew Skansie built the first shed there in 1910. The Skansie brothers' shipyard served the purse-seine fleet, and family members fished in spring and summer and built boats in winter. The city bought the Skansie property in 2002 to keep it open to the public. The Skansie Netshed Foundation maintains the shed for seasonal openings and events.
Two other projects this season connect to the same fleet. The Harbor History Museum at 4121 Harborview Drive opens "Hidden in Plain Sight: Boats, Ropes, Floats" on Oct. 7. It runs through Jan. 2, 2027, which is almost exactly the stretch before the homeport floats are due to go in. At the historic Eddon Boatyard, Gig Harbor BoatShop applied for a $235,000 state grant to restore the 1926 purse seiner Veteran. The work would include the work deck and a new engine. The application ranked 10th of 24 projects recommended for funding, and it still needs legislative approval.
If you're passing the Maritime Pier this week, the conveyor spreading gravel on the beach is part of the price of the new dock. The city's Commercial Fishing Homeport page is the place to watch for the next schedule update.
Waterfront property along Harborview Drive comes with its own questions about shoreline permits, mitigation and what a neighboring project means for the view. Stephanie Patrick has followed this harbor for more than two decades and is glad to talk through how projects like the homeport affect a specific address. Let's Connect.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
