Pier 2 West, Rehabilitation Project

UPDATE 2/9/2023: 
At the Port of Astoria board commission meeting on February 7th, the Board of Commissioners approved an award of the Pier 2 West Construction Management/General Contractor contract to Bergerson Construction. Next steps for the project are environmental, permitting, and design as a prerequisite for the construction phase.

UPDATE 4/19/2022:
On April 19th, the Port commission held a public hearing to present the Construction Manager/ General Contractor (CM/GC) method of contracting for the rehabilitation of Pier 2 West. Under the public contracting law, this method is considered an alternative form of public contracting. It is typically used for large and complex projects, and is appealing because it allows a construction manager to be brought on early to represent the Port and facilitate many aspects of the project. The CM/GC method was approved unanimously approved by the Port Commission following the hearing at the workshop Commission meeting.

Background

Pier 2 West is an elevated timber dock located along the Astoria Central Waterfront and home to seafood processors Bornstein Seafoods and Da Yang Seafood. Built in the 1940s, the deck of Pier 2 West was originally supported by cedar piling. Over time, the upper portion of the pilings have decayed in conjunction with seawall deterioration, causing the underlying support to deteriorate at an increasing rate. The last major renovation work was completed in the 1960s. The dock and seawall are in poor condition and in critical need of repairs. In 2017, to address safety concerns related to the aging structure, weight limit restrictions were imposed by the Oregon Department of Transportation. 

Pier 2 serves the bulk of the commercial fishing needs of Port users with its 71,800 ft. multi-tenant building. The current condition of the deteriorating dock is negatively impacting tenant operations and poses increasing risk to the users and warehouse structures in the vicinity. Repair and ongoing maintenance of Pier 2 West is necessary to preserve not only the infrastructure but the seafood processing jobs. Maintaining and improving the Port’s existing infrastructure to better support existing business lines and tenants is critical. Seafood Processing at the Port is expected to remain a core industry sector as commercial fishing remains strong. 

The Port of Astoria’s mission is to generate economic growth and prosperity in a safe and environmentally responsible manner. The Port’s immediate and long-term growth potential and revenue are dependent on improvements of its assets, which, if not improved, create the risk of loss of industry base, expansion opportunities, or new business development. In 2019 the Strategic Business Plan Update identified over $28 million in total maintenance needs across Port property, specifically $5,345,000 for repairs on Pier 2. In 2020, initial cost projections to rehabilitate Pier 2 West were estimated to be roughly three million dollars.  Since that time, compounded with the rising costs of materials in the aftermath of the pandemic, projected costs have increased to upwards of 19 million dollars.