One of Ballard’s oldest companies is picking up and moving to West Seattle. Jacobsen’s Marine, which has been a boating tradition here in Ballard since 1951, is packing up and expects to move out of its Market St. store by February 1st.
Last year Bob Jacobsen Jr., trustee for the estate holding the property, announced its intention to require that Jacobsen’s Marine — owned by Bob’s brother Greg — sign a month-to-month lease in preparation for a possible sale. The same offer was given to next-door tenant, Archie McPhee. Faced with the possibility that the land could sell with only a month’s notice to vacate, both McPhee’s and Jacobsen’s immediately began exploring their options. McPhee’s found a new location in Wallingford, and Jacobsen’s initially settled on a site at the Port of Edmonds. “Because of the downturn in the economy and the expense of building a brand new building up there, it just got too expensive,” said John Givens, who works at Jacobsen’s. So they shifted their sights to West Seattle and a 10,000 square-foot warehouse at 2625 Harbor Ave. SW.
“We’re all sad to go, believe me,” Givens said about leaving Ballard, saying he hoped their loyal customers would follow them to West Seattle.
