Vigor, an aluminum workboat plant next to the Burke-Gilman Trail in Frelard (469 NW Bowdoin Pl), has announced it will pack up and move to Vancouver in preparation for a 10-year, $1 billion contract with the US Army.
There are 50 employees at the local plant — all will be offered jobs at the new facility in Vancouver, as will 60 employees from the company’s Clackamas, Oregon site. The contract with the army — to build new landing craft — will employ upwards of 400, Vigor said in a press release announcing the move.
The new site is the former home of Christensen Yachts. “While we’ve had operations in Vancouver since 1980, this move represents a substantial increase in the number of Vigor employees who will be living and working here,” Frank Foti, Vigor President and CEO, said. “Our Vigor team looks forward to getting to know the Vancouver community better and being a force for good through our remarkable people and the economic activity associated with our work.”
Vigor’s site in Frelard, formerly the home of Kvichak Marine Industries, has 150 feet of waterfront along the Ship Canal and buildings totaling 50,000 square feet, according to a report in the Seattle Times.
The company will be finishing projects at the current site and expects to phase out of the Frelard location by January 2020. Vigor will be incrementally starting new projects at the Vancouver site in late spring, and will be fully operational by early next year. *
*Correction: An earlier version of this story reported that Vigor would be closing up the Frelard location over the next few months, and that the new location would be operational by mid-year.
Photo courtesy of Vigor
Maybe we can replace it with an eco-friendly, non-militaristic, doggy yoga and homeless park and all the high paying jobs that go along with that.