Decades ago, Clover Island measured more than 167 acres. During the 1940s and 50s, however, several levees were built for flood control and hydroelectric power. Collectively known as the McNary Project, it raised the water level by about 20 feet. The port then built levees of its own around the island to save the remaining 16 acres.
Since the 1950s, a number of businesses have made the island home, some more successfully than others. Commercial development has included a marina, yacht club, a restaurant and a 150-room hotel, which has outlasted numerous owners and is currently named the Ramada Clover Island Inn.
Boomer tells GlobeSt.com that one of the challenges facing the hotel is its lack of visibility from the "mainland" because the levees rise 15 feet above ground level. When looking at how the port could help the existing business, says Boomer, it quickly became apparent that with only about two acres remaining of developable land, the island would have to "grow" in order to attract viable businesses and a level of activity that could sustain the other commercial operations.
Once the port has finished the island's expansion and set the public infrastructure in place, it hopes Clover Island will attract developers that will complete its vision for development, which includes 130 apartment units, 75 condominiums and 20 "hoffices."
The hoffices, Boomer explains, are three-story live/work spaces with the bottom floor for office or retail and two floors of living space above. The port's plans also include a small community center and an athletic center.
"The port is putting together the template of what needs to go where and what mix of uses makes the most sense," says Boomer, "then we need to find the developers to do the rest." The director estimates the development's total cost will run about $55 million.
The project's first applications were submitted last August, but with so many state and Federal agencies to be involved, from the Army Corps of Engineers to the US Fishery Service, Boomer says a timeline for the project cannot yet be determined.
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