Humboldt Bay Harbor District announces new project at the Redwood Marine Terminal II facility

The Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District is excited to announce a new partnership and lease for a 30-acre coastal dependent development project at the Redwood Marine Terminal II facility.

This project is a significant advancement of the District’s revitalization strategy for the property, and will include the removal of all remaining deteriorating buildings and unutilized infrastructure, and the construction of a modern facility that will create local living-wage jobs for the next 30 – 50 years.  The project is expected to result in the investment of hundreds of million dollars in the local economy.

The Harbor District acquired the Redwood Marine Terminal II property, known locally as the “Pulp Mill”, in 2013 after the mill had been permanently shuttered.  The purchase allowed the District to garner the assistance of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in an emergency response action to remove approximately 2.7 million gallons of spent pulping liquors stored onsite in deteriorating aboveground storage tanks, protecting Humboldt Bay from potential catastrophic contamination.  With the major environmental hazards removed, the District recognized that without quick action, maintenance, and repairs, the property’s infrastructure would rapidly deteriorate and the property would remain a blight on Humboldt Bay.



The Humboldt Bay Development Association was incorporated in 2015 with the purpose of supporting and implementing the improvements necessary to successfully redevelop the Redwood Marine Terminal II property.  To that end, the Association obtained a $3.5 million New Market Tax Credit loan to  repurpose, renovate and modernize approximately 200,000 square feet of buildings, a 20 MW electric substation, a 1300 square foot dock, the 30 million gallon per day ocean outfall pipe, access to 40 million gallons per day of freshwater, and other significant property assets. The District also entered a public/ private partnership to install a 730,000 kw solar system on the property to help offset District utility costs.

The Harbor District recently partnered with Humboldt County Planning and the California Coastal Commission to spearhead amendments to the County’s Coastal Zoning Code to significantly expanded the allowable uses which can occupy the existing Redwood Marine Terminal II buildings. Eighteen businesses, with approximately 65 employees, now legally occupy the existing buildings.  The income generated from these leases has enabled the District to reinvest additional financial resources in the preparation and marketing of the property to coastal dependent industrial businesses.

All of the foregoing efforts have culminated in this exciting new development.  Once constructed, this project will enable the District to revitalize our port and look to future business opportunities such as renewable wind energy projects.

The Harbor District will host a public ceremony on Monday, February 11that 1:30 p.m. in the conference room at the Woodley Island Marina, 601 Startare Drive, Eureka, to formally sign the new development lease.   Additional details of the 30-acre project will be made available at that time.