Bremerton mayor on Quincy Square in 2022: 'It's time to get it done'
BREMERTON — A public square to honor music legend Quincy Jones, who discovered his love of music in this city, is slated for construction in 2022.
The $5 million streetscape project on Fourth Street finally appears to have its full funding, though city leaders are still waiting for $2.5 million from Congress through a delayed appropriations bill.
"We'll be ready to move fast," said Bremerton Mayor Greg Wheeler, who believes the project's money will be ready in time for 2022 construction. "It's time to get it done."
The square, a nod to one of the great composers and musicians of his time, includes a stage for performances near the recently restored Roxy Theater, as well as a pedestrian-focused street front on Fourth between Washington and Pacific Avenues.
In November, the city won a state grant for $1.7 million for 2022 work to construct a roundabout off the west end of the Manette Bridge and new streetscape on 11th between Washington and Pacific avenues. That money, Wheeler said, frees up some city funding that can be diverted to Quincy Square.
"It gets us a step closer to fully funding our project," Wheeler said.
Quincy Jones' family moved to Bremerton from Chicago in 1943, joining Black families in the Sinclair Heights community, the only housing available for African Americans coming to work at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. It was here that he touched his first piano, an experience he said changed his life toward music. Jones attended junior high school here and studied music with the longtime teacher Ron Gillespie. He ultimately graduated from a Seattle high school before setting out on a chart-topping career that includes 28 grammy awards.
The idea for a public square to honor Jones originated with the Fourth Street Action Group, which includes a number of area business and nonprofit leaders. Steve Rice, a founding architect who has practiced in Bremerton since 1987, had started having conversations to improve the then-struggling street in 2014.
"It's thrilling to think that the path will end in success," Rice said.
At a public meeting in early 2020, there was concern the project didn't include a range of voices, particularly from the city's African American community. Harriette Bryant, now a member of the action committee, said the project now includes broader perspectives.
"In the beginning, we didn't feel like it was inclusive," said Bryant, who is Black. "Quincy always says, 'Where's my people?' and we wanted to make sure we were present. It feels like we've now been invited in."
Rice, who is white, feels that "enriched" the entire project.
"It's become a much better project through people raising their voices," he said.
Much of the public art for the square, including a massive mural slated to be painted on the side of a city parking garage near Washington Avenue, will be inspired by local residents, its organizers say.
Construction will include tearing out the old 1993 streetscape and include new landscaping, stormwater systems and lots of new lighting. Piano keys will line the sidewalks and murals, display cases and other public art will grace the corridor.
News of its possible construction in 2022 thrilled Wes Larson, president of Sound West Group, which has constructed developments around Bremerton including Marina Square. Larson's company already redeveloped the old Sears' store and the Ford Dealership into apartments today known as the B Flats on Fourth Street. Sound West Group had bigger plans for the street as well, but Larson acknowledged the economy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic led them to scale back on their plans, including ones for a campanile-topped development.
The designs for the project are nearly complete, according to Katie Katterer, the city's project manager. A public meeting to talk about them is slated for January, Ketterer said.
By: Josh Farley
Source: Kitsap Sun