The land that formerly housed the JM Martinac Shipbuilding
Co., which operated in the Tacoma area for 90 years until it was foreclosed on
last summer, is now up for sale.
The nearly seven-acre property was bought at an auction in
July by a limited liability corporation led by Alaskan Leader Fisheries, which
then put the property on the market in mid-September for about $8 million.
The property, which includes two shipbuilding ways, multiple
boat sheds, an office building and several storage buildings, saw the
production of boats ranging from giant tuna clippers to tugs. More than a year
ago, the yard’s owner began to have financial problems and was unable to pay
off a $6 million loan from Alaskan Leader, a fishing company with offices in
Lynden, Wash. and Anchorage, Alaska.
Alaskan Leader moved forward with last summer’s foreclosure
action after the overdue payments and failure to pay taxes on the property put
Martinac in default of its loan agreement.
The JM Martinac Shipbuilding Corp. was founded in 1924 on
the Thea Foss Waterway in Tacoma and is believed to have built more than 250
vessels during its 90-year history.
The sale of the property is being handled by commercial real
estate company Colliers International.
