Harborside Fountain Park Opens in Downtown Bremerton

BREMERTON, Wash. – July 24, 2007 – Harborside Fountain Park, a 2.5-acre park located in downtown Bremerton, opened on Saturday, May 5, greatly expanding options for meeting-and-event planners hosting events at Kitsap Conference Center at Bremerton Harborside. Kitsap Conference Center at Bremerton Harborside (www.kitsapconferencecenter.com) operates and manages the park’s reception and event space, the Fountain Room. This new 1,650-square-foot space is next to the 10,000-square-foot conference center.

Harborside Fountain Park is one of the Puget Sound region’s most impressive public spaces. Located on the waterfront, the park features five large copper-ringed fountains, wading pools and lush landscaping, as well as free wi-fi service. The park will also be home to the Harborside Heritage Naval Museum and Memorial Park, which is scheduled to open later this year.

“We’re thrilled to be managing Harborside Fountain Park’s new event space, the Fountain Room,” said Erik Ruud, general manager of Kitsap Conference Center at Bremerton Harborside. “The city has made tremendous efforts to revitalize our waterfront, and this is another great addition.”

The park adds a tremendous dimension for meeting and wedding planners, Ruud added. Meeting groups can use the free wi-fi service, available throughout the Harborside District, during breakout meetings in the park. “And the fountains and landscaping provide a gorgeous backdrop for weddings and other special events.”

The opening of Harborside Fountain Park is a major milestone in downtown Bremerton’s redevelopment, which kicked off in 2004 with the opening of the conference center. What used to be a nondescript waterfront is now the thriving Harborside District. In addition to the bustling Kitsap Conference Center at Bremerton Harborside, the waterfront district now boasts retail shops, restaurants, a hotel, art galleries, plazas, fountains, condominiums and the Bremerton Transportation Center.

“This new waterfront park establishes the Harborside District as one of the great public places in the Pacific Northwest,” says Bremerton Mayor Cary Bozeman.

The renaissance of Bremerton will continue with the expansion of the Bremerton Marina and the extension of the over-the-water boardwalk, which will become part of a 3.5-mile trail.

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EDITOR’S NOTE:
High-resolution photos of Harborside Fountain Park and Kitsap Conference Center at Bremerton Harborside are available upon request.

About Kitsap Conference Center at Bremerton Harborside Kitsap:
Conference Center at Bremerton Harborside is a high-tech conference center on the waterfront of Bremerton, Wash. The conference center is available for professional conferences and retreats, banquets, weddings and other special events. Kitsap Conference Center can accommodate 10 to 750 guests. The center, which is a one-hour ferry ride from downtown Seattle, offers views of Sinclair Inlet and is literally 100 steps from the Seattle-Bremerton ferry terminal. Amenities include free wi-fi service, videoconferencing, teleconferencing and on-site catering. The conference center is owned by the City of Bremerton and managed and operated by Seattle-based Columbia Hospitality, Inc.

About Columbia Hospitality, Inc. Seattle-based Columbia Hospitality, Inc., a leading hospitality management and consulting firm, operates and manages Kitsap Conference Center at Bremerton Harborside. Founded in 1995 by John Oppenheimer, Columbia Hospitality creates exceptional experiences for guests and employees while achieving phenomenal results for its property owners.

Specializing in luxury hotel and resort management, Columbia Hospitality expertly transforms each vision for a unique property into an enduring and profitable business. Columbia Hospitality’s premier properties include boutique hotels and secluded resorts such as the following:
• Kenwood Inn and Spa in Sonoma’s Valley of the Moon in Kenwood, Calif.
• The Inn at Langley on Whidbey Island, Wash.
• Friday Harbor House on San Juan Island, Wash.
• Lakedale Resort at Three Lakes, also on San Juan Island
• Darnell’s Lake Resort on Lake Chelan, Wash.

The company also manages a portfolio of conference centers and event venues in Washington state. In addition to Kitsap Conference Center at Bremerton Harborside, these venues include the following:
• Bell Harbor International Conference Center in Seattle
• World Trade Center Seattle
• Washington Mutual Leadership Center at Cedarbrook in SeaTac, Wash.
• Odyssey Maritime Discovery Center in Seattle (catering and events only)
• Pier 30 Event Center in Seattle
• Talaris Conference Center in Seattle

The company additionally supports an active consulting division that has worked on more than 50 hospitality development projects in five western U.S. states and Canada.

Columbia Hospitality was named to the Puget Sound Business Journal’s list of the “Fastest Growing Private Companies in Washington State” four times in the past seven years.