The Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe recently completed its new fish hatchery and beach shelter at Point Julia, following years of planning, designing and construction.

The 1,800-square-foot two-story facility accommodates office and utility space for the tribe’s salmon hatchery program, along with a separate open-air structure used by the tribe’s commercial fishing operation, per castarchitecture.com. Tribal members can also use the venue for community gatherings and events.

“It recognizes the cultural importance of both place and program while providing solutions for these activities to flourish in the 21st century,” the website states.

The lower level of the hatchery houses a garage, maintenance shop and egg incubation room. The upper floor provides space for offices, water-quality testing, and filtration equipment. The second story emerges above Point Julia Drive at eye level to the road. Cast Architecture worked with S’Klallam artist Jimmy Price to create a site-specific installation to mark the arrival point.

The beach shelter provides a work area for fishermen who pull their boats onto the beach. Its high roof encloses both a hardscape area and a slice of beach with sitting logs and a clam-roasting pit. The beach between the two structures has been restored with native landscape. The shelter and beach are a community favorite and a stop on the annual tribal and First Nations Canoe Journey.

The project cost $4.58 million, consisting of funding from the federal government and PGST. $2.27 million was funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Disaster Assistance grant, and the tribe paid for the other $2.31 million.