SEATTLE — It's a new connection for the South Sound.
"What we're going to do is put a 30-foot dock out here and expand it," said Matt Wadhwani, Tribal Financial Economic Development officer for the Puyallup Tribe of Indians.
Nearly two-acres along Ruston Way in Tacoma will, for the first time, house floatplanes.
"This way people will come and land, get off the plane and walk in," said Wadhwani.
The project is spearheaded by the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, in partnership with Kenmore Air.
"We know the Kenmore terminal up in Seattle is pretty busy and there's nowhere else to go. We're going to be the only tribe with an operation like this, especially south," said Wadhwani, who went on to say that Kenmore will offer scenic flights this summer.
"We're going to open it up next summer after we get everything fully realized to the San Juans and Victoria," said Wadhwani.
Summer of 2024 is when the flights to the San Juan Islands and Victoria, British Columbia will start.
The first flight out of Commencement Bay is scheduled for July with a floatplane painted with the Tribes' logo.
"We're super proud to be flying this on our normal scheduled service and this will predominately be the plane we will use at Ruston Way," said Gudgel.
Kenmore Air and a new Native-Asian fusion restaurant will go into the old C.I. Shenanigans space, which the Tribe bought in 2021.
"We've made a lot of progress, it's been a year and a half of planning," said Wadhwani.
Wadhwani said it's just the beginning.
"We know there's potential, but, ideally at the end, we have three docks out here and have several flights running a day versus the one or two that we're starting with."
The Tribe opened its $400 Emerald Queen Casino in May 2020 and said these flights are adding to the overall tourism of Tacoma and what it has to offer.
"We like to try new things and be a leader in business and I don't think any tribe in the world has an operation like this," said Wadhwani.