The new Dylan Jude Harrell Community Center will be home to:

  • A full size gymnasium

  • 3 licensed childcare spaces for children ages 1-5

  • 2 large After School Program spaces

  • Outdoor Playground

  • Outdoor Community Space

  • Future phases include an indoor swimming pool, and indoor field house

Located at the Port of Ilwaco, the center will be a space for youth, families, and community alike to gather, recreate, and learn.

  • Our programs will bring new families and faces to Ilwaco on a daily basis. This will drastically increase foot traffic to the Port of Ilwaco, providing an increase in business to the many new (and old) businesses in Ilwaco.

  • Tournaments will bring families from out of town to our community. When they are here, they need to eat meals and often participate in recreation outside of the tournament. Based on similar communities and tournaments, we estimate that just two basketball tournament weekends a year will bring nearly $500,000 to our local economy.

  • In addition, our business is not exempt from B&O taxes or Leasehold Excise tax. We have created 11 full-time jobs in the past two years, and the construction of this facility will create an additional 5 full-time positions in our community.

The Port of Ilwaco was chosen intentionally as a location for this project. The land lease agreement with the Port of Ilwaco was fully executed in February of 2022.

  • Families are increasingly moving toward the south end of the Peninsula, which makes this a convenient spot for programs. In addition, 2/4 school in Ocean Beach School District are in Ilwaco.

  • The Port of Ilwaco is central enough to draw Naselle, Astoria, Warrenton, and Seaside populations to our side of the river for events and activities.

  • The Port of Ilwaco’s Master Plan includes a Community Center project.

  • The space at the Port of Ilwaco is located within walking distance to the Tsunami Evacuation Zone. Bus transportation will most likely not be possible in the event of an earthquake here, so being able to have kids walk up the hill to safety in under 5 minutes is vital to safety.