WareHouse ’23 has quickly become a staple of the downtown Vancouver waterfront over the last year. With breathtaking views, great food and a fun atmosphere, the new restaurant at the port’s Terminal 1 property has given the public continued access to the Columbia River after the Red Lion hotel and Quay Restaurant closed in 2015.

In early July, employees with the Port of Vancouver USA designed and constructed an ADA-compliant ramp to ensure everyone has easy and reliable access to this popular waterfront destination.

ADA access has always been available at the former Red Lion hotel lobby, but it wasn’t efficient to get patrons into the restaurant space on the other side of the building. Previously, most people accessed the building near the rotunda, where guests would check into the hotel for their stay. Now, with the main point of access being the restaurant itself, port crews constructed a switchback ramp that provides all patrons direct access to the restaurant.

“We thought it was really important to install a newer ramp that not only met ADA requirements, but also gave direct access to WareHouse ’23,” said Project Delivery Manager Mark Newell. “Maintaining access to Terminal 1 and the waterfront for everyone is very important to us as an organization.”

Port crews have also retrofitted the existing main-entry doors with push-button entry and completed lighting improvements. Design, engineering and construction were all done by Port of Vancouver employees between January and July 2017, with a total project cost of about $30,000.