Published July 2005

Real Estate Briefs

Preliminary plan calls
for downtown Marysville drugstore
A Stanwood developer has submitted a preliminary application for permits for a 13,500-square-foot drugstore in the heart of downtown Marysville.

The proposed store, identified on the drawings as a Walgreens, would cover half the block on the southeast corner of Fourth Street and State Avenue. It would replace two smaller buildings that now are home to more than a half-dozen small businesses, including a Christian bookstore, a dollar store and a restaurant.

It's not clear whether the application represents a trial balloon or plans for a soon-to-be-built structure. A spokeswoman for Walgreens said she could neither confirm nor deny that the chain was interested in the location.

Marysville senior planner Chris Holland noted that another developer had submitted plans for a similar drugstore project at the same site in 2002, and "nothing materialized."

City staffers planned to meet with developer Thomas Thompson to review the preliminary application.

Arthur Weid, who owns Dollar Plus, said he hadn't heard anything from his landlords to suggest that the building was being sold, and noted that he signed a two-year lease when he opened his store in November.

Developer pulls plans
for Stanwood Wal-Mart
The Wal-Mart controversy in Stanwood was cut short in early June, when a letter from developer Brent McKinley of Vine Street Group in Arlington put a stop to a City Council rezone vote before it could begin.

Councilman Gil Powell read from McKinley's letter, which arrived at City Hall the day before the vote was to take place: "Please accept this letter as my formal withdrawal."

The council then pulled the issue off the agenda, thereby avoiding a vote on the matter.

By pulling out, McKinley cut short a rezone process initiated in November 2002 for a project first presumed to be a grocery store and strip mall on 23 acres at the northeast corner of Highway 532 and 72nd Avenue NW.

The proposal drew strong opposition — including a petition with more than 3,000 signatures — after McKinley revealed in a letter last fall that Wal-Mart was interested in the property. Opponents feared the world's largest retailer would drive out local businesses.

Rucker rezone sparks lawsuit
A decision by the Everett City Council to allow taller buildings on Rucker Avenue has prompted a lawsuit.

A group called Citizens for a Downtown Plan Now filed a lawsuit in Snohomish County Superior Court in late May, seeking to void the council's May 4 rezone of several blocks of Rucker Avenue to allow buildings as tall as 170 feet.

"The Rucker Avenue rezone is invalid, illegal, and null and void because it is a property-specific quasi-judicial rezone masquerading as an area-wide legislative zoning action," the lawsuit says.

The rezone granted special benefit to the Skotdal family, which owns key properties affected by the rezone, the lawsuit alleges.

The city is reviewing the lawsuit, city spokeswoman Kate Reardon said.

Earlier in May, the city voted to allow high-rise buildings on part of Rucker, essentially doubling the 80-foot height limit on the east side of Rucker between Everett and Pacific avenues and opening the area to more downtown-style development.

Although there are 14 property owners in the four-block area, the increased building height was requested by Mayor Ray Stephanson on behalf of local developer Skotdal Real Estate.

Company President Craig Skotdal earlier said the company has no specific site plans. However, Skotdal has spoken in public meetings about a desire to build two upscale high-rises on Rucker.

Housing market stays hot
with prices up nearly 15 percent
Snohomish County's housing market, like much of the Puget Sound region, showed continued strength in May, with sales and prices up and inventory continuing to feel the squeeze of demand, according to a report from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

Countywide, the median price of single-family homes and condominiums was $273,950 in May, up nearly 15 percent from a year ago, according to the listing service.

The median price of single-family homes alone was up almost 18 percent, to $289,174. For condos, the median price was up almost 6 percent from a year ago, to $189,950. The median price means that half the homes sold for more and half sold for less.

Across the county, the area with the highest median price for single-family homes and condos was in the southeast, at $330,000, while the lowest median price was found in the northeast, at $231,875, according to the listing service report.

While prices continued to rise, listings continued to decline in May, with the number of active home listings down almost 23 percent from a year ago, from 4,141 to 3,200. And homes on the market sold in an average of 49 days, six days faster than a year ago, according to the listing service.

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