Published March 2005

Sales under way for new Edmonds condos

Snohomish County Business Journal/ JOHN WOLCOTT Where fuel storage tanks once stood, the new Point Edwards condos now offer a new hillside community with clear views of Edmonds, Puget Sound, sunsets and picturesque Edmonds ferry boats.

By John Wolcott
SCBJ Editor

Sales of the newest Edmonds condominiums have begun at Point Edwards, a village of clustered residences on a prominent hillside overlooking the city and Puget Sound, a site dominated for decades by 23 huge Unocal fuel storage tanks.

With the tanks removed, Triad Development Co. of Seattle is creating a $65 million community offering some of the best scenic views in the Puget Sound area, plus an 8,400-square-foot clubhouse.

The original concept of an Italian-styled development changed early in the planning stage after focus groups told Triad they wanted something more compatible with the community. That shifted the final design to a more casual, comfortable look, said Ross Woods, Triad’s executive vice president.

Presales of condominiums in the first two buildings began in mid-January, and a sales and information office opened on site in mid-February. Two more condo buildings will be built soon, with a goal of finishing 99 units in the first phase, Woods said.

Architect Blaine Weber of Seattle’s Weber+Thompson designed a site plan that will ultimately hold 297 hillside condos ranging from 700 to 2,300 square feet and costing $289,000 to $1.38 million.

Fortunately for Triad, soil contamination from the fuel storage tanks already had been mitigated prior to buying the site from Unocal for $9.4 million last fall. The Department of Ecology noted the cleanup exceeded state standards.

Some of the steep hillside areas leveled to build the tank farm were incorporated into the site plan for the condos. Those early site preparation advantages still didn’t make the rest of the project easy, Woods said.

“Part of the work included building a huge water main across the Unocal property and under the railroad tracks to the Edmonds marina. Building the water main up that steep hill was a challenge, but Summit Utilities did a great job for us,” Woods said. “Part of the process also included rebuilding a sewer pump station in Woodway, which is adjacent to the Point Edwards site,” Woods said. “The facility had to be redesigned to meet new Edmonds utility standards. It was a long design process. The work is under way now, and Edmonds has assumed ownership of the pump station.”

Triad also had to rebuild Pine Street, which meant dealing with two permitting jurisdictions — the town of Woodway and the city of Edmonds.

Working on sloping roads and flat plateaus for the condo sites also was challenging for the project’s contractor, Longitude 122, a construction company formed last summer by Triad, Woods said.

Full development of Point Edwards is expected to take five to six years, he said, depending on the pace of condo sales, which have been strong so far. Last year, more than 1,100 people signed up to be contacted when the homes began selling.

A soil cleanup program for the lower part of the former 47-acre Unocal site is expected to begin soon. The state and the city have proposed a realigned ferry dock for that property, along with construction of the Edmonds Crossing intermodal terminal that will become a hub for rail, ferry, bus and other transportation.

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