Published November 2000

Bothell’s growth is a trend worth watching

By Keith McKinney
Columnist

What’s the “Buzz in Bothell”? When was the last time you went to downtown Bothell? Well, if you haven’t been for a while, you’re going to be in for a surprise.

This fall, the new University of Washington-Bothell campus and Cascadia Community College opened their doors, cornering a dominant piece of real estate at the juncture of Interstate 405 and State Route 522.

Along with this development, the Beardslee intersection off Interstate 405 received a major overhaul with widened access and left-turn lanes into the campus, opening a new arterial route to downtown Bothell.

Exiting onto SR 522 toward downtown Bothell, you will encounter yet another planned WSDOT highway improvement project that will greatly improve the circulation into downtown Bothell, in addition to simplifying the access to Brackett’s Landing.

Nine new commercial building projects have been announced for this submarket within the past four months. This recent activity is sure to increase investors’ attention to this unique market area, making Bothell a “cool” discovery.

Now I know what you’re saying, “Why are we looking at that market, Keith? I’m interested in the Snohomish County submarkets.”

Bothell statistics are subclassified with Mill Creek in our database because of their similarities and adjacency. The growth trend is moving north, folks, because land, that most precious commodity, is for the most part cheaper and more available.

Understanding the “Buzz in Bothell” is going to give you a sense of what’s coming for south Snohomish County neighboring markets such as Mill Creek and Harbour Pointe/Mukilteo.

For instance, projected rents for Harbour Pointe’s North Campus Business Center are mirrors of similar Bothell market space for both Class “A” office and industrial high-tech/flex with leasing rates between $17 and $19 triple-net. Rent rates for this area have been increasing steadily along with a rising cost-per-square-foot land value for zone-ready, development-ready parcels.

Let’s take a closer look at the numbers for Bothell. Existing rentable building area is nearly 3 million square feet at 2,951,027, with direct vacant space at only 155,287. That’s a vacancy rate of only 5.26 percent, down from 8.9 percent over last month’s reporting. Sublet space available is only 15,323 square feet, and added to the direct space availability you still only have a 5.78 percent vacancy.

No wonder investors are paying close attention to this market, and more importantly, looking just beyond it to the exciting markets in Harbour Pointe, Mukilteo and Mill Creek.

If you’re not looking at these markets, you should be.

We’ll continue our focus on specific market types and submarkets in upcoming articles, so drop us a line — and remember: “Invest for the long term, stay current with market information and trust the advice of a knowledgeable commercial real estate broker.”

Keith McKinney is the Manager and Broker of Coldwell Banker Commercial in Everett. Call 425-347-6620 for more information on Coldwell Banker Commercial.

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