Published September 2001

Hospitality Industry Briefs

Everett City Council
OKs events-center site
The Everett City Council recently voted to support building a proposed events center on the west side of Broadway and passed an ordinance allowing the city to condemn properties in a two-block area so it could clear the land to build the center.

The site, which is bounded on the north by Hewitt Avenue, on the south by Wall Street, on the east by Broadway and on the west by Oakes Avenue, was identified as the preferred site early on after a feasibility study and traffic and parking analysis. Two other sites also were considered for the center, which could host ice hockey, concerts, conferences and other events.

The Everett Public Facilities District, an independent municipal corporation, will oversee construction and operation of the events center while the city works to buy all the property to lease it back to the PFD.

Edmonds PFD initiates feasibility study
The Edmonds Public Facilities District recently signed a $56,000 contract with a Seattle property firm to determine if the city can financially support a conference center and performing arts center.

Property Counselors, a Seattle real estate and appraisal service firm, has been authorized to begin work on the feasibility study, said Stephen Clifton, Edmonds’ Community Service Director.

The appraisal firm will determine whether there is a market demand for a regional center, performing arts center or both. If the demand is there, the property firm will then evaluate three locations already targeted by the newly installed five-member PFD board for the center.

The locations under consideration are: downtown Edmonds; the site of the former Puget Sound Christian College, in the 400 block of Fourth Avenue N.; and commercially zoned property near 220th Street SW and Highway 99.

A rough draft of the study should be completed and ready for the district’s review Oct. 1.

South county PFD
negotiates site purchase
A former Cadillac dealership’s showroom and parking lot in the heart of Lynnwood could become the city’s regional convention center.

The South Snohomish County Public Facilities District is negotiating the purchase of the former Alderwood Cadillac dealership on the corner of 196th Street SW and 40th Avenue W. in Lynnwood and two properties on either side of the dealership — Alderwood Village to the west and the Alderwood Veterinary Clinic building to the east. The three properties cover 18 acres.

Parcels along 36th and 37th avenues are not included, Lynnwood Finance Director Mike Bailey said.

The PFD has budgeted $30 million to purchase the three properties and convert the existing showroom into a 40,000-square-foot convention center.

The project will be funded by money from a state sales tax rebate and city and county hotel-motel tax money. Taxpayers won’t feel any extra burden.

The expansion and conversion of the showroom is phase one of the plan, Bailey said. The second phase would involve the PFD board looking at how to best utilize the Alderwood Village property once the center opens.

Mukilteo hotel becomes
TownePlace Suites
InnVentures Inc., a Bellevue-based hotel management and development company, has converted its Stonebrook Suites in Mukilteo into a TownePlace Suites by Marriott.

Located at 8521 Mukilteo Speedway, the Mukilteo TownePlace Suites will be operated as a franchise, managed by InnVentures.

The conversion of the 2-year-old facility will bring additional benefits to guests by offering a Marriott Rewards frequent guest program, a national toll-free reservation center as well as national name-brand recognition, according to a news release issued by InnVentures.

For rate information or reservations, call 425-551-5900.

‘Convention Services
and Suppliers Guide’ available
The Snohomish County Tourism Bureau recently published the “Snohomish County Convention Services and Suppliers Guide,” a project two years in the making.

“It was exhaustive,” bureau Executive Director Sandy Ward said about the research process. “We looked at all the resources and phone books and then called all the businesses.”

In the guide, users can find a list of suppliers for everything they need to make a Snohomish County meeting a success — from florists to translators.

For a copy of the guide, call 888-338-0976 or send e-mail to visitor@snohomish.org.

Back to the top/September 2001 Main Menu