Published September 2004

Real Estate Briefs

Group appeals Costco decision
Costco will have to wait before beginning construction on a new store in south Snohomish County as a group of local residents has appealed a planning decision related to the project.

In the appeal, filed Aug. 2 with the Snohomish County Planning and Development Services, the Sno-King Environmental Alliance and a half-dozen other appellants raised questions about the proposed Maltby store’s potential impact on traffic and drainage in the area.

Costco wants to build a 149,000-square-foot store on 15 acres near the junction of Highways 9 and 522. A Costco gas station with up to 16 pumps also is planned. The cost of the project is estimated at $7 million.

The location previously housed an auto salvage and parts store, and a business park. Because the land is zoned for industrial use, the Costco store did not require a zoning change. County planners also determined there was no need for a full environmental impact statement.

The appeal states, however, that the store isn’t consistent with the county’s land-use rules, that Costco should be required to address increased traffic the store would create, and that drainage from the site could affect a nearby stream and other wildlife habitats.

The appeal will be forwarded to a hearings examiner, who will set a hearing, planner Tim Rhoades said.

North Creek apartments
sold for $16.1 million
Fowler Property Acquisition, a California property firm, has purchased the 264-unit North Creek apartment complex in south Everett for $16.1 million.

The property at 11401 Third Ave. SE was formerly owned by Equity Residential Property Trust, a national landlord based in Chicago.

Dave Schumacher of Bellevue-based Columbia Partners LLC, who brokered the deal, said Equity sold the 18-year-old complex as part of an effort to upgrade the firm’s collection of properties.

The price Fowler paid translates to about $61,000 per unit, well below the per-unit price of other recent apartment sales in the Everett area. Schumacher said the lower price was warranted because of the age of the complex.

Despite that, he said, the units are in good shape. The 18-acre property has covered parking, a playground, recreational facilities and a central clubhouse. Equity Residential oversaw major renovations to the complex two years ago.

Fowler, which already owns about 2,000 apartment units around the Northwest, plans to add some garages and make cosmetic upgrades to the complex, said Dan Kaplan, who oversees multifamily investments for the company.

Lake Stevens votes
to support Towncenter plan
The Lake Stevens City Council, at the urging of the Greater Lake Stevens Chamber of Commerce, in August voted to stand behind a downtown development plan.

Details of the plan, which cost the chamber $15,000, will be decided later. The city is now preparing to call for applications from developers.

The chamber’s Lake Stevens Towncenter plan envisions a partnership between the city and developers. The city alone can’t afford to develop downtown, but it can pave the way for developers by streamlining the regulatory process.

The plan laid out a variety of development essentials, such as opening access to the lake and making the downtown area an attractive core of the city by providing more parking, activities and longer business hours. But it also suggests a mix of office and retail spaces downtown, with some housing above businesses.

The plan also calls for a small waterfront hotel-restaurant, an over-water band shell and a conference center.

The council didn’t want to adopt specifics, but hopes by endorsing the concept developers will approach the city with specific projects.

Pacific Ridge Homes
donates $10,000 to YMCA
Everett-based Pacific Ridge Homes recently donated $10,000 to the YMCA of Snohomish County as part of the company’s Building for Today — Building for Tomorrow community service program.

As part of the program, a $1,000 donation was made by Pacific Ridge Homes for houses in the Country Woods and Madison Court communities in the Lynnwood/Bothell area purchased before construction began. Homeowners then designated that the contributions go toward the YMCA.

The family-owned company announced the Building for Today — Building for Tomorrow program late last year as an expansion of its charitable-giving efforts.

Pacific Ridge Homes is building approximately 200 homes this year in Snohomish County, and the company plans to make a $1,000 donation for homes purchased before construction begins.

According to the YMCA, a $10,000 donation provides enough money to fully fund before- and after-school day care for one month for 40 children, pay full-year memberships for 20 disadvantaged families or cover the cost of swim lessons for 160 children.

State seeks 7E7 training site
Washington state’s General Administration Department is seeking proposals for a lease on space for the new Boeing 7E7 job training center.

The building should have about 30,000 square feet of classroom or office space, with another 12,000 square feet of high-ceiling, warehouse-type space. The building must be within 10 minutes of the Boeing Co.’s 7E7 assembly line at Paine Field.

Details are available at the department’s Web site, www.ga.wa.gov.

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