Washington State Development Thread

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Monday, Jun. 08, 2009

Prosser debates 'quiet zone' downtown for trains

AJM STUDIOS.NET Northwest Development News Center
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By Drew Foster, The Tri-City Herald staff writer

PROSSER -- You can hear them coming from what seems like miles away.

To many, it's nostalgic. To others, the thundering blast of an oncoming train's horn is just plain annoying.

That includes Clifton Steelman, who wants to create a "quiet zone" around Prosser's downtown where the 13 to 16 trains that pass through the city each day couldn't sound off. He persuaded Prosser Mayor Paul Warden to recently float the idea with the city council, but it quickly ran out of steam because of concerns about possible ballooning liability insurance premiums.

"We're a small city, we don't have a huge budget," said City Administrator Charlie Bush.

If a car or person gets hit by a train, railroad companies are potentially liable. But, said Councilman Steve Becken, "If you take the horn blowing away and someone gets clobbered, the railroad looks to the city for liability."

Warden said he didn't know how much the city's liability insurance premium would increase if the quiet zone was created. He wishes he'd found out because his idea might have been better received if he had concrete numbers.

Yakima officials, who in 2002 created a quiet zone there, couldn't quantify a change in the city's liability insurance premiums, but said it was not dramatic. "I don't recall a significant impact," said Yakima Finance Director Rita DeBord.

Bob Desgrosellier, Yakima senior engineer, said the city also erected barricades and raised curb heights around railroad crossings before the horn ban took effect to discourage people from going on the tracks.

Yakima's horn ban ended in June 2007 when national quiet zone safety standards were raised and the city didn't meet them. Desgrosellier couldn't say if or when Yakima might try to reinstate the ban.

Citing safety and nostalgia, many Prosser residents support the council's decision.

"To me, it's a safety issue," said Wendy Raeschke, part owner of Caffe Villa on Seventh Street, a stone's throw from the railroad tracks. She also feels the horns complement the small town's ambiance. "I think it adds character to downtown Prosser."

As he stood outside a real estate office on Meade Avenue looking at photos of homes for sale, former resident Ruben Lopez said he was glad the council vetoed a quiet zone.

"I think it's a bad idea," he said, "because (trains) can run over people. The safety comes first for me."

Lopez said his family lived less than a quarter-mile from the train tracks when he was growing up in Prosser, and he didn't mind the rumbling trains and bellowing horns.

But Steelman does.

"Sometimes it sounds like they start the horn in Mabton and don't stop until it gets to Benton City," he said, adding that it seems like more courteous engineers lay off the horn later at night.

Federal Railroad Administration rules call for trains traveling less than 45 mph to sound their horn at least 15 seconds before the lead car reaches a railroad crossing. Trains moving faster than 45 mph must sound off once they reach a horn post, which often is about a quarter-mile from a railroad crossing, and continue sounding the horn until the lead car clears the crossing.

Steelman argues that between flashing lights, sensors on tracks and retractable arms, train horns are antiquated and unnecessary. As the owner of five downtown buildings with 11 tenants, he said the city center would be more hospitable to residents if the trains were quiet.

"Yeah, it's nostalgic, but the nostalgia wears off when you're trying to have a conversation and one goes by every hour," said the 66-year-old. "Peace and quiet is awful nice."

Although the quiet zone proposal has been derailed, Mayor Warden said it pops up every two or three years so Steelman may get another shot at silencing the trains.

"Many, many cities have done it," Steelman said. "I hope the city of Prosser is wise enough to follow those many, many cities. ... I hope the city considers it. It would improve on the quality of life."

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June 9, 2009
Tacoma meeting on light rail, streetcar
By THE SEATTLE DAILY JOURNAL OF COMMERCE STAFF
image hosted on flickr

AJM STUDIOS.NET Northwest Development News Center


TACOMA — On June 18, the city of Tacoma, Sound Transit and Pierce Transit will host a public meeting on light rail and streetcars as modes of transportation.

The meeting will include an open house on development of light rail and streetcar concepts for Tacoma, comparisons between the two, potential funding, benefits and impacts.

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June 8, 2009 in City
SCAFCO gets go-ahead to buy Playfair land
Manufacturer to move steel stud plant to 48-acre parcel

Jonathan Brunt
The Spokesman-Review

AJM STUDIOS.NET Northwest Development News Center


The country is in the midst of a significant recession, but that’s not stopping Larry Stone from making a significant investment in his grain storage and steel stud manufacturing company, SCAFCO Corp.

The Spokane City Council on Monday voted 4-1 to accept Stone’s $2.1 million bid to purchase 48 acres of the former Playfair horse track in East Central Spokane.

SCAFCO isn’t immune from the downturn. The company employs about 200 people – down from about 300 during the company’s boom years in 2007 and 2008.

Even so, Stone said the Playfair deal pencils out using SCAFCO’s 2005 production numbers.

“Everyone’s just terribly frightened of doing any construction,” Stone said in an interview last week. “The good news is that it’s a great time to build in terms of cost..”

SCAFCO will move its steel stud plant from its factory near Interstate 90 and Sprague Avenue. Stone said the company will maintain its grain bin factory in Spokane Valley for the foreseeable future. SCAFCO will sell or lease the rest of the property as the Playfair Business & Industrial Park.

The city bought Playfair in 2004 to build a sewage plant with Spokane County. But negotiations with the county soured, and the county decided to build its own plant elsewhere.

In the deal approved Monday, the city will sell the land at about half the price it paid per acre. The city is keeping 15 acres of the original site for a storm water system.

Councilman Bob Apple, who cast the dissenting vote, said the city should wait for the economy to improve.

“I’m prohibited by state law from gifting public money,” Apple said. “It just to me looks like a situation that one could accuse (the city) of gifting public money.”

When the city first tried to sell the land last year, SCAFCO met a $5.3 million minimum bid but demanded that the city pay for road and other improvements to the site. That deal faltered as the economy declined, and the city offered the land without setting a minimum price. In the new deal, SCAFCO will pay for the infrastructure. No other party bid for the full acreage.

Public Works Director Dave Mandyke said considering infrastructure costs, SCAFCO’s current deal is a few hundred thousand dollars less than the offer last year. Most council members said the sooner the land gets on the tax rolls, the better.

“It’s a great company to have,” said Councilwoman Nancy McLaughlin. “Nobody else is coming up to the plate, and I’m tired of seeing that land just sit there with nothing.”

Stone said SCAFCO needs more space, and he prefers moving closer to the heart of the city.

“I love the fact that I’m going to have a shorter commute,” Stone said.

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Fire destroys historic Kalama building
Wednesday, June 10, 2009 5:25 PM PDT
By Leila Summers

AJM STUDIOS.NET Northwest Development News Center

TDN.com


KALAMA — A fire Wednesday afternoon completely destroyed Heritage Square, one of downtown Kalama’s oldest buildings that once was frequented by movie legend Marlon Brando.

It’s unclear what caused the blaze, which apparently started around 12:15 p.m. in the ceiling of the two-story building, located on the corner of First and Fir Streets, said Capt. Terry Sinkler of Cowlitz Fire District 5 in Kalama.

More than 50 firefighters from several area agencies fought the blaze for more than three hours. The fire didn’t damage the building’s direct neighbor, Poker Pete’s, a pizza parlor/tavern. Two levels of apartments above Poker Pete’s appeared unscathed as well, aside from possible smoke damage, Sinkler said.

A space between Heritage Square and Poker Pete’s buildings allowed firefighters to spray water between the exterior walls, to prevent the fire from damaging Poker Pete’s, Sinkler said.

The South end of First Street was closed most of the afternoon. No injuries were reported. Sinkler said firefighters escaped the Heritage Square well before its roof collapsed.

“It’s devastating. That business is a landmark in Kalama,” said Annie Mazza, a lifelong Kalama resident who owns a photography studio across the street.

Kalama resident Janice Lien remembers Heritage Square for its historic interior that included dark wooden floors, counters and stairway to the shop’s second floor. The “rustic look” fit the business well, she said.

The 1896 building was purchased in 1991 by Kalama resident JoAn Corrales to save it from being torn down for a parking lot. Corrales spent two years restoring it before she opened Heritage Square Antiques, where movie legend Marlon Brando, her long-time friend, enjoyed secretly hanging out after hours, watching people pass by on the street.

Corrales’ daughter, Kerrie Svatos, now owns the antique shop, which also housed a coffee shop and Ruby Moon Day Spa.

Kalama resident Dan Graff said he watched the fire grow from puffs of white smoke until the roof’s collapse Wednesday afternoon. It’s heartbreaking to think about the antiques lost inside, he said.

“They didn’t get nothing out,” he said. “It’s a tragic loss.”

Firefighters fought the blaze from all angles, including using the Longview Fire Department’s ladder truck. Firefighting agencies from throughout the area — including Woodland, Cowlitz Fire District 1 outside Kalama, Cowlitz 5 in Kalama, Longview, Cowlitz 2 in Kelso and Clark County Fire — responded to the call.

“It was a very classy antique building. It was beautiful,” Mazza said.

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Nob Hill closing for Wal-Mart work

YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC

Links

AJM STUDIOS.NET Northwest Development News Center

YAKIMA, Wash. -- A project to improve Nob Hill Boulevard adjacent the new Wal-Mart store in west Yakima will prompt the closure of the road between 64th and 72nd avenues.

The closure is expected to start around Tuesday and last about a month, according to the contractor, Vandervert Construction of Spokane.

The detour will require motorists to go north to Tieton Drive in order to reconnect with Nob Hill via either 64th or 72nd.

The handful of residents in the area will still be able to reach their homes.

Nob Hill may open at nights and on weekends, but only if it is safe for motorists.

The contractor worked with the city to determine that a full closure would be more effective than disrupting traffic intermittently for up to several months, a Vandervert representative said.

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Thursday, Jun. 11, 2009

AJM STUDIOS.NET Northwest Development News Center


Cascade Natural Gas to move offices to Tri-Cities
By Pratik Joshi, The Tri-City Herald staff writer
Cascade Natural Gas Corp. announced Wednesday that it will be relocating its main office from Seattle to the Tri-Cities.

Company officials said the move will bring about 80 jobs to the community, although an unknown number of those may be filled by employees who transfer.

A number of Washington communities were considered before company officials decided to move to the Tri-Cities, said Mark Hanson, spokesman for North Dakota-based MDU Resources Group, which acquired Cascade in July 2007.

Cascade is a natural gas distribution company serving about 255,000 residential, commercial, industrial and transportation customers in 93 communities in Washington and Oregon.

Hanson said the move is part of a corporate strategy to streamline operations of four MDU-owned utilities -- Montana-Dakota Utilities Co., Great Plains Natural Gas Co., Cascade Natural Gas Corp. and Intermountain Gas Co. -- that serve customers in eight states.

Cascade had no customers in Seattle, and it makes sense to be centrally located in an area with a significant customer base, particularly since the parent company acquired Boise-based Intermountain Gas Co. in October, Hanson said.

A record of consistent economic growth and low cost of living in the community helped make the Tri-Cities the destination of choice for the company, he said.

Hanson said the move may bring about 80 jobs, but he said he doesn't know how many of those will become available to Tri-Citians. "We'll work through that process," he said.

Having the main offices of a company like Cascade in the Tri-Cities is welcome news, said Carl Adrian, president and CEO of the Tri-City Development Council, which was a catalyst in the move.

He said that not only will the new employees and their families spend money locally, but the company's presence also will add weight to TRIDEC's marketing of the community to other businesses.

"Cascade Natural Gas has been a great community partner and we look forward to welcoming their employees and families to the community," Adrian said.

He said Cascade initially contacted TRIDEC in February and company officials toured the Tri-Cities in mid-March. Cascade is negotiating for a site to construct a building in the Tri-Cities, he said.

Hanson said the building is expected to be ready in August 2010, and is being designed to accommodate 80 employees. Cascade has about 385 employees, according to information available on its website.

Dave Goodin, Cascade's president and chief executive officer, said in a statement, "We feel the Tri-Cities area also offers a great quality of life and the vibrant area is a great fit for our business and employees."

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Vancouver Waterfront plan filed
Developer envisions 5,000 residents on former industrial site
Wednesday, June 10 | 7:27 p.m.
BY JEFFREY MIZE AND JULIA ANDERSON
THE COLUMBIAN STAFF WRITERS


Shot at 2009-06-11

(Twist Architecture and Design This rendering released Wednesday is the latest depiction of a high-rise waterfront community that could be built west of the Interstate 5 Bridge.
A formal plan to build a Vancouver waterfront community with almost 5,000 residents and 3,500 workers was submitted Wednesday to city planners.)

AJM STUDIOS.NET Northwest Development News Center


Gramor Development of Tualatin, Ore., and its local investors, doing business as Columbia Waterfront LLC, filed a master plan for redeveloping the former Boise Cascade paper mill site along the Columbia River.

Gramor President Barry Cain called the project "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to connect the community with the river."

The waterfront project could represent almost $1.3 billion worth of construction and create 12,000 construction jobs over its development timeline, set to start in 2011.

Cain and David Copenhaver, Gramor's vice president of development, acknowledged that obstacles remain, including signing up development partners who can secure construction financing, experiencing a turnaround in the housing and office markets and winning continued support from the city of Vancouver for parks and other amenities.

"The economy is starting to turn, so we feel that by the time we are ready to begin construction, things will be on the upswing," Cain said. "Financial markets are not where they need to be, but they are going in the right direction. We're confident about the Northwest (economy) and about Vancouver."

The master plan was filed with the city Wednesday afternoon. City officials have long coveted the waterfront project, not only for its potential to create jobs and generate taxes, but also for the prestige of having a prominent project on the West's mightiest river.

The overall project would include:

n More than 1 million square feet of office space.

n 250,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.

n 3,000 to 3,300 residential units.

n A 160-room hotel.

n Ten acres of trails, parks and other open space.

Residential units would be a mix of condominiums, apartments, senior housing and so-called "affordable" work force housing for people earning modest wages.

Cain said the first phase of construction likely would include five or six buildings offering 1 million square feet focusing on affordable and senior housing, a reflection of a sour market for luxury condominiums.

"No one is going to plan on … regular condos right now," he said. "We are probably a few years away."

The city intends to extend Esther and Grant streets south though the railroad berm to open up the 32-acre site, just west of the Interstate 5 Bridge. The land has been cleared of the old paper mill and is now fenced off from the public.

The developer and the city both want to see a waterfront park along the length of the project.

Gramor intends to create a "festival" street along a section of the waterfront that could be closed for street fairs and other events. It's all part of fostering an environment that encourages restaurants, shops, nightlife and pedestrian-oriented development.

"The waterfront can't be the sole attraction," Copenhaver said. "This project really is an extension of downtown offering a diversity of uses. The waterfront is an amenity, but this can't be a standalone development. It's got to connect with the rest of downtown."

Buildings in the first phase likely would be five to seven stories tall. As construction progresses farther to the west, away from Pearson Field, buildings could rise to 20 stories, which would make them the tallest in Clark County.

"It will completely transform the downtown," Cain said. "That's what we want to do."

Gramor has developed more than 40 retail projects valued in excess of $700 million throughout the Portland-Vancouver area.

Down economy
Gramor officials say they are talking with development partners who would take on pieces of the project within the overall master plan submitted Wednesday.

George Diamond, with Real Estate Investment Group of Portland, is handling the sales and leasing. Diamond is also an investor in Columbia Waterfront.

Gramor officials say now, during a lousy economy, is precisely the time to lay the foundation for a major project that can proceed when the economy rebounds.

"Just as sure as there are down times, there are up times," Cain said. "This is the best site in the world. You look back in a few years, you aren't going to be thinking about the bad times."

Vancouver already has spent $4.4 million on land and engineering to promote waterfront redevelopment and has lobbied state and federal officials to provide millions more.

The city, however, still has not signed a development agreement with Columbia Waterfront to ensure developers deliver on their project.

The agreement has been delayed for months as the different parties sort though final details. The latest plan calls for the city council to approve the agreement in early July.

The agreement would last for 20 years and require developers to hit minimum densities to ensure the city doesn't build infrastructure to support a high-rise waterfront community but end up with a low-density enclave.

Binding restriction
The city council last November agreed to spend $15.5 million toward more than $44 million in rail, road and utility improvements. Columbia Waterfront has pledged $8 million to this off-site infrastructure work, in addition to the $31 million the developer expects to spend on streets, street lights and utilities inside the 32-acre site.

Even if Gramor and its investors walk away from the project and sell the land, the agreement's conditions would be a deed restriction on the waterfront site that would obligate future owners.

For an additional layer of financial certainty, the development agreement would require Columbia Waterfront's investors to provide personal guarantees for the $8 million commitment.

That means that even if the limited liability company folds, the city could go to court to pry the $8 million loose from Gramor and its investors.

Jeffrey Mize: 360-735-4542 or jeff.mize@columbian.com; Julia Anderson: 360-735-4509 or julia.anderson@columbian.com.

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Friday, June 12, 2009
In Bellevue, Beverly Hills meets its match

Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle) - by Jeanne Lang Jones Staff Writer



image hosted on flickr


AJM STUDIOS.NET Northwest Development News Center

Drawing 10-mile rings around the two shopping zones, a retail consulting firm found a larger pool of affluent consumers around Bellevue than Beverly Hills.

The data were compiled for the Puget Sound Business Journal by the Redlands, Calif.-based ESRI Business Solutions, and bolster some experts’ belief that the Seattle area is developing the wealth and fashion sense to support a larger armada of luxury retailers.

“It’s been the most dramatic over the last three to four years,” said Wayne Hussey, a Neiman Marcus executive who helped pick Bellevue for the high-end chain’s first Northwest store, which opens in September.

While the recession has cast a pall over high-end shopping, the long-term trend for the Seattle-Bellevue area, some say, is toward a growing cohort of prosperous, aging professionals primed to embrace a more formal lifestyle — for example, buying splashy clothes for charity events.

“It’s not so much lifestyle, but the next level above that — life stages,” said Jim Hebert, CEO of Hebert Research in Bellevue. “Life changes. Now it’s cool to buy a Lexus, cool to have a Mercedes or a new Audi.”

And that extends to clothes, said Tom Woodworth, senior investment director at Schnitzer West, which is developing Neiman Marcus’ Bellevue store at The Bravern mixed-use project. If the demographics are any indicator, Woodworth said, the Bellevue Neiman Marcus could be within the top quarter of stores in the chain.

A 10-mile ring around downtown Bellevue nets the Microsoft campus, Sammamish Plateau, Lake Washington’s “Gold Coast” and most of Seattle. A 10-mile ring around Beverly Hills, Calif., yields three times as many residents overall — but a smaller proportion of the class of consumers that ESRI defines as most desirable.

Some Northwesterners might be shocked to see Bellevue win a demographic smackdown with the nation’s most famously affluent ZIP code, Beverly Hills 90210 (also home to one of the highest-grossing Neiman Marcus stores in the country).

But compared with the 10 miles surrounding Beverly Hills, the 10-mile ring within reach of Bellevue yields three times the proportion of households in the demographic tier ESRI calls High Society — affluent, married professionals with a median household income of $104,934.

High Society covers seven “psychodemographic” subsegments of prosperous, well-educated urban and suburban homeowners. Twenty-seven percent of residents within Bellevue’s reach belong to High Society, compared with 7 percent around Beverly Hills.

In sheer numbers, the 2.8 million population within 10 miles of Beverly Hills’ Rodeo Drive is nearly three times that in the 10 miles surrounding downtown Bellevue. Even so, Bellevue’s ring contains more High Society types than Beverly Hills’ — 280,271 versus 193,804.

On the other hand, the Beverly Hills ring has more than four times as many residents (108,672) in the very wealthiest subsegment of High Society, which ESRI calls Top Rung. The Top Rung segment — people with substantial stock portfolios who play a prominent civic role — also accounts for a higher share of the population surrounding Beverly Hills (4 percent, compared with Bellevue’s 2.3 percent).

But Bellevue bests Beverly Hills in ESRI’s next-wealthiest major demographic tier: Upscale Avenues. These consumers have a median household income of $70,504 and constitute one in four people in the Bellevue ring, compared with 8 percent of people surrounding Beverly Hills.

Locating a store in Bellevue allows Neiman’s to capture the upscale neighborhoods on the Issaquah plateau while still reaching most of Seattle. Putting the store in Seattle would have placed those far-Eastside shoppers outside the 10-mile radius that many retailers view as their prime consumer market.

Nevertheless, Neiman’s Hussey shares local developers’ belief that the concentration of high-end retail in Bellevue will draw wealthy shoppers from throughout the Northwest and Western Canada.

While luxury sales are down because of the economy, Hussey said, “We make these decisions not for the short term, but the long term.”

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Lincoln Avenue separation will help Tacoma port traffic
By KATIE ZEMTSEFF
The Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce Journal Staff Reporter


(Image courtesy Port of Tacoma)

AJM STUDIOS.NET Northwest Development News Center

The Lincoln Avenue project, shown in the center of the rendering above, is designed to eliminate delays by raising Lincoln Avenue above three sets of railroad tracks and Milwaukee Way.
The Port of Tacoma is looking for a contractor to build the Lincoln Avenue grade separation project. Bids for the job must be received by June 26.[/i]

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June 12, 2009
Seven-story building for site in Sodo
By JOURNAL STAFF (The Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce)
AJM STUDIOS.NET Northwest Development News Center



American Life has filed plans with the city of Seattle to build a seven-story office building in Sodo, much of which will be devoted to laboratory research and development space.

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June 13, 2009
City seeks to skirt law to raze buildings in roadway’s path
Jonathan Brunt
jonathanb@spokesman.com, (509) 459-5442

Spokesman-Review
AJM STUDIOS.NET Northwest Development News Center


Historic preservation supporters are questioning the city’s circumvention of its own law aimed at protecting older buildings.

Spokane engineers this week filed for a demolition permit to tear down two 85-year-old brick warehouses owned by Washington State University that are in the way of their planned extension of Riverside Avenue east of downtown.

A law the Spokane City Council put on the books in 2005 says buildings eligible for the National Register of Historic Places can’t be torn down unless a replacement structure is planned or the project meets other exceptions.

The new road doesn’t qualify as a replacement structure, and other exceptions don’t apply. So engineers have listed WSU’s planned Biomedical and Health Sciences Building as the replacement for the warehouses, even though the new building will be three blocks away, and, officials acknowledge, is not tied in any way to the fate of the warehouses.

“If you’re building a building on another lot, to me, that doesn’t seem to be meeting the intention of the code,” said Matt Cohen, co-chairman of Spokane Preservation Advocates’ advocacy committee. “The city doesn’t seem to be interested in stopping the demolition of historic buildings downtown.”

But city administrators stress that the city code doesn’t detail what qualifies as a replacement building.

Mike Taylor, Spokane’s engineering services director, pointed to a federal report that considered the fate of the structures. It determined that the best route for Riverside requires demolition. “No argument will be satisfactory to them (advocates of saving the structures) if they are not satisfied with the answer,” Taylor said.

The easternmost warehouse was built in the 1920s by the Northern Pacific Railroad and leased to the Ryan Fruit Co., which later became Pacific Fruit and Produce Co. The structure is empty and in poor condition, although it “retains considerable integrity,” according to a 2005 assessment by Eastern Washington University.

The other endangered warehouse, also dating to the ’20s, was built by Western Piggly Wiggly, a grocery chain with headquarters in Spokane until it was purchased in 1929 by Mac Marr’s Stores, which in turn was bought by Safeway. The structure was designed by Gustav Albin Pehrson, a prominent Spokane architect whose other work includes the Paulsen Medical and Dental Building. WSU leases the warehouse to InterDecor, a wholesale carpet and tile distributor.

Taylor said just because a building is old doesn’t mean it should be saved. “These aren’t particularly noteworthy specimens,” he said. “If your dad said you’ve inherited them, would you say that’s a great thing?”

Cohen agreed that there are other higher-priority buildings to save. But he said the warehouses should be seen as economic opportunities that provide a “rich urban environment.”

“It’s a mistake to think that we should only save only the major landmark buildings,” said Cohen, a WSU associate architecture professor. “You tear enough of these down, and soon Spokane starts to lose its character.”

A federal assessment of the Riverside project looked at routes that could save the warehouses. It found the alternatives to be “not feasible,” partly because going around the buildings would require Sirti, a state-funded technology assistance agency, to give up most of its parking.

The federal report, completed in 2007, also notes concerns expressed by the Spokane Transit Authority that light rail, which is planned for the boulevard, would not work unless the buildings are torn down.

Cohen said he doubts that there is no solution. “If they were required to save the buildings, they’d find a way,” he said.

The final decision on approving the demolition permit will be made as early as next week by Joe Wizner, the city’s building official.

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Ellensburg may get water park
Privately financed $60 million project also has plans for two hotels, restaurants
PATRICK D. MUIR
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC

image hosted on flickr

(Ellensburg, Washington downtown.)

AJM STUDIOS.NET Northwest Development News Center


ELLENSBURG — Initial work has started on a planned $60 million project in Ellensburg that would include two hotels, an indoor water park, restaurants and boutique retailers.

Gene Martin, who once owned the Ellensburg Inn, plans to have the project completed by the end of 2010, said Ron Cridlebaugh, executive director of the Economic Development Group of Kittitas County. The project would provide hundreds of jobs upon completion and serve as a tourist draw for Ellensburg, Cridlebaugh said.

"This is huge," he said. "If you start looking at the size of it, the hotels and the number of rooms. Employment -- it's huge."

The development, called Lakeside Landing, is planned for north of Interstate 90 and south of Umptanum Road near Ellensburg's I-90 interchange and Canyon Road.

Martin still needs to get building permits, something that could be done as early as late summer, Cridlebaugh said. But he's already gotten approval from the city to build streets and hook up to utilities. That work is going on now.

"It appears at this point to be more than just a pipe dream," City Manager Ted Barkley said.

The Economic Development Group worked with Martin to get the 46-acre development site annexed into the city and rezoned from residential to "tourist commercial" more than a year ago.

Financing for the project itself has come from private lenders, and Martin has agreements with hotel companies and restaurants to become the cornerstone tenants, said Cridlebaugh, who said Martin has not announced who those tenants will be yet.

The planned 45,000-square-foot water park, which does not have a name yet, would connect to one of the hotels via skybridge and feature a "lazy river" and four-story water-slide.

"It will have multiple slides, a beach area, a tidal pool," Cridlebaugh said.

He acknowledged the trouble large developments have had in this economy, even when financing has seemed secure. But at this point, he's confident the project will get built.

Martin, who did not return a call Friday seeking comment for this story, had previously expressed concern over traffic impact fees Ellensburg imposes on this sort of development. Those fees remain a hurdle for the project, but one that Martin believes won't ultimately stand in its way, Cridlebaugh said.

"They're putting in roads, curb, gutters, sidewalk -- I think we have a pretty good shot at it," he said.



* Pat Muir can be reached at 509-577-7693 or pmuir@yakimaherald.com.

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Saturday, Jun. 13, 2009

Benton County seat move closer to vote

By Drew Foster, Tri-City Herald staff writer


(Benton County Courthouse in Prosser, Washington. AJM STUDIOS Northwest Photo Journey Photo.)

AJM STUDIOS.NET Northwest Development News Center


The decision to move the Benton County seat from Prosser to Kennewick has taken a big step toward again being put in voters' hands next year.

A judge ruled Friday in favor of a petition from former Superior Court judge Fred Staples, who for years has worked to move Benton County's seat to Kennewick from Prosser.

The ruling means Staples won't have to collect as many signatures from valid registered voters as he would have under a previous interpretation of the law from the state Attorney General's Office.

The AG's opinion, which Staples challenged in a lawsuit, had said he would have to use the number of voters who turned out during last year's high-turnout general election to determine how many signatures he needed.

Staples contended he should be able to use the turnout of this year's general election instead. The off-year election is expected to have a much smaller turnout than the 2008 presidential election.

Staples says he now has about 15,500 legitimate signatures. Although he believes those should be sufficient, he plans to continue gathering signatures as he seeks to put the issue before voters in 2010. If he had been restricted to using the turnout from last year's election, he would have had to gather about 25,000 signatures.

Staples said he plans to present his petitions -- which must contain registered voter signatures of at least one-third of the number of people who vote in this year's general election -- to Benton County commissioners next year to get the county seat change referendum on the 2010 general election ballot.

The last time the issue was voted on, in 1984, it was defeated after failing to reach 60 percent approval.

Staples said Friday that he was pleased with Judge John Lohrmann's ruling, calling it a "blessing."

"He did a great job, he did his homework," Staples said of the Walla Walla judge.

Deputy Prosecutor Ryan Brown, who represented the county, said he wasn't sure if the county will appeal the ruling. "I'm going to have to talk to the commissioners," he said.

The hearing was held in Benton County Superior Court, where Staples was a judge for decades. A crowd of county officials, League of Women Voters members and Staples' former co-workers listened to the proceedings.

The argument revolved around an 1890 statute that said petitions to put a measure on a ballot must contain signatures equivalent to at least a third of the number of voters who participated in the last general election. In 1890, general elections were held every two years. Now they're held every year.

Much of Judge Lohrmann's ruling focused on the definition of "general election," as found in Black's Law Dictionary, which the Attorney General's Office decision also was based upon. The AG's Office used the sixth edition, while Lohrmann referenced three editions. He found each edition's definition varied slightly, with the most recent edition delivering the most boiled-down definition.

After reviewing those definitions, Lohrmann said the 1890 statute should pertain to both even- and odd-year general elections. "It looks pretty clear to me," he said.

After the hearing, a content Staples, who kept several cigars in his shirt pocket, said he was off to celebrate with a drink and a smoke.

"I'm one happy fella," he said.

[USAPatriot]

Next step for Vancouver Waterfront project

POSTED: 04:04 PM PDT Thursday, June 11, 2009
BY TYLER GRAF

Portland Daily Journal of Commerce





AJM STUDIOS.NET Northwest Development News Center


Gramor Development has presented the city of Vancouver, Wash. with its development plans for the proposed Vancouver Waterfront project. The massive and costly mixed-use project, which has been estimated to cost close to $1 billion, would reclaim choice real estate along the Vancouver side of the Columbia River.
The development has been in various stages of development for close to two years. Gramor now believes it will only take a couple of years before the project breaks ground on property formerly owned by Boise Cascade.
The development would include:
-- Approximately one million square feet of commercial space, which could include everything from individual office buildings to a campus-style corporate hub, with the singular location ideal for world headquarters.
-- Expansive sidewalks and human-scale buildings, intended to attract patrons to waterfront restaurants, shops, independent stores and boutique hotels.
-- Three thousand riverfront residences, including condos, apartments and townhouses.
-- Approximately 10 acres of parks, open spaces and riverside green spaces, which will offer opportunities to enjoy the natural beauty, the developers say. Walking and biking trails will wind throughout the site.

[USAPatriot]

Published: Thursday, Edited June 13, 2009
Providence, Elks Club and Library Place make changes in downtown Everetts skyline profile

By John Wolcott
Edits: AJM STUDIOS

Snohomish County Business Journal




(PMDC expansion Towers in Everett, Washington rendering.)

AJM STUDIOS.NET Northwest Development News Center

The profile of downtown Everett’s skyline is changing with the addition of two large new condominium developments under construction downtown and a $600 million expansion of Providence hospital a few blocks to the north.

Construction began in September 2008 on what will become the new campus center for Providence Regional medical Center (PRMC), a 12-story , 368-bed tower with an expanded and upgraded emergency center, modern patient rooms and surgical facilities, due to open in 2011.

The public can watch the construction work on a webcam on the PRMC site, www.providence.org/everett.

A block west of Colby Ave., in the heart of downtown, construction of the $30 million Library Place is well along on the former Everett Elks Club site. The 200-unit residential development, a mix of condominiums, apartments and townhouses, is being built by Skotdal Real Estate. In place of the Elks building will be a two-level, 230-car parking garage, topped by three multi-story buildings for residences that will offer both mountain and Port Gardner Bay views.

The biggest building in the development will be an L-shaped structure that will rise six stories above Hoyt Avenue and eight floors above Rucker, with retail space at street level.

Opposite Library Place, the new Elks Lodge is nearly finished on the exterior, with work continuing inside on the 200 condominiums and other building features, including a smaller Elks Club.

When the buildings are completed, they will not only change the profile of the skyline but provide more downtown housing as part of creating a more vibrant downtown, along with one of the nation’s top ranked hospitals close by.

[Phriggin' Ogre]

Originally Posted by USAPatriot

Next step for Vancouver Waterfront project

POSTED: 04:04 PM PDT Thursday, June 11, 2009
BY TYLER GRAF

Portland Daily Journal of Commerce





AJM STUDIOS.NET Northwest Development News Center


Gramor Development has presented the city of Vancouver, Wash. with its development plans for the proposed Vancouver Waterfront project. The massive and costly mixed-use project, which has been estimated to cost close to $1 billion, would reclaim choice real estate along the Vancouver side of the Columbia River.
The development has been in various stages of development for close to two years. Gramor now believes it will only take a couple of years before the project breaks ground on property formerly owned by Boise Cascade.
The development would include:
-- Approximately one million square feet of commercial space, which could include everything from individual office buildings to a campus-style corporate hub, with the singular location ideal for world headquarters.
-- Expansive sidewalks and human-scale buildings, intended to attract patrons to waterfront restaurants, shops, independent stores and boutique hotels.
-- Three thousand riverfront residences, including condos, apartments and townhouses.
-- Approximately 10 acres of parks, open spaces and riverside green spaces, which will offer opportunities to enjoy the natural beauty, the developers say. Walking and biking trails will wind throughout the site.

F-ing awesome!! That along with Portland's latest waterfront developments should really help improve the skylines and density along the Columbia River. Good to see that the Washington side is trying to make a name for themselves.

[USAPatriot]

Originally Posted by Phriggin' Ogre

Awesome!! That along with Portland's latest waterfront developments should really help improve the skylines and density along the Columbia River. Good to see that the Washington side is trying to make a name for themselves.

I am always glad to see when you come on, since your the only one to really comment on what I do in this forum, and the Seattle Forumers... well, they don't like me much. ;D Plus they always ignore the rest of the state. This thread proves that there is tons going on around the State of Washington. Development does not revolve around the Seattle metro. I have made it my job to search newspapers from around WA everyday, and more places on my site. Idaho, Oregon, and Alaska there.

I think Vancouver has so much potential. I don't think it will look like that in a long time, but certainly cool they want it too.

[USAPatriot]

Posted: Wednesday, June 3, 2009 - 10:21 a.m. PDT
Graham may get hospital construction contract

The Omak Chronicle

AJM STUDIOS.NET Northwest Development News Center


GRAND COULEE - Coulee Community Hospital District officials are poised to offer a $12.3 million construction contract to Graham Construction and Management Inc., Spokane.
The firm would construct a new facility to house both the hospital and an adjacent clinic.
In total, the project is expected to cost $18.3 million.

[USAPatriot]

Planning Commission makes preliminary decision on Eagle Canyon Long Plat

5-30-2009
Emily Hanson
The Okanogan Valley Gazette-Tribune Staff Writer

AJM STUDIOS.NET Northwest Development News Center


OKANOGAN - The Okanogan Planning Commission okayed a preliminary recommendation for approval of the development agreement for phase one of a proposed development near Tonasket during their meeting on Monday, May 18 in the Commissioners Hearing Room.

The hearing started with an introduction from Perry Huston, director of Planning and Development. Huston told the Planning Commission that no decision had yet been made on the LUPA Appeal, which is an appeal of the SEPA (State Environmental Policy Act) approval.

Ben Rough, senior planner, then gave the Planning Commission a summary of the project, which has been through several changes. The development plan is now 88 lots with six phases and on 325 acres.

"The layout of the phases, the phasing plan and the density of the phases have been modified to become compatible with the airport and to obtain a legal source of water for each phase," Rough said. "There was a site visit by Carter Timmerman of the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) Aviation Department who met with the proponent. Timmerman made recommendations to the proponent and they were included in the proposal. Timmerman now supports the proposal."

Tim Verbeck Sibley, of Tonasket Homesteading LLC, then spoke to the board.

"We think this is our final version of the proposal and Eagle Canyon applications," Verbeck Sibley said.

He then recounted the changes the development has gone through. He said one change has been that Tonasket Homesteading will use a state approved water source in each phase of the project. The development agreement will now have a 10-year timeline, rather than the originally proposed 20-year timeline.

"An irrigation water right was given in 1975 under the Family Farming act," Verbeck Sibley said. "It now has four owners; two are involved in this proposal. The existing distribution system will still be used and will be issued to each property according to how many acres they have. We have to design a domestic water system which then has to be approved by state and country. In Eagle Canyon we will have one exempt well for a group B domestic water system."

He said the water system will reduce the overall water use on the property compared to what is used currently because the households will use less water than an irrigation system on a farm. Verbeck Sibley said Tonasket Homesteading is confident the water system will have no affect on nearby water rights.

"In 30 years, there has been no documentation of water impairment," he said. "Most importantly, the irrigation water comes from a separate water source then what the surrounding area is using. Lastly on the topic of water and mitigating affects, we've done a lot of testing on the irrigation wells that show they don't have an affect on other irrigation wells."

He then spoke about the Tonasket Airport and said Tonasket Homesteading has worked with the state Aviation Department and that it was very helpful to have Timmerman come out to the property and make suggestions for the proposal. Timmerman created a map for Tonasket Homesteading including all of the state guidelines which they have now included in their proposal. He said they've also incorporated information so that everyone who moves into the development knows there will be noise, lights and vibrations from the airport and that they can not complain about them later.

Homeowners will not be allowed to build reflective roofs and outside lights must be shielded or pointed down. Any structures built in the development must also submit forms to the Federal Aviation Administration, Verbeck Sibley said. As for traffic and road conditions, he said the roads will be built toward road standards from the county Department of Public Works.

"We are not connected to the airport road at all," he added. "We have two separate connections to Pine Creek Road which are a half-mile apart."

Verbeck Sibley said there will be a nonprofit homeowners association that will keep the standards of the development up to code. The development will also have a staff for maintenance of the water system and other repairs so Tonasket Homesteading will continue to be involved in the development after it's finished.

"We haven't set up the legal agreement yet but we are very committed to it," Verbeck Sibley said. "We're very interested in farming and want to keep this as farming land. Any future owners will have to sign a right-to-farm document. There is a cherry orchard that is surrounded by the development. We've set up the development to not disturb the orchard and our roads will give the owners of the orchard better access."

As for Eagle Canyon, he said Tonasket Homesteading will set up rules to keep people safe around it and will designate the area as open space and a wildlife corridor. He said a geological assessment has been done and the report states there is no increased risk of cave-in due to development activities. He said the roads surrounding the orchard will provide 60 feet of right of way and that the Eagle Canyon open space will come up to the rim of the canyon.

When Verbeck Sibley was done with his presentation, Huston told the Planning Commission that he heard nothing during it that raised any red flags with him.

The Planning Commission than heard public testimony. Ed Jeffko of Tonasket, who has spoken before the commission before, said the proponents have bent over backward to make everybody happy and he thinks it's time to move forward with this project.

Leroy Orr, president of the Tonasket Airport Improvement Club, said his interest is to protect the airport.

"I am very pleased the proponents have agreed to the state Aviation Department's recommendations," he said. "I talked to Carter Timmerman after his walk through with the proponents and he was impressed with the proponents' efforts."

Tami Tatom, the broker and owner of Okanogan Properties said she thinks developers come and go and that Tonasket Homesteading is taking a very great interest in their community and their impact on the community. She said she believes this development will be a very important addition to the community.

Robert Harris, an opponent of this development since the first hearing, then spoke to the commission.

"Wildlife fences are not going to work when they border my property," he said. "The eight exempt wells are illegal. You can say the canyon isn't hazardous, but one boy was killed in it. There's still only one access; the two accesses proposed are on the same side and they are only a half-mile apart. If there's a wildfire on that side, how are people going to get out?

"My biggest concern is I have the senior water right, I won't be able to have livestock and this development will affect my water right," Harris continued. "We're in Superior Court right now arguing against the water rights. The judge has asked the proponents to resubmit and go back through the SEPA because the proposal has changed so much that it's a different checklist."

When Harris was done speaking, Wayne Verbeck addressed the commission regarding the death the opponents to this development keep mentioning.

"They keep referring to that boy who died in the canyon," Verbeck said. "I was a fire commissioner at that time. This happened down in Webberville and it has nothing to do with Eagle Canyon."

Deanna Strangburg of Tonasket told the commission she lived on the property proposed for the development for 10 years and she raised her children there.

"The canyon was never a problem," she said. "I let my kids ride their horses there. I think this is a good project."

Once the attendees finished speaking, the planning commission closed public testimony. Later on in the meeting, they approved a motion to completely close public testimony on this development.

Verbeck Sibley was then called forth to answer questions from the commission. During this time, he told the commission that the roads will be category three roads and will be surfaced, gravel roads. He also said restrictions on livestock have not yet been finalized, but that this development is not meant to have neighbors affecting neighbors with livestock. He also said the way the covenant of this development has been written is that homes must be constructed up to the codes and quality standards of stick built homes.

After reading through the findings of fact, the development agreement and the conditions of approval, the planning commission passed a motion for preliminary recommendation for approval of the Development Agreement and directed staff to prepare documents for finalization. They also approved a motion for preliminary recommendation of preliminary approval for Phase I of Tonasket Homesteading subject to findings of fact, conclusions of law and condition of approval and also directed staff to prepare those documents for finalization.

The Planning Commission will review these documents again during their June 22 meeting and are expected to approve them to be sent to the Okanogan County Commissioners. The county commissioners will then begin the process of approving or denying the development proposal.

[USAPatriot]

Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Last updated 2:59 p.m. PT

Allow taller buildings by Qwest Field ASAP, neighbors say
By AUBREY COHEN
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF / The Seattle Post Intelligencer

image hosted on flickr

AJM STUDIOS.NET Northwest Development News Center


The only question that Pioneer Square business owners, residents and preservationists seemed to have at a Wednesday hearing on a proposal to double allowed heights north of Qwest Field was how quickly the City Council could pass the change.

"I personally have supported it since about 1985," said Sunny Speidel, who owns the Pioneer Square Underground Tour. "We are eager to see it happen. I'm sure you know that a community's eagerness can turn to burgeoning frustration in about two heartbeats."

Officials have been talking about how to get development on the "North Lot" since its neighbor was the Kingdome. It's now the northern half of the parking lot between Qwest Field and King Street.

The latest plan, which went to the council's Planning, Land Use and Neighborhoods Committee Wednesday, would increase maximum heights on the 3.85 acres from 120 feet for a residential project or 85 feet for a commercial building to 240 feet, with density limits that bar wide buildings covering the whole site.

While this would allow more total space, "the overall intent is to basically allow for the distribution of the mass of buildings to be vertical, rather than dictating a very low, bulky development scenario across the site," said Dennis Meier, who represented the Department of Planning and Development at the hearing.

Planning, Land Use and Neighborhoods Committee Chairwoman Sally Clark supported the intention of avoiding a bulky development taking up the entire footprint of the site.

"Nobody wants that to happen," she said. "We can do a lot better."

Clark said her committee would need two or three meetings to review the plan.

Getting the maximum height would require development of the site as a whole, rather than in pieces; larger setbacks on higher parts of buildings; and ground-level open space and pedestrian routes, including a 90-foot-wide corridor lined up with Second Avenue.

Last year, the North Lot developers -- a partnership of Nitze-Stagen and Opus Northwest, and the Seattle Housing Authority -- applied for a rezone to allow 240-foot heights as plan that would put 645 housing units above 12,055 square feet of retail and 450 above-ground parking stalls in towers of 10, 20 and 25 stories. A fourth, 20-story tower would have 480,000 square feet of offices above 6,966 square feet of retail and 500 above-ground parking spaces.

The developers' deal to buy the lot from King County requires parking for King Street Station and Qwest Field, and at least 400 housing units, including at least 100 units of affordable housing.

The North Lot plan is part of a larger South Downtown proposal that planners have not yet brought to the council.

The North Lot plan would allow larger commercial spaces than permitted in other parts of the Pioneer Square Historic District, enabling community amenities such as a grocery store, Meier said.

Most of the historic district's rules are aimed at new developments or remodels on small sites in among existing buildings, Meier said.

The north lot is a "superblock," he said. "It's very, very different from anything else that the preservation regulations have been created to address."

One reason for the changes, and community enthusiasm, is that development of homes and jobs has not approached the city's targets, Meier said. "The area's actually going in the other direction. It's loosing jobs."

The plan lays the groundwork for the kind of responsible development community members have wanted on the site for decades," said Nick Wells, executive director of the Pioneer Square Community Association. Every day, he said, business owners ask: "When are we going to get more residents? When are we going to get more office workers?"

Jennifer Meisner, executive director of the Washington Trust for Historic Presrvation and former coordinator of the Pioneer Square Historic District, said people have left the neighborhood "because the balance of uses got out of whack" and needed services aren't there.

"What's long been missing in Pioneer Square is really the balance and stability and 24-hour activity that significant development on the North Lot will bring," she said.

One of the few quibbles about the plan came from Fred Mendoza, vice chairman of the Washington State Public Stadium Authority, which oversees Qwest Field. The authority supports the project, but wants more design conditions to assure a good development even if the project passes into different hands, he said.

The other criticism came from a local resident who said the city should require greener buildings on the site.

Aubrey Cohen can be reached at 206-448-8362 or aubreycohen@seattlepi.com.