homeWelcome, sign in or click here to subscribe.login
     


 

 

Real Estate


print  email to a friend  reprints add to mydjc  

March 11, 2009

Bothell buys Northshore site

  • The city plans to issue a request for qualifications from developers in June or July.
  • By BENJAMIN MINNICK
    Journal Construction Editor

    © Anderson Illustration Associates, Inc. 2008 [enlarge]
    Part of the redevelopment plan includes “uncovering” the Pop Keeney Stadium site and integrating the space into downtown Bothell.

    The board of the Northshore School District yesterday voted to sell an 18-acre parcel west of state Route 527 to the city of Bothell for $20.67 million. The site is a key piece of the city's downtown redevelopment plans.

    Bothell City Manager Bob Stowe said this is the biggest parcel the city has assembled for its downtown redevelopment area, which will have close to 25 acres of property available for private developers when the economy turns around.

    Stowe said the city has a responsibility to develop a legacy for its citizens, regardless of the weak economy.

    “Communities that are not willing to make investments in this economy should be prepared for further decline,” he said.

    Stowe said the project should be well positioned when it hits the development stage.

    “We think that it would be very difficult for us to develop this site if it were ready today,” Stowe said.

    The city is planning a public-private development on the Northshore site. The city would create a boulevard, extend 185th Street to improve downtown circulation and retain open space. Stowe said about 14-15 acres would be available to private developers for mixed-use projects.

    Stowe said the city plans to issue a request for qualifications from developers in June or July. He said the goal is to have the site shovel ready by 2011.

    Stowe said the city wants to save the Anderson Building and maybe some of its ancillary structures on the site. Most of the remaining structures would be knocked down after the city performs an environmental cleanup estimated to cost between $600,000 and $1 million. He said they also will keep the pool building until a new $15 million aquatic center can be developed or when the lease expires in May of 2011.

    The 30,000-square-foot Anderson Building is an old junior high that the district is using as a secondary alternative school. The district plans to relocate the school to a nearby business park.

    The district's transportation operations and city's public works operations center are also based at the 18-acre site. The district plans to move its functions to a 12-acre site it owns north of the city. The city also will move its public works operations center to the 12-acre site. Stowe said the city plans to buy about 3 acres of that site from the district. That deal is expected to close in 60 days.

    Both the city and the district want to start construction this spring on the 12-acre site. Construction is expected to take nine to 12 months. Stowe said city and district operations must be moved off the 18-acre site before environmental cleanup can begin on that parcel.

    The Northshore parcel is adjacent to some of the city's other big projects, including a $20 million replacement city hall across 101st Avenue Northeast. That project is slated to start in 2012.

    Another big project in the works nearby is a realignment of state Route 522 at a cost of $42.6 million. Construction is scheduled to start next year.

    The first big improvement planned for Bothell is the $19 million Wayne Curve project, which will increase capacity on SR 522. That project is starting in late summer.

    Stowe said private sector investment in Bothell's downtown is expected to reach $670 million over 25 years. Included are 2,700 residential units and 650,000 square feet of commercial space.

    Freedman Tung & Sasaki of San Francisco is the city's lead consultant on its downtown revitalization plan.
     


    Benjamin Minnick can be reached by email or by phone at (206) 622-8272.



    
    Email or user name:
    Password:
     
    Forgot password? Click here.