January 26, 2022

Trent breaks ground on 361 Lynnwood units near future light rail

Rendering by Clark Barnes [enlarge]

Ember will be a short walk to the coming light rail station; and it has freeway access from the nearby Exit 181B.

Trent Development announced a new name and yesterday's commencement of construction for an apartment project at 19820 40th Ave. W. in Lynnwood . W.G. Clark Construction is building the eight-story, 361-unit Ember, which was designed by Clark Barnes.

The site is in the City Center area, just west of Interstate 5, where the city of Lynnwood is encouraging more density near the future Lynnwood City Center Station. Sound Transit intends to open that in 2024. It's about a 10-minute walk southwest from Ember, which Trent and partner Hatteras Sky hope to open about the same time. It will then be managed by Blanton Turner.

Trent Mummery said in a statement, “Sound Transit's investment in light rail infrastructure, along with the city's bold vision for the surrounding community, made this an exceptional opportunity to contribute to an up-and-coming neighborhood. We aim to deliver something that will act as a cornerstone on which others in the community can continue to build.”

Using the city's Multifamily Property Tax Exemption program, about 72 units at Ember will have rents deemed affordable to renters earning workforce wages. The city puts that at 60% to 120% of area median income.

Two L-shaped buildings will create a large central courtyard. Some of the 9,215 square feet of retail/commercial space will also evidently face the courtyard. Underground and structured parking will have 265 stalls.

Tenant amenities will include a game room, Top Golf Swing Suite, lounges and co-working spaces, fitness center, pet grooming and a basketball court. Bike parking will be convenient for those using the nearby Interurban Trail. The city recently completed a new trailhead where 40th dead ends there.

The developers' capital partner in the project, previously valued at around $110 million, is Cresset Diversified Real Estate Capital. Cresset, based in Chicago, is a specialist in Opportunity Zone funding. Trent has made something of a specialty with midrise projects in such federally tax favored O Zones — one of which covers most of Lynnwood. (The three parties are also partnering on the redevelopment of the former West Coast Printing property in the upper Rainier Valley; the 205-unit Hilite is now underway.)

Hatteras Sky, of Atlanta, entered our market two years ago to partner with Trent on the 268-unit Tapestry (the former Seattle Curtain property), which is also now under construction. The firm's Oz Friedmann said of the Lynnwood project, “We look forward to bringing Ember to life during a period of such pivotal transit-oriented growth in Lynnwood and the greater Seattle area.”

Trent says that Ember is its sixth project to begin construction in the past twelve months. The 2.5-acre Lynnwood property, once home to an old strip mall, sold to the developers about a year ago for $9.6 million. Trent says that AXA Venture Partners last month provided the construction loan. And Trent's website has a construction camera showing that the old building has been cleared to slab.

For its part, the city of Lynnwood estimates that 500 units are now under construction in City Center, with another 1,400 approved and expected. It further projects the creation of 500,000 square feet of offices and 200,000 square feet of retail. New streets, improved streets and a new park are also part of the plan.