March 24, 2022

Kenmore could see huge project at Lakepointe

Renderings by Berkadia [enlarge]

Looking northeast, this purely conceptual marketing image shows the possible scale of the project.

[enlarge]

Looking west.

Plans for the boggy, over 40-acre waterfront site known as Lakepointe, on the north end of Lake Washington, go back to 1989 — nine years before the city of Kenmore was incorporated. To support a large mixed-use development at 6525 N.E. 175th St. would require extensive use of pilings, at great cost. Some estimates have exceeded $1 billion.

Weidner Apartment Homes backed out of a development deal with the city in 2018. That would’ve also involved the primary landowner, Pioneer Towing.

But now local shop Vector Development and Onward Investors, of Minnesota, are taking a swing at Lakepointe. On their behalf, Berkadia is seeking a new equity partner to join the team.

The ambitions are grand, on a site that could be expanded to 52 acres. (There are also five smaller, separately owned parcels in play.)

Per Berkadia’s joint venture offering, the city and developers would like to see 1,500 rental units; 1 million square feet of offices (with an emphasis on life science); 40,000 square feet of retail/commercial space; 5 acres of parks and outdoor amenities; and a new 0.75-mile trail around the peninsula, which juts out into the lake, south of Kenmore Air and north of the Sammamish River.

Vector and architect CollinsWoerman showed an early plan to the city last summer. That had offices, retail, two hotels, but no residential component. It’s apparently been revised.

Jeff Williams is leading the Berkadia effort for Vector and Onward. The DJC was unable to reach those parties before deadline for comment.

The listing states, “Our client is seeking an equity partner to acquire and complete horizontal development of the site. Plus, the opportunity to participate in the vertical development.”

To acquire the Pioneer property would require a large checkbook. The county values it at $19.2 million.

Vector is best known as a developer of industrial and commercial projects, not multifamily. Onward has been a regular buyer and seller here. CEO John Solberg previously led Opus Northwest (now Opus Group), which once had an office here and was then a major force in our market.

Unsurprisingly, given Kenmore’s industrial past, Lakepointe is on the state Department of Ecology list of polluted sites. (Ecology also calls it Kenmore Industrial Park, which has a long and tangled history.) Ecology approved a cleanup plan over a decade ago. Remediation will likely be the responsibility of future owners; only then would Ecology issue a determination of no further action (NFA).

Part of the land is fill, where demolition debris was dumped from 1969 to 1976. However, Ecology’s assessment is that, “This site does not represent a significant environmental risk. During the remedial investigations conducted in the 1990s, soil and ground water, sediment and landfill gases were tested and the only known chemicals of concern are petroleum oil and diesel, arsenic, barium and lead.”

North of the peninsula and south of the Burke-Gilman Trail is the 6-acre Glacier Northwest property, with Cadman as a tenant, which locals simply call the cement plant. Ecology says that remediation has been done there.

That property last traded in 2013 for about $11 million. It’s included in the Berkadia offering as a secondary phase or supplement to the main Pioneer/Lakepointe property.

Both are within the boundaries of the CollinsWoerman scheme from last year, which also includes parcels on the northwest corner of the expanse, at 68th Avenue Northeast. There, future developers would evidently buy one parcel from Weidner, and three others from private hands.

The Kenmore city manager couldn’t be reached to comment on the new Vector-Onward plan.

In an entirely separate process, the city and King County Metro are discussing a possible new water taxi line that would run from Lakepointe to Husky Stadium.