December 1, 2025

New on the market in Bellingham, the old Granary Building

Photo via CBRE [enlarge]

The building has an occupancy rate of 81%, and is home to several small tenants. The three condo buildings are now rising to the left.

The Granary Building, on the Bellingham waterfront, was one of the very first chess pieces to begin moving on the 237-acre former Georgia-Pacific property.

A dozen-plus years ago, the Port of Bellingham began planning a major cleanup and redevelopment. It then selected Irish firm Harcourt to begin the process at what's now branded as the Waterfront District.

The century-old Granary Building, at 1211 Granary Ave., was then vacant. The port sold it to Harcourt in 2016 for a few bucks; then followed a comprehensive restoration under RMI Architects, also based in Belfast, with Harcourt as the general contractor. The reno wrapped in 2019.

Now it could be yours. CBRE put it on the market last week, unpriced. Whatcom County values it at $11.2 million. The building, with about 38,315 square feet (plus basement), has a healthy occupancy rate of 81%, and is home to several small tenants.

There's no stated deadline for offers. The individual brokers are Steve Brunette, Patrick Kane and Ryan Brunette. The cap rate isn't stated. The major vacancy is a restaurant suite with 5,025 square feet. For that, the leasing broker is Chris Erdmann at eXp Commercial.

The Granary Building gave rise to the new avenue bearing its name; that leads south to a trio of mixed-use condominium buildings, with 94 units also being sold by eXp.

In the center of the cleared expanse are walking paths, Kulshan Brewing's beer garden and a BMX park. Sculptural elements, preserved from old industrial use, include masonry silos, the “acid ball” in Waypoint Park and six rusty old digesters left behind by Georgia Pacific.

Another portion of the district features the 83-unit Millworks, an affordable housing project from Mercy Housing Northwest. A Phase II addition is also brewing there.

What comes next at the Waterfront District? The port voted in May to terminate its development agreement with Harcourt. It once had an option to develop about 19 acres, which was subsequently reduced to the Granary and three condo buildings. Once the latter are done, and contaminated soils are removed, Harcourt will exit, says the port.

No new partner has been tipped for the possible Boardmill hotel, plus more retail, industrial buildings and apartments. The port had once envisioned a possible 2 million square feet of development.