First Permits Filed As Everett Riverfront Project Comes Into Focus

Wednesday night Gary Young and Eric Evans of Shelter Holdings presented their preliminary plans for the commercial portion of the Riverfront development to the Everett City Council. The development lies east of I-5 between the railroad tracks and the Snohomish River stretching from 41st street to Pacific Avenue.

At the south end of the property is the Overlook at Riverfront with 3, 4, and 5 bedroom single-family homes ranging from 1,600 to 2,700 square feet, selling in the half-a-million dollar price range. At the north end of the property is The Towns at Riverfront with 2, 3 & 4 bedroom townhomes ranging from 1,163 to 1,960 square feet, selling in the three hundred to four hundred thousand dollar price range.

The first permits have been filed with the city and more are expected to be submitted by the end of the month. The project has morphed over the years with the City of Everett spending tens of millions of dollars to clean up the former landfill and location of two mills dating back to the early 1900s.

The most recent plan was for a major destination-retailer to anchor the commercial development. After four years, the retailer decided not to move forward so the folks at Shelter Holdings who purchased the commercial property in 2013 reworked their plans.

“We came forward to the city in 2017 with a plan for a very vibrant mixed use property so we have a residential component supporting the retail component in something we’re very excited to move forward with,” said Gary Young, co-founder of Shelter Holdings and former executive with Polygon homes.

The plan includes about one point eight five million square feet of uses with a theater that centers and anchors an entertainment district, a specialty grocer, a series of mixed use buildings, approximately 1250 residences, about 230,000 square feet of retail, about 125,000 square feet of commercial with some of it possibly medical offices, 2700 parking spaces and potentially a 250 room hotel.

The plan is dynamic and Shelter Holdings is planning on building the Riverfront in phases. The first phase would include the theater, the specialty grocery and four mixed-use buildings. These four mixed-use buildings include approximately 300 residences, additional small shop retail and amenity spaces for residences.

Several council members addressed Young and Evans pressing for more specifics. Both said they could not reveal the theater operator or specialty grocer yet but were talking with multiple interested parties. They did say they are more than halfway there in getting the needed commitments.

From here the Riverfront designs will be sent to the Everett Planning Commission for review and approval. That will likely take a couple of months with the project coming back before the city council for ordinance amendments this spring.

MyEverettNews.com submitted some questions to Eric Evans after the presentation Wednesday night and received the following answers.

How much do you have invested up to this point?

We’ve made numerous, significant investment preparing for development of the Riverfront. In addition to architectural, civil and environmental design work and professional studies associated with the application, the team completed the first phase of the site’s grading, preparing for eventual construction of Riverfront Boulevard and the overall project. Detailed borings have also been completed to assess anticipated settlement and provide recommendations for all structures on the property.

Will pilings be driven this summer for Phase 1 along with the Riverfront Boulevard construction?

Yes. With the City’s support, the team hopes to pull building permits for the first four mixed-use buildings in Summer 2019. This enables us to begin piling through summer. We anticipate submitting the full Riverfront Boulevard design in late January. These plans will be reviewed by the City and Department of Ecology. Once approved, construction of Riverfront Boulevard could begin. Our plan is to be in position to commence this work in Q2 2019.

What is the status of the Issaquah Highlands and Mercer Island Town Center projects that Shelter Holdings is developing in King County?

The Issaquah Highlands project is a few years out, but a press release for the Mercer Island Town Center project with more information is available for review here.

What completed projects can people take a look at to see for themselves the work that you have done?

Ravello Apartments in downtown Redmond (located at 16180 NE 80th Street, Redmond) is a recent Shelter Holdings project and Bryant Heights in Seattle’s Ravenna neighborhood (located at 6580 32nd Ave NE, Seattle) is another example of a project that Shelter’s principals were involved in.

What should Everett residents (current and future) know about your plans for Riverfront?

Our vision is to create a vibrant, pedestrian-oriented, market-based mixed-use community with retail, commercial and residential housing options that will serve the residents and business of the City of Everett for the long-term. We look forward to developing and completing this project with the support of the City of Everett and the community.

With approvals, the first work on Riverfront Boulevard should begin this spring. MyEverettNews.com will continue to track further updates.