Clock ticking on Everett’s land offer for new hotel

EVERETT — A developer stands to take ownership of city land next month to build a downtown hotel, but it could pay a hefty price if it fails to start construction by next fall under a deal set to close next month.

The hotel project at the corner of Colby Avenue and Wall Street has been plagued by delays, causing disappointment and frustration among some civic leaders.

The agreement, originally inked in 2008, has undergone nine amendments.

The latest turn is a real estate deal between Everett and Touchstone Corp. of Seattle, set to close Dec. 18. That would make for amendment No. 10.

If all goes as planned, the city would give Touchstone a half-acre parcel to build an eight-story Courtyard by Marriott hotel. The developer would give Everett $500,000, which it could eventually get back.

Touchstone would forfeit the money if it fails to begin construction by Oct. 31. The developer also must secure more than $5 million in equity financing for the project by the end of June.

The city would get the land back if timelines aren’t met.

The potential penalties led City Councilman Arlan Hatloe to lend his reluctant support to the agreement.

“It’s disappointing that it took so long to get developed, and I’m not all that convinced that it will,” he said.

Hatloe was one of six council members who voted unanimously on Nov. 14 to authorize Mayor Ray Stephanson to move ahead with the project.

That said, Hatloe and others in city leadership believe it’s a good idea to encourage the construction of a hotel to revitalize Everett’s downtown core.

Touchstone’s earlier predictions for groundbreaking have passed with no discernible progress. One was in the spring of 2011, another was last summer. The company has cited trouble obtaining financing as a reason for the delays.

The latest agreement would call for completion by October 2015.

The land in question is behind the Everett Police Department and is used as a city parking lot. Everett bought the former site of a car dealership for $250,000 in the early 1970s.

Earlier iterations of the deal had the developer paying Everett $1.6 million for the parcel, slightly more than the land’s appraised value.

Instead of money for the land, Everett now expects to get the right to use 48 spaces in the hotel’s parking garage. That number is based on an estimated market rate of $33,000 per space.

Touchstone has developed several projects throughout the metro Puget Sound area, including big-box retail stores, office buildings and a 150-room hotel in Kirkland.

For the Everett project, the developer’s architect has shown designs for a 156-room hotel, with most rooms having mountain or water views. Other features include a pool and street-level shops. An underground parking garage off Wall Street would have at least three levels.

The project is designed and permits are ready once everything else is in place, according to a City Council briefing earlier this month.

Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465; nhaglund@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Kelli Littlejohn, who was 11 when her older sister Melissa Lee was murdered, speaks to a group of investigators and deputies to thank them for bringing closure to her family after over 30 years on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘She can rest in peace’: Jury convicts Bothell man in 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Everett police searching for missing child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive. The child was missing under “suspicious circumstances.”

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

T.J. Peters testifies during the murder trial of Alan Dean at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Bothell cold case trial now in jury’s hands

In court this week, the ex-boyfriend of Melissa Lee denied any role in her death. The defendant, Alan Dean, didn’t testify.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.