MILL CREEK — If a proposal to build two five-story buildings here is approved, the city will have met its goal for housing development and be able to turn its attention to attracting more businesses.
That’s according to Mill Creek Community Development Director Tom Rogers. He and city staff are working with a developer, Vintage Housing, on an agreement to subdivide almost four acres for a mixed-use development along 132nd St. SE in the East Gateway Urban Village.
The California-based developer wants to erect two five-story buildings that would have commercial space on the lower level and affordable housing for seniors above. They would be located just west of the Gateway Building.
Mill Creek has scheduled a public hearing on the project at 6 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall.
“It has the potential to be controversial because it is a five-story building,” Rogers said.
Still, he said, Mill Creek needs more housing for seniors and affordable rents are hard to come by in anywhere the city.
Vintage plans to build 216 apartments for people who are older than 55 and have incomes that are below 60 percent of the median for the area.
“We’ve had our eye on Mill Creek for a while,” said Ryan Patterson, of Vintage Housing. “We think there’s a need there.”
He expects rents for the apartments in Mill Creek to range from about $850 to $1,100 a month. If approved, construction could start as early as March 2016. It could take up to two years to complete.
The two buildings would also have 15,539 square feet of retail and commercial business space on the lower level. There would parking for customers and three garages available to residents.
Patterson said it’s too early to say which businesses would be housed in the commercial space but he believes a beauty salon and a fitness center would be a good fit.
Mill Creek is doing a study to see what kinds of businesses could succeed along the 132nd St. SE commercial corridor, including the East Gateway Urban Village and how they might affect the city’s bottom line. Mill Creek is also looking at how it could lure various types of businesses. Once the study is complete, Rogers said, the City Council will decide which of the business types Mill Creek wants to attract. The city will then consider how to tweak its zoning rules to help.
If the City Council decides to approve a development agreement with Vintage Housing after Tuesday’s hearing, work on plans and environmental approvals will begin. Once all the plans are in place, the project will go before the city’s Hearing Examiner for final review.
The City Council packets are available on Mill Creek’s website with detailed information about the Vintage Housing project.
Amy Nile: 425-339-3192; anile@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @AmyNileReports.
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