Tulalips see potential in former Plant Farm

Published 2:46 pm Wednesday, March 16, 2016

For more than 20 years, the Plant Farm property in north Marysville, adjacent to I-5, was a well known destination for gardeners.

Then, the business closed in late 2014.

The Tulalip Tribes have purchased the 45-acre site, which still has the Plant Farm signs and greenhouses on the property.

“We have no immediate plans for the site, it was an investment we made because of the prime location of the property, adjacent to Interstate 5 and just south of the Lakewood Crossing Shopping Center,” said Mel Sheldon Jr., chairman of the Tulalip Tribes board of directors.

Records show that the tribes purchased the land for $12.5 million on March 17, 2014, according to Marysville planning manager Chris Holland.

In the same area, the Stillaguamish Tribe purchased 5.4 acres adjacent to the former Plant Farm. The Stillaguamish Tribe operates Angel of the Winds casino and hotel, a popular attraction north of Arlington. The land was purchased by the tribe on June 14, 2011 for $2.3 million, according to Marysville planning department records.

Eric White, vice chairman and controller for the Stillaguamish Tribe’s accounting department, said the land was bought before Marysville’s annexation and is bordered on three sides by the Tulalip Tribes’ property.

“We have no concrete plans at the moment,” he said. “The land includes a group of trees at the south end of the former Plant Farm property.”

There’s no doubt the area is close to prime retail development and housing.

There are two major shopping centers nearby — the Lakewood Crossing Shopping Center with Best Buy, and Costco and the just coming online The Marketplace, with Dick’s Sporting Goods and other stores.

In that area, two new major housing developments are opening with several hundred new apartments.

The shopping centers and apartment properties — as well as the former Plant Farm property — are part of a large area annexed recently by the city of Marysville.