11 Snohomish County projects to watch in 2011
Published 12:33 pm Friday, December 24, 2010
It feels like bleak times.
The economy stinks. At this time of the year, even the dreary weather seems to conspire against us.
We wanted to end the year by giving you a few things to look forward to.
We picked 11 projects that are in the works for 2011. These are projects being built in Snohomish County that should make a lasting mark on local communities.
The majority should either be finished by the end of next year, or be well on their way.
The list includes both private business ventures, the work of nonprofits and projects paid for with your hard-earned tax dollars.
A few of these, like the delivery of Boeing’s 787, should pump dollars and jobs into the economy. Others, such as the completion of a new medical tower, will make life better.
A few are just plain fun.
1. Providence Regional Medical Center Everett tower
What it is: The tower will have 372 patient rooms and an expanded emergency room the size of three National Hockey League ice rinks. The new building will offer a variety of high-tech diagnostic and imaging equipment. Patients should no longer have to wait up to an average of three hours when they visit the emergency room.
Why it matters: The tower should bring improved and expanded health care to the county’s growing population. The millions of dollars spent just on building the tower is an economic shot in the arm. At 12 stories, it will be the tallest building in Everett’s skyline. While the tower isn’t popular with north Everett neighbors, the larger community is expected to benefit in the long term.
Cost: $460 million
Completion: Expected to open in June.
2. USS Nimitz is coming
What it is: OK, this isn’t a project in the brick-and-mortar sense but the replacement for the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier at Naval Station Everett is tremendously important for the county. And getting ready for the arrival of thousands of new sailors and their families will certainly be a project of sorts.
Why it matters: The naval station is the county’s second largest employer, behind Boeing. Local businesses depend on those sailors and their dollars. Plus, there’s a certain amount of civic pride in having that gorgeous, powerful aircraft carrier in port.
Completion: The Nimitz is in Bremerton right now and it will be nearly a year before we see the ship anchored on Everett’s waterfront.
3. Lynnwood recreation center
What it is: The new center, at the same location as the old one at 18900 44th Ave. W, will feature five pools, each with different temperatures. The existing lap pool will be upgraded. And a new recreational pool suitable for families, with riverlike currents and a wading area, will be built. Other improvements include the addition of a warm-water therapy pool, a hot tub for families and a hot tub for adults.
Two new water slides, which will be visible from the facility’s north parking lot, will send swimmers into the recreational pool. A new fitness area will triple the existing weight room’s size.
Why it matters: We know this is a controversial project. With the city of Lynnwood in dismal financial straits, people have criticized the decision to move forward with the Taj Mahal of community pools. However, anybody with a kid or an inner kid can’t help but be a little excited about this project. This complex is going to become a favorite with families far beyond Lynnwood. Maybe Lynnwood officials can forget about the city’s money problems with a float on the lazy river.
Cost: $25.5 million
Completion: spring 2011
4. Centennial Trail Expansion
What it is: Workers are finishing a 20-block gap in the trail in Arlington and also completing a trail extension north of town that should take the trail to the Skagit County line.
Why it matters: Finally, we’ll be able to ride our bikes from Snohomish all the way to Skagit County by end of next year.
Cost: Around $3.6 million for both projects combined
Completion: fall 2011
5. Imagine Children’s Museum
What it is: The nonprofit wants to turn a parking garage attached to its main building at 1502 Wall St. in Everett into a wood lodge-style exhibit space. The plans call for a performance stage, two family rest rooms, storage and a new workshop to fix the things that get broken in such a hands-on place. The extra space will allow the museum to host traveling exhibits.
Why it matters: The museum has been wildly popular since it opened in 2004. It’s so well used that there’s hardly elbow room on busy nights and weekends.
Cost: $5 million
Completion: It’s hard to pinpoint when this project will be done. Construction is expected to take three or four months. The final $1 million must be raised before workers can get started.
6. The Tulalip Tribes Hibulb Cultural Center and Natural History Preserve
What it is: The Tulalip Tribes are putting finishing touches on a new 8,500-square-foot museum to display the history and culture of the tribes. The center 6410 23rd Ave. NE in Tulalip takes its name from a former stronghold at the nearby mouth of the Snohomish River known as Hibulb (Preston Point).
Why it matters: The museum will serve as the centerpiece of tribal history and culture and as a source of education for the public.
Cost: $19 million
Opening: summer 2011
7. Rosehill Community Center
What it is: A local arts and recreation hub for the community of Mukilteo. The new two-story building with steel and wood facade and huge windows at Third Street and Lincoln Avenue.
Why it matters: Mukilteo’s aging, cramped community center badly needed to be replaced.
Cost: $12.9 million
Completion: February
8. Schack Arts Center
What it is: An arts center that will feature a gallery shop, exhibit space and classrooms for workshops. The space will remain largely utilitarian and open. Visitors will be able to walk in and view glassblowers working with globs of hot glass. The public also will be able to take classes. The Snohomish County Arts Council raised nearly all the money to build the center.
Why it matters: This is Everett’s first regional arts center, a place that should become a gathering point for artists and be one of the best glass-blowing facilities in the region. Much of it will be open to the public, which officials hope will improve foot traffic downtown. It’s located on the ground floor of the Artspace Everett Lofts at the 2900 block of Hoyt Avenue, next door to the Monte Cristo Hotel.
Cost: $6.4 million
Completion: spring 2011
9. Everett downtown plaza
What it is: People strolling through downtown should be able to enjoy a new city park by the end of next year. The new plaza, located off Wetmore Avenue, will include a space for arts events, tiered seats and trees. The centerpiece will be a fountain designed by Northwest artist Linda Beaumont.
Why it matters: A good place to eat lunch or rally against the machine.
Cost: $2.7 million
Completion: late 2011
10. Highway 529 Ebey Slough bridge
What it is: The state plans to replace the existing two-lane bridge with a wider, four-lane bridge with sidewalks and a bike lane. The new bridge will feature sidewalks and separate bicycle lanes. Highway 529 will be realigned to meet the new bridge, which will be located east of the existing one. A two-way left turn lane just north of the new bridge is also planned.
Why it matters: This project will improve safety for bicyclists and pedestrians using the bridge. Even better, traffic will no longer grind to a halt every time the bridge swings open to let boats through, because the new bridge won’t open for marine traffic. That, along with the extra lanes, will reduce traffic congestion along this commuter route.
Cost: $42.2 million
Completion: 2013
11. 787 Dreamliner delivery
What it is: The 787 is the company’s most fuel-efficient airliner and the world’s first major airliner to use composite materials for most of its construction. It will give passengers a much-improved flying experience. This should be listed much higher, but it’s been delayed so much that we didn’t want to get our hopes up.
Why it matters: Jobs, jobs, jobs. And Boeing has bet big on its success.
Completion: Hard to say. Multiple delays have pushed back deliveries. The latest target is mid-February, but that was before an in-flight electrical fire Nov. 9 halted flight testing until Dec. 23.
Here are a few others to look forward to:
Swedish emergency room: Swedish Health Services of Seattle plans to open a $30 million stand-alone emergency room at the spot of the former Puget Park Drive-In.
Everett Community College student fitness center: EvCC will celebrate the opening of its $19.5 million Student Fitness Center Jan. 8 after the first basketball game to be played in the new gym. The fitness center is off Broadway near the Everett Transit Center’s College Station and EvCC’s main campus.
Everett Municipal Court: The new building will sit on city-owned land adjacent to the existing building at 3024 Wetmore Ave. between Pacific Avenue and Wall Street.
Soccer: Fans can watch the North Sound SeaWolves at Goddard Stadium at Mariner High School next season.
Evergreen Fairgrounds: By fair time, there should be a new, $3 million exhibition hall at the state fairgrounds.
Lake Stevens Sewer District plant, a state-of-the-art megaproject that should reach substantial completion in 2011. It’s scheduled to begin operating in 2012.
Machias and Riverview elementary schools: Classes are set to begin Jan. 3 at two new elementary schools in the Snohomish School District. Machias and Riverview campuses each cost more than $30 million. The money came from a $261 million bond measure voters approved in 2008.
Paine Field: The Federal Aviation Administration could make a determination on whether to allow commercial flights at Snohomish County’s airport, Paine Field.
