BELLINGHAM — When Cevin Ladwig Jr. moved into a studio in Marketplace Apartments recently, he didn’t know anything about the saga that led to the new building at Holly Street and Railroad Avenue.
But his excitement about living downtown was exactly the reaction that city officials were hoping for when they embarked on the public-private partnership that transformed a hole in the ground near the center of downtown.
The city has invested about $725,000 into the project since 1997. The city bought the property and paid for construction of a concrete pad that brought the site up to street level, readying it for a four-story building.
The city still owns the land, but is leasing it to Marketplace Development, a partnership of Jeff McClure of Ross McClure Cornwell Architects, and Jeff Kochman, president of Talbot Real Estate Co.
The city spent the money to jump-start the revitalization of downtown.
"Downtown is awesome," said Ladwig. "I like the atmosphere. There’s so much fun stuff to do."
He listed cafes, art shops, bookstores, "knick-knacky shops" and a good nightlife.
His parents, Cevin (pronounced Kevin) Sr. and Kelly Ladwig of Yakima helped him move on a recent Wednesday and stayed in his studio apartment until Sunday, sleeping in the enclosed area that serves as a bedroom while Cevin Jr. used the couch.
Cevin Jr. plans to attend Whatcom Community College, then Western Washington University, where he’s thinking about majoring in marine biology. He chose Bellingham because he likes the area and plans to snowboard at Mount Baker Ski Area on weekends.
He came to town about a month ago to find an apartment. He likes the building because it’s stylish and not run-down, as was another apartment he looked at downtown. In his apartment, he likes the sleeping area’s half-walls, and the tall ceilings, which vary from 9 to 10 feet.
"I fell in love with it," he said.
Recently, McClure walked city officials through the nearly finished building. On the building’s ground floor facing Railroad Avenue, workers were spackling wallboard to prepare for end-of-December occupancy by Associated General Contractors and Ross McClure Cornwell Architects, where McClure is a partner. The retail space facing Holly is not yet leased.
"We’ll start in the basement, where history was made about a year and half ago," McClure told the city officials at the start of their tour.
He was referring to the May "pit" protests last year, when the hole in the ground left after a 1994 fire was occupied for five days by young people who wanted the city to turn the site into a park.
The basement ceiling is the cement pad financed by the city. The developers fireproofed the basement space and added chain-link enclosures that residents will use for storage.
Forty apartments share the second, third and fourth stories, ranging in size from about 350 square feet to about 1,200 square feet. The tour ended in apartment No. 405, with a ceiling that slopes from 14 feet to 12 feet, two full walls of windows and a view of the San Juan Islands from the living room.
McClure thanked the city for its investment, which, he said, gave the developers the chance to use some of their budget to do something out of the ordinary.
Copyright ©2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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