Buildings are rising along the waterfront and on the river

This is one of a collection of stories marking the Port of Everett’s 100th anniversary in July.

As it celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, the Port of Everett’s five-year capital improvement plan includes 115 projects.

Because most of the port’s properties are developed or are in the process of being developed, its newest initiative is to “go north.” The port has begun to focus on “emerging opportunities in north Snohomish County” in an effort to create create “thousands of family-wage jobs,” port officials said.

They have a long list of planned improvements, large and small:

Waterfront Place — When fully developed, the 65-acre Waterfront Place Central redevelopment project is expected to support nearly 2,100 jobs. Private development is expected to generate $8.6 million each year in state and local sales taxes. The first phase involves developing the so-called Fisherman’s Harbor District, a 12-acre development of apartments, hotels, restaurants and shops within the port’s 65-acre central mixed-use waterfront area.

Last month, SeaLevel Properties purchased 5.44 acres for $7 million, a deal that’s been in the works since 2016. SeaLevel, a division of Mercer Island-based American Classic Homes, plans to build 266 apartments. Construction is expected to begin this fall. “This property sale allows housing on the waterfront for the first time in Everett’s history,” said the port’s acting CEO, Lisa Lefeber.

Hotel Indigo, a 142-room waterfront hotel, is under construction and is expected to open mid-2019. Also planned is an uninterrupted public trail along the Everett waterfront. And opening next year will be Pacific Rim Plaza, a public space that celebrates the port’s history and partnerships.

Riverside Business Park — The port acquired this 95-acre property, a former Weyerhaeuser mill on the Snohomish River in northeast Everett, in 1998. The business park’s master plan calls for redeveloping the old Weyerhaeuser Everett East lumber processing site into a 78-acre business park with industrial, warehousing and manufacturing space. Twenty years after its purchase, the business park is finally taking shape. In 2010, Motor Trucks purchased a parcel for $7.5 million and opened an International truck dealership.

The distribution center for Federal Express is expected to open late this summer. A 102,500 square-foot building for an aerospace supplier opened in March. Late last year, Panatonni Development Co., bought nearly 10 acres at Riverside for $3.7 million to build a light manufacturing facility on spec, said Terrie Battuello, the port’s chief of business development. The new developments should add 700 about well-paying jobs.

Arlington-Marysville Manufacturing Industrial Center — The port is partnering with the cities of Arlington and Marysville and the Economic Alliance Snohomish County to help develop industrial manufacturing properties, with the goal of creating 25,000 jobs by 2040.

Marina Village — In April, Washington State University’s School of Food Science leased 4,800 square feet of office space at Marina Village on Everett’s main waterfront near Anthony’s Homeport restaurant. It will be the home of an advanced food technology center.

Janice Podsada: jpodsada@heraldnet.com.