EVERETT — New restaurants, filled-up storefronts and more feet strolling sidewalks during the past five years raised optimism about downtown Everett’s long-term prospects.
The first years after the Comcast Arena opened saw many new restaurants along Hewitt Avenue. And some newly arrived business owners point to downtown’s revitalization as a reason they’ve opened up stores in the city’s center.
Susan Gates-Ludwig opened The Spare Room, a vintage furniture and antique market, at 1820 Hewitt Ave., on the long-empty corner just yards from the events center’s front doors. So far, she’s pleased with the customer numbers.
“If we get as much traffic as we’ve had the first few weeks, we’ll be fine,” said Gates-Ludwig, who also has a similar shop on Camano Island.
But other business owners worry about downtown’s present. Big new downtown residential projects are still a year or two away from completion, and the economy seems to be slowing.
“I believe the momentum’s gone,” said Joel Starr, co-owner of Tailgater Joe’s sports bar and restaurant on Hewitt. “I’m very disappointed with what I’m seeing on Hewitt especially.”
Hewitt Avenue, downtown’s east-to-west thoroughfare, has lingering empty storefronts. Upstairs from street levels, offices sit empty.
“Everett’s underachieving as a downtown office, retail and residential story,” said Tom Hoban of Coast Real Estate, which owns or manages several downtown buildings.
Meanwhile, some established shops are leaving, though not always for lack of business. Recently, Schiavo’s Bakery closed on Hewitt. Beyond the Blue Bridal, at the high-profile corner of Wetmore and Hewitt avenues, will close soon as owner Dale Preboski looks ahead to other things. A relatively young bookstore next door also is closing.
And H&L Sports, a stalwart among downtown businesses since 1940, is relocating next month from its Colby Avenue hub to a much larger space near Everett Station to handle its growing apparel supply business to local schools and sports leagues.
There already are large empty office and retail spaces along Colby, said Craig Skotdal, president of Skotdal Real Estate, which is downtown’s single-largest landlord. Those include the former Ashmead College space and the recently purchased old Federal Building. Skotdal Real Estate’s own Bank of America building at the corner of Hewitt and Colby has 7,000 square feet of available office space.
There’s no one factor at work. Starr said he thinks fewer big events at the Comcast Arena have hurt restaurants on Hewitt, as have general economic conditions. Aging downtown buildings badly in need of at least cosmetic improvements don’t help, he and Skotdal agree.
“If we’re going to give existing and future businesses a chance to thrive, we need to create an environment that supports that,” Skotdal said. “It’s frustrating to see new business owners create something unique and special only to find that they can’t overcome the negative perceptions of their surroundings.”
He points out that some of the same property owners who don’t keep up their buildings also don’t pay the downtown business improvement area assessment, which helps to maintain downtown sidewalks, common areas, the Everpark parking garage and other services.
Getting landlords to cooperate is a problem, agreed Karen Shaw, the city of Everett’s director of economic development and human needs.
She said city officials are limited in ways to force building owners to pay the improvement area assessment, but they are looking at getting more aggressive. The city also is studying minimal maintenance standards for owners that could improve downtown’s aesthetic appeal.
But Shaw and Lanie McMullin, the city’s executive director for economic development, dispute the notion that downtown has lost all its revitalized momentum. Some restaurants are thriving and others are expanding, they said.
“I think the trend is going forward as more housing comes online,” McMullin said. “The jobs are here, the office space is here. All we need are the residential densities downtown to move up.”
The city has focused on encouraging residential development in its central blocks, but the progress has been slow. The last major new apartment building downtown was finished four years ago.
Skotdal, whose firm built those units, now is overseeing the 200-unit Library Place development near the Everett Public Library. Across the street, several condominiums will be part of the new Elks Lodge building. More apartments could be under construction by year’s end at the corner of Rucker and Pacific avenues, but some other downtown projects have been put on ice because of difficulties in financing or with the market.
The city hopes to have work starting by the year’s end on a new Hoyt Avenue building that will house apartments and art studio spaces. The city also is gathering bids from developers interested in building something on a city-owned parking lot at Colby Avenue and Wall Street.
Starr said he’s confident more people will be living downtown in two or three years, but some shops and restaurants can’t survive until then if business doesn’t pick up sooner.
“It’s a very slippery, steep slope that we’re on right now,” he said. “I don’t have two or three years.”
Starr would like to see more marketing of downtown Everett. Hoban wants to revive the idea of installing a trolley rail line from the city’s future riverfront development area, through downtown and on to the Port of Everett’s Port Gardner Bay development, which will one day include a mix of condos and businesses. Mayor Ray Stephanson tabled that proposal last month, saying it was premature and too spendy for now.
“It’s expensive, and it’s easy for anyone to get sticker shock on the initial costs until you study all the benefits,” Hoban said.
Installing a fixed rail for the trolley will spur developers to take new interest in properties and projects along that route, Hoban said.
Skotdal said everyone supports big projects such as the riverfront and Port of Everett developments, along with efforts to attract a University of Washington branch campus to the city. But he hopes smaller projects that also could have a more immediate effect on downtown don’t get lost in the focus on bigger things.
“It’s about taking small, achievable steps that create positive results and give investors confidence. The boutique wine store, the pocket park, the new sidewalk with fresh flowers — they all bring a little extra energy to the mix that can produce substantial changes over time,” Skotdal said. “Large projects like Comcast Arena or a potential UW branch campus are important, but it’s the smaller projects in between that are critical for sustaining momentum.”
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com
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