Everett’s planning department is mulling over plans for the 70-acre Cemex sand-and-gravel site on Glenwood Ave., examining a proposal by Cemex to develop the nearby depleted aggregate site into a new economic center highlighted by hundreds of homes, retail shops and office buildings.
Public comment ended Oct. 26. Now the commission is preparing to report its decision to the Everett City Council, which could make a decision on the development as early as the end of this year.
Originally developed as Associated Sand &Gravel decades ago, the industrial site provided materials for building the Seattle World’s Fair Space Needle, Pacific Northwest freeways and homes and roads throughout the region.
More recently operated by Australia’s Rinker Materials, it was recently sold to Mexico’s Cemex Corp., becoming part of the company’s worldwide network.
While the development could provide a new economic growth center for the city, it would also eliminate 70 acres of industrial-zoned land. Some tenants, such as Food Services of America, have already built facilities at the end of the sand-and-gravel operation.
Dubbed the Mountain View Business Park, the site being closed out over several years on Glenwood Ave. seemed destined to become a major industrial development adjacent to the Seaway Center business park.
Now, Cemex is proposing a dramataic shift in plans, asking the city to approve residential and business development on the industrial site.
Among city considerations are the loss of precious industrial property and what impact the residential and business development would have on traffic flow, schools and the city’s tax base.
At the same time, it’s an opportune moment for the city to develop a master-planned community with significant economic benefits of its own, generating jobs and providing new housing.
The Cemex proposal includes 1,045 closely-spaced single-family homes, apartments and town homes separated by areas of common green space. At the corner of Glenwood Avenue and Sievers-Duecy Boulevard — named for George Duecy and Roy Sievers, the founders of Associated Sand &Gravel Co. — would be shops, restaurants and some additional housing.
[CORRECTION: The November 2009 Snohomish County Business Journal erroneously wrote that “Sievers and Duecy Boulevard was named for George Duecy &Roy Sievers, the founders of Associated Sand &Gravel. Tom O’Day of Mukilteo corrected the error for us: Roy Sievers was part of the H.O Sieffert Co. which was last located where the current Lowes is today. Associated Sand &Gravel, which was originally Sievers &Duecy, was formed by George Duecy and Howard Sievers.]
Another 30 acres on the Northwest edge, adjacent to Seaway Center, would be light industry, along with 14 acres of public plazas, green space and pathways. on the site.
The conflict over future choices is compounded by the priority the city gave to industrial development on the site 15 years ago, key to attracting new businessess and creating new jobs.
Cemex is part of the largest industrial and manufacturing center in Snohomish County. In the same area, businesses such as Campbell’s StockPot Soups and JanSport provide jobs for thousands of workers. The city has targeted the area for more similar uses in the future.
Previously, Rinker Materials donated land near the development for baseball fields and open space, plus many acres for city parks. The city already has 100 acres for parks that isn’t suitable for industrial or residential development.
City studies already have shown that the proposed development would create more traffic congestion than if the area was developed with industrial properties.
Also, if homes were developed according to the Cemex proposal, as many as 400 more students could be added to area schools.
Another factor to consider is whether to add mroe than 1,000 homes to an area close to Paine Field. The Boeing Co. has asked Cemex for an aviation easement that would provide information to homebuyers about the airfield so none of them would buy homes unaware of that aviation facility and Boeing’s presence.
Determining the future of such a huge development and its impact on the city will be a major project for city officials for several months to come.
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