Floor-to-ceiling windows that promise a mountain sunrise by morning and waterfront sunset by night sold Cecilia Gordon on her new apartment.
"The view is so large and panoramic and so breathtaking," Gordon said of her one-bedroom suite on the northeast corner of downtown Everett’s new Peninsula Apartments. "From the living room, it looks just massive, as though it goes on and on to the mountains."
Gordon still lives across the street from Peninsula and watched closely as the building rose over the past year. She contacted Skotdal Real Estate for information early this year and moves in next month.
Developed and built by Skotdal Real Estate and Everett architect Chuck Ogden, the seven-floor building has 63 luxury apartments. The studio, one-bedroom and slightly larger units range up to about 1,000 square feet and lease for $660-$1,200. The 61,000 square-foot building also will hold 2,500 square feet of first-floor commercial space.
Skotdal Real Estate President Craig Skotdol said his family wanted to build a project that would help revitalize downtown Everett and meet a demand for upscale, urban living.
"The goal was to bring people downtown to live," Skotdal said
Skotdal and Ogden proudly said quality and a blend of modern design and warm accents set their project apart.
Peninsula’s western face includes an outdoor courtyard with terraced planters and stainless steel and glass railings. A wide terrace extends from its south side. Every surface of the building was articulated to give it dimension and create view opportunities.
"We really wanted to break up the profile of the building to make it visually interesting, both for people on the street and the residents," Skotdal said.
Inside, a softly-lit cherry wood entry hall leads to a lobby and elevators. With 12 different floor plans, no two apartments on any one floor are exactly alike.
"The way the building was designed, each suite has a corner view," Ogden said. "They’re all unique."
Ogden and Skotdal said keeping noise down and letting natural light in were two primary goals. Each level is separated by a concrete sub-floor and dividing walls include two layers of Sheetrook and a layer of metal baffling. All of the units have nine-foot ceilings and numerous Milgard windows.
Ogden also worked to incorporate architectural features popular in Seattle, such as studio lofts separated by half-walls. All of the units have wood-style vinyl flooring in the kitchens and bathrooms and a full-sized Whirlpool washer and dryer and kitchen appliances.
Telecommunications received special treatment. A "central command center," in the bowels of Peninsula protects neatly arranged banks of high-capacity wires and switches ready to carry Internet access, phone and data lines, cable and satellite TV to the apartments. Each unit is pre-wired through small metal cabinets in the hall closet and has universal outlets in several rooms.
Additionally, Skotdal has arranged an exclusive service agreement with local access provider FiberCloud. The high-speed service is available courtesy of a rooftop wireless connection between Peninsula and Skotdal Real Estate’s nearby Bank of America building.
Residents also can enjoy the companionship of pets, controlled-access entry, laundry pick-up and delivery service by Colby Cleaners, bike storage, paid covered parking and discounts at Gold’s Gym. But the feature that Skotdal Real Estate touts most is location.
"It’s a good, central location," said one of the first residents to move in, Shauna Major. "In the last week, we’ve spent quite a bit of money right here on Colby Avenue."
And she and husband Bill have hardly moved their car outside of his quick commute to Goodrich Corp. Shauna’s commute is even shorter. A Met Life broker who previously worked from home, she-s moving into one of Peninsula’s office spaces.
The Majors, who were living in a 2,200 square-foot Bothell apartment, first discovered Peninsula on their way home after entertaining business associates at The Flying Pig Brewery.
"We just thought it would be nice at our age to walk out the front door and visit a good restaurant," Shauna Major said. We wanted to try urban living. Last year we looked in Seattle and found the commute just prohibitive, and the cost per-square-foot seemed too high."
Urban living isn’t entirely new to Gordon, an accountant for a firm of Snohomish fisheries biologists who moved from that smaller town about a year ago to an older, downtown Everett apartment building.
"I wanted to experience living in a town that seems to be growing, trying to find its direction again, and I’m seeing that I’m liking what’s going on," she said, adding that she especially enjoys the burgeoning arts community here.
Gordon and the Majors represent the demographic segments Skotdal Real Estate had in mind: single professionals and empty-nesters.
An Everett tax incentive encouraged Skotdal Real Estate to develop Peninsula, he added. The city is offering developers who build new downtown housing a 10-year tax exemption on those buildings, although taxes are collected on the land and on any commercial space.
"It costs more to develop in a city … so it’s a good incentive," Skotdal said. "It will pay off for the city because it’s growing its tax base. In 10 years, the city gets taxes on a building where there used to be a gravel parking lot. In the meantime, we’re bringing people into the downtown."
Kristin Fetters-Walp is a Lake Stevens freelance writer.
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