EVERETT — The walls finally came tumbling down Monday on the building where the Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks met for 45 years.
The building at 2731 Rucker Ave. in downtown Everett is making way for Library Place, a new 200-unit residential development from Skotdal Real Estate.
With an estimated cost of $30 million, it will be the largest privately funded project to date in downtown Everett.
Over recent months, crews have prepared for the old building’s demolition, relocating utility equipment and removing hazardous materials from the aging building. But on Monday, two large track hoes began peeling down the east end of the structure.
“The timing of the demolition is ideal because it will allow us to begin excavating the site over the next few months, so we’ll be ready to begin foundation work in the spring, when the weather conditions are more favorable,” said Craig Skotdal, president of the project’s developer.
If all goes according to plan, two years from now the site, which occupies two-thirds of a downtown block, will look radically different. In place of the Elks building will rise three multi-story buildings and a parking garage.
The excavation will be extensive. Crews will dig about 20 feet below the street level along Hoyt Avenue to accommodate a two-level parking garage with approximately 230 spaces.
Along the California and Rucker avenue sides of the property, two three- and four-story buildings will consist of street-level “flats” and townhomes.
The biggest building in the development will be an L-shaped structure that will rise six stories above Hoyt Avenue and eight floors above Rucker. That building also will face the Everett Public Library. The two street-level corners of that building along Hoyt will contain retail spaces.
The garage and two smaller buildings will go up first, Skotdal said. The company plans to have its units completed before the first condos at Port Gardner Wharf, which still is awaiting financing, are done.
While new conceptual drawings of the project released by Skotdal Real Estate show more detail than before, Craig Skotdal cautioned they aren’t final in any respect.
Also unannounced yet is how many of the 200 units will be offered as condominiums and how many as apartments. That will depend on both market conditions and the final construction cost of the project. Skotdal Real Estate has said it plans to make prices for the units, whether apartments or condos, “market rate,” rather than luxury priced.
The Elks building’s demise was not unexpected, as Skotdal Real Estate purchased the site in 2004. Art Skotdal, principal owner of Skotdal Real Estate and Craig’s father, has also been an Elks member for 40 years.
Nearly across the street from Library Place, at the corner of Hoyt and California avenues, construction workers are putting up the Elks’ new smaller lodge, which will be topped with residential units.
While the palatial Elks Lodge being torn down this week dates back to 1962, the club’s roots at that site date back to 1910, when a Spanish mission-style building occupied that address.
“While the Elks Lodge was a place where many memories and friendships were formed, the same will be true with Library Place,” Craig Skotdal said. “This project signals how Everett is changing to become a vibrant urban center where people can live, work and play in one great place.”
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.
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