EVERETT – The Port of Everett approved a financial agreement with Chicago’s Maritime Trust on Tuesday, putting its stamp of approval on the first phase of a $400 million waterfront development.
The unanimous decision by the port commission allows Maritime to begin breaking ground after years of planning the work, securing permits and cleaning up contaminated soil.
“There are a lot of things still to do,” said Maritime’s Bert Mears. “This is the formal kickoff for the whole thing.”
The commission members were pleased to see the development get started.
“Now we’re in business,” commission member Connie Niva said.
“I want to see dirt flying,” added commissioner Don Hopkins.
John Mohr, the port’s executive director, said the decision was an important milestone.
“I’m excited,” he said. “It’s something I’ve been working on a long time. I’m really glad to see it coming out of the ground.
“We can take pride in a major environmental cleanup,” he added. “But when we actually see the buildings and our dreams come to life, it will be pretty exciting.”
Mohr said the port has spent about $2 million cleaning up contaminated soil on the site. Some of it contained asbestos and PCBs and had to be taken to a hazardous waste landfill.
Mohr said the port will be talking to former tenants of the area to be redeveloped to try to recover at least some of the cleanup costs. “We’ve been notifying these folks that had businesses there that they may be found liable if we pursue it,” he said. “Hopefully we can enter into negotiations.
The agreement approved Tuesday allows the port to agree or disagree with how the development will be financed. Maritime said it is negotiating with two major banks for most of the backing, as opposed to private investors.
The first phase is expected to cost $98 million. Maritime Trust will have to pay the port $2.4 million of that for the land underneath planned condominiums. The company said it already has spent around $9 million in expenses.
The company expects to break ground Jan. 1 or sooner.
What’s planned are four buildings with 159 condominiums, a two-story restaurant and office building, an existing building to be converted into spaces for marina-related businesses and new facilities by Bayside Marine that will include dry storage for 150 spaces.
Ninety of those spaces are already reserved, company officials said.
Ken Olsen of Maritime Trust said sales meetings with potential condo customers have resulted in around 106 people placing deposits for one of the 159 condos.
“We’re going to invite them all back to finalize their reservation and turn it into a purchase in the spring,” Olsen said. “At that time, we’ll show them the final unit plans.”
The strong interest “absolutely tells us that we are on the right track with the right project and the right product,” Olsen said.
The condos will sell for a little less than $400,000 and up to around $1 million, Olsen said.
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