SNOHOMISH – A large shopping center anchored by Home Depot that would easily be the city’s largest-ever single retail development, may replace a gravel quarry along Bickford Avenue.
Wakefield Properties of Bellevue has proposed building about 300,000 square feet of retail space on the acreage used by Northwest Sand &Gravel, as well as multi-family housing on a nearby Bickford Avenue site.
Wakefield, which also has helped develop Mill Creek Town Center, is tentatively calling its newly proposed project Snohomish Station.
Despite early rumors that the anchor of the project would be Wal-Mart, both the city and Wakefield have confirmed that Home Depot is interested in the 140,000-square-foot space.
“We definitely have some other tenants interested as well,” said Wakefield’s Dan Eernissee, who declined to identified the other businesses interested in locating there.
“The positive of it is that most people don’t mind losing a gravel pit in their neighborhood,” he added.
Many residents and businesses were glad to hear Wal-Mart apparently isn’t part of the new project, said Liz Loomis, mayor of Snohomish. But, she added, Wakefield will need to build something that fits in with the residential neighbors to the east of Bickford Avenue and with the general area.
“It’s certainly the biggest commercial project for years to come in Snohomish,” Loomis said. “That’s all the more reason why we need to do it right.”
Unlike Marysville and other cities across the county, Snohomish doesn’t have many suitable spaces for large retail projects. In 2001, the city annexed the Bickford Avenue area with an eye toward more development there.
City Manager Larry Bauman said the Northwest Sand &Gravel site is well located with a minimum of apparent environmental conflicts.
“It’s one of the most prime pieces of property of its size in the city,” he said.
So far, Bauman said, the city has received only a preliminary site plan for the Snohomish Station project. Next week, Home Depot officials are scheduled to meet with the city for a site plan review.
Snohomish officials also have scheduled a hearing at 7 p.m. Sept. 6 regarding the proposed Snohomish Station development agreement between the city and Wakefield.
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