Waterfront stage, plaza plan worth supporting

  • By Mike Benbow / Herald Business Writer
  • Sunday, August 15, 2004 9:00pm
  • Business

Snohomish County may not look like a hotbed of philanthropists, but it has more than its share of people who give.

There isn’t an area in this country that wouldn’t love to have the millions of dollars that the Boeing employees fund distributes each year. And, of course, there are quite a few individuals who can be counted on to help important projects.

If you’re one of those people, would like to be one or would like your business to help, I’ve got another project for you – the public amphitheater proposed as part of the $200 million redevelopment of Everett’s waterfront.

An early design for the project, which could cost between $900,000 and $1.5 million, calls for about a half-acre of space at the end of 13th Street that would include a covered and raised stage for entertainment, permanent seating for 400 people, a plaza that could hold 1,200 temporary seats, some grassy areas for lounging, columns and water fountain jets flush with the pavement.

The Everett area’s three Rotary clubs are talking about adopting the project and have appointed a committee to see how much money the groups might be able to raise.

“We have an interest in looking to see if we can participate by adding additional dollars to enhance the quality of the amphitheater,” said Travis Snider, a Rotarian involved in the project. “What Rotary is looking at now is raising somewhere between $300,000 and $500,000. We decided what we needed to do is do a feasibility study to see if other people in Everett share a vision we have.”

It’s crunch time for that vision right now.

Kim Buike, the Port of Everett’s marina manager who is in charge of the amphitheater project, was told last week by port commissioners to complete discussions with Rotary before going ahead on the final design.

The port is supporting the amphitheater as part of the public spaces that will be included in the redevelopment, which is being done with a private developer. But it doesn’t plan on footing the whole bill for the existing plan.

Snider said Rotary hopes to gauge the community support by the end of this month, make a decision on its support and develop a fund-raising plan.

So if you’re wildly rich, now is the time to step up and let Rotary know you’d like to help.

Snider said the Rotary clubs aren’t sure what the fund-raising might entail. There’s been talk of things such as selling tiles to individual donors or perhaps selling some naming rights.

“There’s quite a bit of interest in it,” Snider said of the project. “There will definitely be an opportunity to have names down there on bricks or seats or something. The port has concerns about not making it too commercial with corporate logos and sponsorship things.”

I don’t care how Rotary actually does it, but I sure hope it succeeds in raising the extra money. Everett deserves the best public gathering place it can get on the waterfront. And a good public space would be good for business.

Look at what’s already happening in downtown Everett with construction of the new Everett arena. People are hanging out, new restaurants and other businesses are opening and high-rise apartments are going up.

If public activity increases downtown and on the water, the city’s transformation will be complete.

It’s still pretty much a place for people to work in during the day and to leave at night. But the events center has already changed that to a great extent.

Redevelopment of the waterfront, with a strong emphasis on public activities and events, should help complete the turnaround into an area with plenty of business activity in the evening, as well.

Mike Benbow: 425-339-3459; benbow@heraldnet.com.

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