The new Amazon fulfillment center under construction along 172nd Street NE in Arlington, just south of Arlington Municipal Airport. (Chuck Taylor / The Herald)

The new Amazon fulfillment center under construction along 172nd Street NE in Arlington, just south of Arlington Municipal Airport. (Chuck Taylor / The Herald)

Arlington and Marysville trade open space for local jobs

Light-industrial development is transforming the farms and fields where the two cities join.

ARLINGTON — With dump trucks whizzing up and down 51st Avenue Northeast to deliver materials to the future site of a massive Amazon fulfillment center, decades-long Marysville and Arlington residents near the Cascade Industrial Center are coming to grips with the inevitable: Dramatic and long-predicted growth has arrived at their doorstep.

One woman, who moved to Arlington in the 1970s to “enjoy the country,” remembers a 7-Eleven as the only store thereabouts. She recognizes that growth has to happen somewhere, but “it’s sad that it’s so close to home.”

Shortly after Amazon construction got underway at 51st Avenue and 172nd Street Northeast in Arlington, the City Council in adjoining Marysville unanimously passed a resolution for Mayor Jon Nehring to complete a development agreement with NorthPoint Development, a private real estate development firm that plans to erect nine buildings in the industrial center, which straddles the Marysville and Arlington city limits.

That development, off 51st Avenue in Marysville and bound by a railroad line on the southeast side, is expected to bring between 3,980 and 4,887 jobs to the community, said Haylie Miller, director of community development for the city of Marysville.

“The vision for this development was really to bring living wage jobs to Marysville within this light industrial center, basically provide an option for residents in Marysville to be able to work in the community that they live in, and potentially avoid getting on I-5 and driving down south,” Miller said.

According to a recent demographic report, Marysville residents on average spend about 30 minutes commuting to work.

Diane Krieg, director of the Stilly Valley Chamber of Commerce, said she understands the need for living-wage jobs closer to home. When she worked at Boeing, she committed hours to her commute.

“I got up at 3:45 in the morning and I was there at 4:45 in the morning so I could be back home when my kids got out of school,” Krieg said.

The chamber hopes to help local businesses gear up to support an influx of customers as new developments go up and allow locals to work and play in the same place.

The nine NorthPoint buildings will total 4.1 million square feet and supplement both the industrial and maritime job markets.

“Any time you have any kind of industrial center, there’s ultimately going to be — whether it’s products being manufactured and exported out or supplies needed being imported in — there’s a big logistics component,” Port of Everett CEO Lisa Lefeber said. “We want to work with them to find partners that specialize in our niche, as well, so that we can bring the cargo through the port, so we not only get industrial jobs but also maritime jobs.”

The port entered partnership talks with NorthPoint in spring 2020 and entered a memorandum of understanding in April 2021 to market the development.

The growing business district along 172nd Street NE in Arlington, looking west toward I-5. At lower left is the construction site of the new Amazon fulfillment center. (Chuck Taylor / The Herald)

The growing business district along 172nd Street NE in Arlington, looking west toward I-5. At lower left is the construction site of the new Amazon fulfillment center. (Chuck Taylor / The Herald)

“Ninety-nine percent of the world’s goods come by water,” Lefeber said.“Ports are really critical for freight mobility, and a lot of times you see buildings, but you don’t see the logistics chain that supports it, but almost every single building starts with a port.”

Lefeber said NorthPoint is a top-caliber developer and the new development will help create and sustain a diversified economy in Snohomish County. “Before that, a lot of the industrial land was a developer here, a developer there, but with NorthPoint taking such a large portion it really provides a lot of opportunities to have a strategic approach to how that land is developed.”

According to the Arlington-Marysville Manufacturing-Industrial Center Market Study, the area was zoned for light industrial and commercial use in 2008, with targets for industrial development first set in the 1990s.

“This development has been planned for a long time,” Miller said.

Over the years, the city of Marysville pursued community feedback through multiple avenues. In 2018, the city conducted interviews with business owners and leaders, collected opinions through an online survey and held a public workshop that over in which 80 property owners participated.

Some are comfortable sharing their names and stories; others are not, for varying reasons. Grappling with growth affects neighbors differently.

One north Marysville resident of nearly 40 years sat in on one of Mayor Nehring’s early talks and bought into the city’s vision, believing it was good for the area and property values. Jeff and his wife, Debra, didn’t want their last names used in a news story. They said they sold their home about two miles down the road from Emerald Springs RV Park, where they are currently hanging their hats before their next adventure.

The couple said they got “good value” out of their property as a result of the boom in developments nearby.

The developments “were obviously well thought out, but it’s sad that the developers come in and wipe it right off the map,” Debra said.

Following the public outreach in 2018, Nehring assembled the Task Force on Growth Management to gain community input as the city of Marysville solidified development goals.

Five residents-at-large served on the task force alongside city representatives, including City Council members, a planning commissioner and a Master Builders Association representative.

Peter Condyles, a resident on the task force who has lived in Marysville for nearly 18 years, said everyone on the task force connected with their respective social circles and brought community thoughts and ideas back to the meetings for discussion.

“A lot of us within the group are members of (different) organizations … I brought up these conversations, to the people at the (Marysville) Historical Society … And then there was a lady on the task force that was a business owner, she owned a very popular restaurant in town, so she was able to talk to people that way. We had planning commission members who talked to the planning commissioners, we had a pastor, he talked to his group of people, we had one guy, he told me that he just talked to people in the store,” Condyles said.

Each group within the community had a different vision for the city, with the caveat that growth is inevitable.

“I was operating from the position that growth in our area — in Marysville particularly — is a foregone conclusion. It’s going to happen,” said task force member Dan Hazen, a pastor at Allen Creek Community Church. “If we’re providing family wage jobs, and having a vision towards that, that can only help people live better overall. Because for me, the idea of of sustainability is not just ecological — it’s spiritual, it’s relational, it’s familial — so I wanted to have a voice in really making sure that it was.”

Isabella Breda: 425-339-3192; isabella.breda@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @BredaIsabella

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Olivia Vanni / The Herald 
The Mukilteo Lighthouse. Built in 1906, it’s one of the most iconic landmarks in Snohomish County.
The Mukilteo Lighthouse. Built in 1906, it’s one of the most iconic landmarks in Snohomish County. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mukilteo mayor vetoes council-approved sales tax

The tax would have helped pay for transportation infrastructure, but was also set to give Mukilteo the highest sales tax rate in the state.

Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring gives the state of the city address at the Marysville Civic Center on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024, in Marysville, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Marysville council approves interim middle housing law

The council passed the regulations to prevent a state model code from taking effect by default. It expects to approve final rules by October.

x
State audit takes issue with Edmonds COVID grant monitoring

The audit report covered 2023 and is the third since 2020 that found similar issues with COVID-19 recovery grant documentation.

Bothell
Bothell man pleads guilty to sexual abuse of Marysville middle schoolers

The man allegedly sexually assaulted three students in exchange for vapes and edibles in 2022. His sentencing is set for Aug. 29.

Larsen talks proposed Medicaid cuts during Compass Health stop in Everett

Compass Health plans to open its new behavioral health center in August. Nearly all of the nonprofit’s patients rely on Medicaid.

Snohomish County Health Department Director Dennis Worsham on Tuesday, June 11, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Snohomish County Health Department director tapped as WA health secretary

Dennis Worsham became the first director of the county health department in January 2023. His last day will be July 3.

Rick Steves launches $1M match challenge for Lynnwood Neighborhood Center

The $64.5 million Lynnwood Neighborhood Center will house several community spaces and partner with local nonprofits.

Community members gather for the dedication of the Oso Landslide Memorial following the ten-year remembrance of the slide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
The Daily Herald garners 6 awards from regional journalism competition

The awards recognize the best in journalism from media outlets across Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington.

Cars drive along Cathcart Way next to the site of the proposed Eastview Village development that borders Little Cedars Elementary on Wednesday, May 7, 2025 in unincorporated Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Snohomish County Council denies latest Eastview Village appeal

Council members affirmed previous approvals of the development planned off Cathcart Way near Highway 9.

Everett
Everett police: Man sold drugs to woman prior to fatal overdose

The man, who faces a charge under the state’s controlled substance homicide law, remains in Snohomish County Jail on more than $1M bond.

Missing Marysville boy, 10, found safe and sound

Police said the boy was last seen Sunday morning before leaving to go for a run at a nearby middle school.

Red tape hangs in the front of the entrance to a burned down Center for Human Services building along 204th Street on Monday, July 7, 2025 in Lynnwood, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood fire destroys behavioral health nonprofit building

The cause of the fire is under investigation. The building housed an intensive mental health support program for youth and families.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.