SNOHOMISH – A proposed shopping center on Bickford Avenue has been expanded to include two big box stores.
Wakefield Properties of Bellevue plans to build retail and residential buildings on a 30-acre former gravel quarry.
The development, called Snohomish Station, is expected to include 450,000 square feet of retail space. That’s an expansion from the original 300,000 square feet.
Fred Meyer and Home Depot plan to have stores at the shopping center. The site plan is still developing, said Dan Eernissee, a project manager of Wakefield.
Eernissee updated city officials about the development at a recent workshop meeting.
The development is expected to be the biggest single economic development for years to come in the city of about 8,900 people, City Councilman Larry Countryman said.
The city hopes to reap sales tax revenue from the two big retailers, Countryman said.
“It appears to me a good mix,” he said.
Wakefield, which helped to develop Mill Creek Town Center, also has designed the development with benches, large sidewalks and small shops, Mayor Randy Hamlin said.
That would be consistent with the city’s small-town feel, Hamlin said.
Fred Meyer may open in 2007, followed by other retailers, city officials said.
Meanwhile, the city and Wakefield are trying to figure out how to create a recovery plan for Myrick’s Fork near the development. Earlier this year, crews removed trees near the stream. The city allowed the clearing, provided the stream had dried up.
That angered residents who believe the seasonal stream is active.
The incident was unfortunate, Eernissee said.
“I’m sorry the Myrick’s Fork thing kind of cast a cloud over the whole development,” he said to city officials at the workshop.
Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com.
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