EDMONDS – A greater connection between Edmonds’ downtown and its scenic waterfront could be moving from the dream stage toward reality.
The Port of Edmonds Commission and the Edmonds City Council met recently to discuss the future of two pieces of property seen as the key.
They are the Harbor Square commercial center at 120 W. Dayton St., and the Edmonds Shopping Center at 190 Sunset Ave., also known as the old Safeway property.
Port and city officials plan to sit down Wednesday with officials from the Port of Everett to learn how that agency partnered with Chicago developer Maritime Trust on the $300 million Port Gardner Wharf project, now under construction at the Everett Marina. That project will include 600 condominiums along with shops and an amphitheater.
In Edmonds, several hurdles would need to be cleared, especially the question of who would lead the redevelopment and how it would happen.
“This thing is really early right now,” said Edmonds City Councilman Ron Wambolt.
The port’s purchase of Harbor Square last November for $13.5 million sparked the discussions, officials said.
For years, political candidates in Edmonds, echoing the sentiments of businesspeople who’d like to see the city do more to capitalize on its picturesque location, have talked of creating more of a link between the downtown area centered around Fifth and Main streets and the waterfront.
Much of the area is taken up by office buildings, condominiums and the ferry holding lanes. The single biggest chunk of property, and closest to the water, is the 4.28 acre shopping center, home to the Waterfront Antique Mall and other small businesses.
Ideas tossed around for this property, and for the holding lanes if and when the ferry dock moves to Point Edwards as is planned, include a mix of commercial, residential and open space.
“That could be the connection and the jewel,” Port Commissioner Bruce Faires said.
Edmonds Shopping Center owner Albert Dykes could bring some urgency to the discussions. He plans to retire soon and would like to either sell the property or redevelop it himself and put it in a family trust. He wants to decide within a year, he said.
Dykes said the 25-foot building height limit on the property would deter developers and keep him from getting full market value.
“It’s flatly uneconomic,” he said.
The parcel is assessed by Snohomish County at just under $5 million.
If the height limit isn’t changed, Dykes said the only thing that would make sense for him financially would be to redevelop the property as a strip mall – “one story, lot line to lot line, flat roofs and everyone on the hill would be looking at air conditioners.”
Dykes said a consultant’s study showed even the 35-foot limit at Harbor Square wouldn’t allow redevelopment there to pencil out.
The city recently voted to limit building heights in the downtown area to a maximum of 30 feet, but this limit does not apply to the waterfront area west of Sunset Avenue.
Wambolt said city officials are aware of Dykes’ position. He said it’s too early to say what the city will decide about the zoning, and that any changes would involve public input.
“I’m sure we will have lots of hearings,” he said.
Reporter Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439 or sheets@heraldnet.com.
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