EVERETT – In its unanimous decision to go ahead with the sale or lease of 100 acres of prime riverfront property, the City Council effectively sent a memo to developers nationwide: Start your engines.
The 6-0 vote Wednesday night, with Councilman Bob Overstreet absent, means city leaders will immediately send out a call for qualified, interested developers.
A handful of wary residents spoke to the council before the decision, which is the first step to determining the future of the wedge of land between I-5 and the Snohomish River, formerly home to a landfill and the Simpson pulp and paper mill.
The land up for development is only half of what the city owns at the site. The other 100 acres will be preserved as natural habitat, Mayor Ray Stephanson said.
“This is a momentous occasion,” said Lanie McMullin, the city’s executive director. “It’s the culmination of many years of tenacious effort.”
She offered a story about city administrator Larry Crawford.
Crawford keeps a note in his desk from a lawyer at the state Attorney General’s Office, she said. The note, regarding the contaminated sites now up for development, says, “Give it up, Larry – it’s a landfill. Put a fence around it and walk away.”
After the meeting, Crawford said that he’s going to call that attorney up and invite her to the groundbreaking.
The reason city leaders are so excited lies not only in the land’s value, about $31 million, but in its location. The 100-acre parcel is one of the few undeveloped sites of its kind in the state’s I-5 corridor. It has attracted “preliminary attention” from respected developers all over the United States, McMullin said.
The possibility of Bastyr University expanding health and wellness services in Everett, and perhaps a branch campus, will also factor into the site’s development.
The Kenmore-based college, which teaches natural healing and health sciences, will work with interested developers to come up with a cohesive plan, said Sandi Cutler, Bastyr vice president for institutional planning.
“This was a great next step,” Cutler said after the meeting. “There’s a lot of support in this community, and we love that.”
Though many of the Everett residents who spoke were in favor of Bastyr University locating at the site, they urged the City Council to develop with caution.
Katrina Lindahl, a Grand Avenue resident, suggested the city pursue leasing the land rather than selling it.
“If we sell this land, we could lose (control) and end up with something the city of Everett doesn’t want,” Lindahl said.
Carmen Collins, president of the Lowell Civic Association, presented the council with a letter listing Lowell residents’ views and concerns.
The neighbors want to see the site retain its natural character and want the developer to protect the environment and be respectful of nearby residential areas.
Michelle Hoverter of Lowell said she was surprised that Everett residents received only a few days’ notice that the City Council was about to make its decision.
Peggy Toepel, co-chairwoman of the Everett Shorelines Coalition, said the city should make sure the land really is surplus and that in the future Everett won’t have to turn around and buy more expensive land for a city facility such as a ball field or fire station.
She told the council to make sure “you have done the math, and that it pencils out.”
A few residents, such as Roger Kuhlman, said it’s disappointing the land has to be developed at all. He said many people enjoy the land and its views of the mountains and wildlife.
“As we urbanize and blacktop everything, that’s about the last place we’ve got,” he said. “We have to consider that.”
Council members assured the residents that their concerns are being heard.
“It sounds like some people don’t trust us,” Councilwoman Marion Krell said. “We are also citizens of Everett. Why wouldn’t we want to make something nice happen there?”
The city will first search for qualified developers, choosing perhaps three top contenders for the site early next year. Those developers will then come up with proposed uses for the land that could incorporate residential, retail, entertainment, a college campus and public space.
Reporter Jennifer Warnick: 425-339-3429 or jwarnick@ heraldnet.com.
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