LYNNWOOD — A proposed 200-unit apartment building may have to move from where it was originally planned to make way for light rail.
The distance it shifts could be a little or a lot depending on negotiations between the property owner and Sound Transit.
Snohomish-based Koz Development owns the vacant lot at 4301 Alderwood Mall Boulevard. The company applied for permits to build the six-story building with a goal of starting construction by February and opening in 2024.
But Sound Transit wants to acquire at least part of the 1.11-acre property to make room for its light rail elevated track west of the road.
Kinect at Lynnwood recently opened its 239-unit apartment building nearby on Alderwood Mall Boulevard. Its location prompted Sound Transit to redesign the Everett Link light rail path north of the Lynnwood Transit Center.
“We’re really trying to work with the developer to minimize the impact so that it really is limited to a just a portion of the property,” Sound Transit spokesperson John Gallagher said. “What we’re really looking at is 30 feet.”
They hope to avoid a “worst-case” scenario: total relocation of the proposed Koz apartments, Gallagher said.
Koz Development revised its initial proposal to account for moving the building away from Alderwood Mall Boulevard.
“It doesn’t really change big-picture what we’re doing,” Koz Development vice president Josh Scott said. “We’re just trying to make sure nobody’s in the way of future plans.”
The current property at 4301 Alderwood Mall Boulevard has a pending value of $4.7 million, according to Snohomish County records.
The Koz apartments would be targeted for 80% of area median income, on the lower end of the market rate. That would qualify it for the multi-family tax exemption from the city of Lynnwood.
The agency’s system expansion committee on Thursday recommended the move to the full board at its meeting next week.
Ben Watanabe: 425-339-3037; bwatanabe@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @benwatanabe.
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