MONROE – A home improvement center and other stores may replace a former gravel pit east of the Evergreen State Fairgrounds next year.
That proposal moved closer to reality on Wednesday when the city agreed to sell about 34 acres to two companies, said Hiller West, the city’s community development director.
Lowe’s Home Improvement and First Western Development, a developer, agreed to pay the city about $21 million.
The land is part of the proposed North Kelsey Development. The city owns about 60 acres in the development, which it hopes would boost its sales tax revenue.
“We’ve worked on this for years,” Mayor Donnetta Walser said on Friday.
Within the next six months, the two companies will decide how to divide the property, West said. Lowe’s agreed to buy about 12 acres for roughly $9 million, and First Western Development is seeking about 22 acres for $12 million.
The shopping center would likely include the home improvement center, a restaurant and other retailers, West said.
“We are cautiously optimistic. I think there’s excitement, but also a sense that a lot of work is ahead,” he said.
The city bought the former gravel pit from Snohomish County in 2005 for $16.1 million. It hoped to gain more control over the site’s commercial development.
The development will also include about an acre of public space, Walser said. “We don’t want just the shopping center. We want a place where people can get together and feel comfortable,” she said.
Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com.
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