Old homes saved but a lost cause for young renters

It wasn’t my first apartment, or even my favorite one.

It couldn’t match the urban cool of my $145-a-month digs in a brick walk-up in Seattle’s University District. It was, though, my first place in Everett.

My mother was with me the day I found the roomy two-bedroom in a six-unit building on Hoyt Avenue. It was 1981. I was single, in my 20s, and looking for a safe place to rent near my new job at The Herald.

I didn’t know Everett well, but I liked the neighborhood with its older homes and sidewalks. My $300 rent seemed like a lot, but I could walk to work and go jogging through Grand Avenue Park. An elderly man in the building used to bake banana bread for the other tenants. It was a nice, quiet little home.

I haven’t set foot in the building at 2014 Hoyt Ave. for 25 years, but I drive past it almost daily. The memories are good.

When I noticed a fence going up and construction equipment arriving there, I hoped it wouldn’t be a tear-down. I like being able to go back and see where I’ve lived my life.

It’s not a tear-down, it’s a condo conversion. That should be no surprise to anyone with an eye on the housing scene.

Scott Grondahl, of Grondahl Homes — his name is on the sign outside — is the contractor on the building, which was new in 1968. He described how the place where I lived, which had a typical rental’s interior, will be transformed with hardwood, new tile, new windows, a patio and steel exterior stairways. The front units have fireplaces, and several units will get a second full bathroom.

When Grondahl said “we’ve added washers and dyers,” I had a flashback of going downstairs through an outside entrance, often on rainy nights, to use the laundry room.

“It’s a nice spot for condos, nice for anybody,” Grondahl said Thursday.

The same neighborhood atmosphere that drew me there in 1981 was a selling point for Bill Killien. His business is the North End Investment Group, which is developing the condos.

Killien, of Seattle, has several partners in the business, and all of them grew up in north Everett. Rather than condos right downtown, the group is interested in the residential neighborhoods adjacent to downtown.

“Anything within a mile of Hewitt and Colby is our target market right now,” said Killien, whose boyhood home was at Hoyt Avenue and 13th Street.

They’re high on two areas: Hoyt Avenue between 19th Street and downtown, and just south of the courthouse complex on Oakes and Lombard avenues. For anyone working in downtown Everett, a home in either of those areas means a commute time of mere minutes. Living a mile from work, I know the value of not facing the freeway each morning; it’s practically priceless.

Killien has an old-timer’s love of the area. “I’m a firm believer that the architecture of the community sets a standard,” he said. “When you have structures like Everett High School and Trinity Episcopal Church, those great structures set the tone for the rest of the neighborhood.”

Being able to afford the neighborhood is another matter. Although prices for the condos in my old building haven’t been set, Killien expects they’ll range from the $230,000’s to $250,000. That’s not a lot compared to area house prices, but what about the renters?

At the Hoyt building, Killien said tenants were given the required 90 days notice of the condo project, they had first rights for buying, and were helped with a stipend. There was also “a monetary incentive to leave early,” he said.

Renters don’t have it easy today. Not only do they live with the specter of condo conversion, their rent is likely to be triple what I paid when I came to Everett.

The Apartment Vacancy Report, compiled by Seattle-based Dupre+Scott Apartment Advisors, Inc., found in September that the average rent in Snohomish County was $912; with a vacancy rate of 4 percent.

According to a third-quarter report on rentals in King and Snohomish counties from Cain Inc., Apartment Insights of Washington, “the number of units eliminated from the inventory through conversion to condos was offset by units added through new construction, just over 400 for each.” That report, released Tuesday, found the average rent to be $996 in complexes of 50 or more units.

I’m glad they’re not tearing my old place down, but it’s tough out there. I’m gladder still that I’m not a starting-salary worker hunting for a nice place to rent.

Columnist Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460 or muhlstein@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Customers enter and exit the Costco on Dec. 2, 2022, in Lake Stevens. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Costco stores could be impacted by looming truck driver strike threat

Truck drivers who deliver groceries and produce to Costco warehouses… Continue reading

Two Washington State ferries pass along the route between Mukilteo and Clinton as scuba divers swim near the shore Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ferry system increases ridership by a half million in 2024

Edmonds-Kingston route remains second-busiest route in the system.

Hundreds rally against Trump on Presidents Day in Everett

People lined Broadway with signs and flags, similar to other protests across the country

Alina Langbehn, 6, center, and Vera A., 6, right, sit on a swing together at Drew Nielsen Neighborhood Park after school on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett council votes to renovate Drew Nielsen Park

Construction on the $345,000 upgrade could start as early as this fall.

Northshore School District bus driver Stewart O’Leary pictured next to his buses shattered drivers side windshield on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025 in Bothell, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
‘Put me in, coach’: Bus driver back at work after struck by metal bar

Stewart O’Leary, a Northshore employee, has received national attention for his composure during a frightening bus trip.

Robin Cain with 50 of her marathon medals hanging on a display board she made with her father on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Running a marathon is hard. She ran one in every state.

Robin Cain, of Lake Stevens, is one of only a few thousand people to ever achieve the feat.

People line up to grab food at the Everett Recovery Cafe on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Coffee, meals and compassion are free at the Everett Recovery Cafe

The free, membership-based day center offers free coffee and meals and more importantly, camaraderie and recovery support.

Lynnwood councilor Joshua Binda speaks during a Lynnwood City Council meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Does the Lynnwood Council VP live in Lynnwood? It’s hard to say.

Josh Binda’s residency has been called into question following an eviction and FEC filings listing an Everett address. He insists he lives in Lynnwood.

The Everett Wastewater Treatment Plant along the Snohomish River on Thursday, June 16, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett water, sewer rates could jump 43% by 2028

The rate hikes would pay for improvements to the city’s sewer infrastructure.

The bond funded new track and field at Northshore Middle School on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024 in Bothell, Washington. (Courtesy of Northshore School District)
Northshore School District bond improvements underway

The $425 million bond is funding new track and field complexes, playgrounds and phase one of two school replacements.

An American Robin picks a berry from a holly tree on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Calling all birders for the annual Great Backyard Bird Count

The Audubon Society will hold its 28th annual Great Backyard… Continue reading

A view of one of the potential locations of the new Aquasox stadium on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. The site sits between Hewitt Avenue, Broadway, Pacific Avenue and the railroad. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Initial prep work for AquaSox stadium to start, with $200k price tag

The temporary agreement allows some surveying and design work as the city negotiates contracts with designers and builders.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.