Things are getting serious between the city of Everett and San Diego developer OliverMcMillan.
Today, they might even decide to go steady.
The Everett City Council will discuss whether to approve an exclusive negotiating agreement with OliverMcMillan for development of 96 acres of city land on the Snohomish River.
“I think the council will certainly be in favor of it,” council President Marian Krell said. “I just really feel that the council wants this project to happen, and they’re trying to encourage it every way they can.”
The council meeting will be at 8:30 a.m. in council chambers, 3002 Wetmore Ave.
The agreement up for approval doesn’t bind the city to sell the property, but marks a commitment that both sides will do their best to negotiate a sale of the land. The agreement also includes a number of milestones for each side as the deal develops.
The developer’s timeline says, among other things, that by July 31, OliverMcMillan will open an office in Everett; by Aug. 31 the developer will review the site’s environmental issues, constraints and costs; and by Nov. 15 the company will engage in community outreach.
City officials will need to do things such as form a riverfront team to work with OliverMcMillan, complete the 41st Street I-5 overpass and continue negotiations with Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway about the relocation of railroad tracks at the site.
The plan calls for weekly meetings between city officials and the developers, and suggests that the sale and development agreement for the riverfront property be finalized by the end of January.
| If the Everett City Council approves an exclusive negotiating agreement with San Diego developer OliverMcMillan, both sides will meet weekly to hammer out a final development agreement by the end of January.
The council meeting is at 8:30 a.m. today in council chambers, 3002 Wetmore Ave. With the final development agreement, the specific future of Everett’s riverfront will start to take shape. For more on the developer, go to www.olivermcmillan. com. |
The corridor to be developed was formerly used as a landfill and by the Simpson-Lee pulp and paper mill. About 100 more acres in the corridor between the Snohomish River and I-5 will remain as wetlands.
The developers will focus on the area between I-5 and the Snohomish River, where city leaders envision a lifestyle center with retail shops, restaurants, entertainment, recreation, housing and possibly a college.
Company officials have told the Everett council the city’s riverfront would be the company’s top priority. It also will look for extensive public involvement. The company’s goal would be to create a project budget that requires no additional investment from the city beyond the riverfront property itself.
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