If you’re coming to Everett from the north, the old Asarco smelter area is one of the entrances to the city – a gateway – and not a very impressive one. Everett Housing Authority officials, and many others, are hoping that entrance is transformed into something inviting by rebuilding the once-contaminated neighborhood that has garnered so much attention over the years.
Just exactly what happens with that parcel of land depends in large part upon the creativity of developers eager to take on the project. As the EHA begins the process of seeking proposals, developers should be prepared to offer their best. Consider it an extreme makeover – neighborhood style. The people who live there now and those who will be calling the neighborhood home in the near future deserve nothing less.
While developers will present various ideas, the neighborhood will likely be a combination of single family homes and some townhouse-style homes thanks to a zoning change – a change that isn’t so appealing to some who live in the area and want only single-family homes to be built.
But the change is not drastic, allowing 12 units per acre instead of 10. Other restrictions, such as no stacked housing, should help give the development a more single-family neighborhood feel. And EHA officials have included provisions that require developers to keep the surrounding neighborhood style in mind when designing new homes. Including play areas or access to nearby gathering places should also be an important component of any proposal.
Despite the EHA’s involvement, this will be a home-ownership project, not a public housing development project, said Bud Alkire, the housing authority’s executive director. The additional housing is needed, as the city expects to absorb an additional 27,000 residents in the next two decades.
The EHA, city officials and others involved in this project deserve credit for making sure the clean-up happened and for turning what could have been a hopeless situation into something that could serve as an example to other areas in our region.
Soon the barges of toxic dirt will be gone and the proposals will be in. Construction is set to begin in the spring. And a neighborhood once deemed toxic will become a new gateway to an All-America City.
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