To all those who thought it would be a cold day in you-know-where before the infamous Everett landfill site – home of the tire fires – would be ready for restoration and development, bundle up.
Today the Everett City Council will consider a resolution to surplus that parcel and the nearby Simpson site along the Snohomish River and authorize the next step of seeking ideas from eager developers. Taking this long-awaited step should be an exciting and historical move for council members and residents.
Not so long ago the landfill site was slated to be fenced off and left vacant. Public access wasn’t even a consideration. Thanks to the hard work of city leaders, including Executive Director Lanie McMullin, public access is a priority.
While a jaunt through the county seat via I-5 may not lend itself to inspiration, national developers fortunate enough to get a literal bird’s eye view of the city see something else: a peninsula with potential. They’ve already taken notice of the two parcels that will be the center of attraction for the council today and they’re interested, McMullin said. If the council moves forward, it will ignite the process for soliciting “statements of qualifications” from those already-interested developers and more. Developers will court the city with their experience in similar projects, areas of expertise and ideas for the precious property.
Sandwiched between the new Alderwood Mall and the coming Tulalip outlet mall, the area will need its own niche, McMullin said, a mixed-used development that takes the surrounding natural setting into consideration. As reported earlier, Bastyr University’s serious examination of the site for a new campus is still in the works – a move that neighbors have already embraced. Community input will continue to be an important part of the pending riverfront revitalization project, said council President Arlan Hatloe.
The city has done considerable environmental clean-up and engineering studies to both sites to make them suitable for future use. It also has a plan for the treatment of surface water. All of this is happening as the 41st Street overcrossing project gets started following a lengthy environmental legal battle that was recently settled.
This kind of timing is hardly coincidental. It’s the work of city leaders, planners and visionaries who aren’t afraid to take an impossible project and turn it into something that benefits residents, the local economy and puts out a fresh welcome mat.
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