What's New in Lake Stevens Development? Six Story Multi-Use Project Scrapped; A New Civic Center Campus, a Thousand Homes at Whiskey Ridge ...and a Panda Express!
Exclusives: Whiskey Ridge & its 12,000 new residents; A 6-story Project at Chapel Hill is out: Civic Center campus, in...Plus: Panda Express In, Penn Cove Out; Lake Stevens Marketplace For Sale & More
LAKE STEVENS — J425 Development Updates are some of our most-read reports. If we could write ‘em everyday, we would. But we like to wait until we’ve got enough juicy tidbits stacked up to make the very best use of your time. With that said, we’ve been busy compiling all the latest development info in the greater Lake Stevens area…we’ve hit the locations on foot and sent the drone up to provide you with a bird’s eye view…we’ve also tracked down the key documents, photos, links and rumors necessary to arm you with all of the latest 425-based development info. With that said, let’s get right to it:
A Thousand New Homes — Starting at Just Shy of a Million Apiece!
A little over 15 months ago, J425 reported that over a thousands new homes designed to house an estimated 12,000 new residents were headed for the area known as Whiskey Ridge (just west of SR-9 and north of Soper Hill Road).
We returned to the area yesterday to check in on the progress of development and were greeted by a thicket of $850K new construction homes, popping up like dandelions in an unmowed yard.
Check out our article from 2023 on the history of this area – governed by the City of Marysville, but the children are headed to the Lake Stevens School District.
As far as the current state of play, new homes are starting at $800k and supposedly selling briskly – at least according to a rep staffing the Diamonds at Century Homes model unit.
City Approves 96-Home Development on S. Lake Stevens Rd Near Stitch Lake
With respect to development inside the bounds of Lake Stevens proper, the City Council approved the rezone of a nine acre plot of land located near Stitch Lake…or near the intersection of Davies and S. Lake Stevens Roads.
The steep hill was recently clear cut and after a hearing examiner, the planning commission and finally the city council reviewed and approved the rezone, development is set to begin on the new construction of 96 new homes arrayed across some 48 townhouse structures. The council approved the rezone on March 26, for more information check out the project file here.
It’s worth noting that Lake Stevens is the fastest growing municipality of its size in the state and local government is required by the Growth Management Act to provide an array of housing options for the projected population growth within City-controlled territory.
The Sparman Rezone – a townhouse project – is as close as one can get to affordable new housing within the confines of a piping-hot Lake Stevens real estate market. We’ll post a pdf of the project plans below.
Coconut Kenny’s is the Latest New Dining Option in Soper Hill Development
Those 12,000 new Whiskey Ridge residents are going to need an array of services, and while commercial development including two new gas stations, the Soper Hill Everett Clinic, Chipotle and Starbucks all opened last year, there’s been a few new openings to report – and a couple more on the horizon.
Newly-opened business on the west side of SR-9 at Soper Hill include a massive new Chevron gas station, mini mart, liquor store and fried chicken quick serve restaurant (all under the same roof), as well as Coconut Kenny’s, a new Hawaiian-themed pizza, sandwich, appetizers and brew-pub concept with eight locations across Washington State. Judging by the brisk business occurring yesterday at 5 pm, the concept is off to a quick start in the 425. Also open in the same development is Bellis Salon and Spa, a nail and eyelash place. Coming soon: a massive new Kids N Us daycare/preschool, seemingly jumbo-sized to help with the influx of Whiskey Ridge future-Viking kiddos.
Panda Express Set to Open a Lake Stevens Location; 140-unit Assisted Living Center Set East Side of Soper Hill
On the east side of Soper Hill, development continues in Lake Stevens Landing, the Pat McCourt-backed commercial project that already houses the Chipotle, Starbucks and Arco.
The city just approved permitting for a Panda Express location and a 140-unit assisted living facility that told you about in 2023. McCourt and company also got approval to move forward on eight additional commercially-zoned plots a la the ones that house the aforementioned gas and quickserve food businesses.
Long story short, the Whiskey Ridge population boom is going to continue to drive commercial development both at Soper Hill and along the SR-9 corridor.
Other openings occurring since our last update include a couple gyms: Pursuit Fitness, opening in the former Team Fitness location; Planet Fitness in the Lake Stevens Marketplace…and Kiyama Sushi, a busy new restaurant in the Trestle Station development located in the Cavelero neighborhood on 20th Street SE.
Still no word of a Trader Joe’s, sorry.
Massive Six Story Mixed-Use Project Set for Chapel Hill’s Former Civic Center Lot Scrapped
UPDATE: The City tells J425 that the project — in this iteration — is off as the developer didn’t move forward with the plans, which were initially approved in February. The City is taking the lot back on the market, putting out an RFP imminently. - KTH May 4, 2024.
Two years ago, the City and Sno-Isle Library had plans for a joint civic center and library campus at Chapel Hill. The joint plans fell through, the city sold its lot to a developer and Sno Isle moved forward with its own library plan on the plot it owns at Chapel Hill. The library district is yet to break ground on a new Lake Stevens library, and the City recently approved a massive six story mixed use development for the property it had formerly allocated for a civic center campus.
After considering the Chapel Hill site for a city campus no less than three separate times between 2017 and 2021, the council ultimately determined it was not feasible to house the city on the Chapel Hill lot. Upon arriving at this decision, the City then surplused the property in August 2022, rezoned it, and sold it to the Cascadia Group, a commercial developer who apparently agreed to develop the land parallel to the City’s vision for the Chapel Hill / Market Place commercial corridor.
In January, the city approved initial plans for a six-story mixed-use building with a maximum of 160 residential units and approximately 33,025 square feet of commercial space with a parking garage.
A public hearing will follow the release of final development plans: so more on this to come.
Lake Stevens Municipal Campus Set for Former Barclays North Buildings
Speaking of Pat McCourt, the development guru behind Lake Stevens Landing also built the array of buildings that currently house the Lake Stevens Police Department (across from Tom Thumb). Stick with us, this will all make sense in a moment.
Back in the day, the current LSPD HQ was home to McCourt’s Barclays North Inc (BNI), and Pat himself held court from a richly-appointed office on the second story of the current police HQ. At its peak, Barclays North was one of Lake Stevens largest employers and was considered one of the PNW region’s most influential developers. BNI headquarters included its own government affairs wing and McCourts acolytes would fan out to city council and planning commission meetings across the puget sound. Like so many other businesses in the real estate field, Barclays North was felled by the 2008 mortgage crisis. McCourt, a serial entrepreneur and Lake Stevens fixture, is as known for his ability to rebound as he is for his development acumen – so it’s no surprise to see him once again impacting the development of Lake Stevens ala the Soper Hill work.
City of Lake Stevens Acquires Commercial Buildings Adjacent to LSPD;
The above Pat McCourt story serves as a rambling origin story for the buildings that house the LSPD. The reason we mentioned all of this, however, is because the City of Lake Stevens has acquired the rest of the commercial buildings in the former BNI development …and is set to move City headquarters from its current lakeside location in downtown historic Lake Stevens, to a more appropriate civic center location at the confluence of South Lake Stevens Road and 20th Street at 1825 S. Lake Stevens Rd.
Background
• In 2019, the city purchased and then renovated commercial
buildings in south Lake Stevens for a Police Station.
• One of the buildings purchased in 2019 houses commercial
uses and has been identified for future government growth
as tenants move out.
• In 2023, the City Council authorized the purchase of a
property adjacent to the existing Police Station, which
includes two commercial buildings.
• The City will renovate portions of these buildings over the next
two years, along with an existing building the city owns to
create a functional Municipal Campus.
The City has already acquired the property and floated bonds to finance the move. Additionally, the state legislature chipped in with $100k to fund planning costs aligned with the new campus. J425 certainly sees the logic of centralizing all municipal services in the same series of buildings across from Tom Thumb, as well as the parallel benefit of removing the current City buildings from their current lakefront location, opening up more lake access and views to the citizenry.
Entire Lake Stevens Marketplace Up for Sale as Work on City’s 91st Street Beautification Plan Set to Begin
Lake Stevens Martketplace, the shopping center that contains Ace Hardware, Ixtapa and the former Rite Aid building is up for sale. The commercial property, located along 91st Ave, could massively benefit from the city’s planned overhaul of 91st – they envision the corridor as a walkable retail core a la downtown Mill Creek. From City documents:
The Lake Stevens Center Subarea Plan envisions 91st Ave NE as a pedestrian-oriented street, to support mixed-use development, and function as a “main street.” Lake Stevens Center covers the City’s primary shopping areas east and west of SR-9. The project limits extend from Market Place NE to 13th Street NE, spanning SR-204 along 91st Ave NE and Frontier Circle. The existing right-of-way ranges from 40 to 80 feet in width. The required width per the standard engineering detail is 60 feet. The City Council funded a conceptual streetscape plan for 91st Ave NE with the 2023 budget.
One complication relating to the City’s vision of a walkable 91st is the fact that the Lake Stevens Marketplace retail locations are offset quite a distance from the street front, with massive parking lot serving as a buffer. No word on whether the city would want a future owner to work parallel to the streetscape plan to bring businesses closer to the redesigned thoroughfare.
Penn Cove Brewery Closes
Also up for sale is the previous home of Penn Cove Brewery, the nationally-respected Whidbey island-based brewers opened a third location in the purpose-built brewery building next to Petco of SR-204 less than a year ago. The brothers behind Penn Cove quietly shuttered all four of their locations – including Lake Stevens – on January 26.
“After much consideration and a thorough evaluation of our financial situation, we have had to make the difficult decision to cease operations,” Penn Cove CEO Marc Aparicio wrote in a social media post explaining the closure. “The decision was not made lightly, and we want to express our deepest apologies for any inconvenience or disappointment this may cause you.”
Aparicio and his brother Mitch started the Penn Cove Brewing Company in 2015, opening its flagship taproom in Coupeville in 2016. Following the success of the venture, the brothers opened the three additional taprooms. The South Whidbey Record reported that the brothers are tied up in litigation with another brewery and a former consultant – and also faced local issues in Freeland, where neighbors were making an issue of noise and traffic tied to the Penn Cove location. The Lake Stevens brewery building is currently for sale or rent.
Previously:
THIS IS WHAT A THOUSAND HOUSES LOOKS LIKE
LAKE STEVENS — There’s a thousand new houses going in right now just north of the Everett Clinic/White Barn development at SR-9 and Soper Hill Road. The 11,000 people that are slated to move into this region by 2025 will pay municipal taxes to Marysv…