These developments might help ease your hunt for an apartment in Bellingham
Note: The scheduled July 18 public meeting for the project at 3945 Home Road has been canceled. The developers have placed the project on hold as there will be significant changes to the proposed design, according the a news release..
Builders may help ease the difficulty in finding an apartment in Bellingham as one has proposed a 155-unit complex in north Bellingham and a slew of other projects are moving forward.
The latest proposal is for three buildings ranging in size from three- to five-stories, including under-building parking, at 3945 Home Road. A total of 230 parking stalls are slated for the property, which is just north of the Northwest Chevrolet auto dealership, near Interstate 5 and Northwest Drive.
AVT Consulting is hosting a public meeting at 6 p.m. July 18 at the Home2 Suites by Hilton, 805 Home Lane, to introduce the project.
The lack of apartment units continues to be an issue in Whatcom County, particularly in Bellingham. Last spring the apartment vacancy rate for Whatcom County was 1.3 percent while the state rate was 2.7 percent. That’s according to the latest data from the Runstad Department of Real Estate at the University of Washington.
The Home Road project is one of several being developed in the Northwest Drive/West Bakerview Road area. In total, there are more than 730 apartment units planned, if all of the projects are completed.
Here’s an update on some of the other projects in the area:
▪ CityScape, a proposed 10-story, 426-unit apartment building, has received its planned development permit.
The next step is to apply for building permits and construction should begin next spring, said developer Morgan Bartlett, director of Madrona Bay Real Estate Investments. The building is slated to go in at 1427 W. Bakerview Road, near Costco.
Once construction begins, Bartlett estimates it will take 12-14 months to complete.
▪ A public meeting was held earlier this month for a 24-unit apartment building at 554 W. Bakerview Road, near Whatcom Community College. It is in the process of getting a planned development permit.
▪ The construction of Mahogany Avenue is underway north of Costco. Once that road is in place, RJ Group plans to construct Mahogany Manor, a 134-unit apartment complex. RJ Group also plans to build 330 homes in that area.
This story was originally published July 16, 2018 at 5:00 AM.