Construction activity remains steady in Bellingham with these housing, medical projects
After a flurry of applications in February, overall construction activity in Bellingham is at a more steady pace according to data from the city’s development dashboard website.
As of Wednesday, June 2, the number of projects under construction in Bellingham totaled 1,249, down slightly from a February total of 1,261. The number of building permit applications in the system was 1,157 at the start of June, down from 1,555 at the start of February.
These are some of the significant residential housing and commercial construction projects happening in Bellingham:
▪ The city’s design review board recently approved plans to add four residential stories to a retail center near Whatcom Community College.
The project is being proposed at 4151 Meridian St., near the Burlington clothing department store. The project would have 65 residential units on top of the former Super Buffet space.
▪ A public meeting is scheduled to review the CityView project, a 106-unit residential building proposed for the Puget Neighborhood.
The planning commission meeting will be held online through Zoom at 7 p.m. on Thursday, June 3. The planning commission will review the current material and make recommendations to the planning director about what changes, if any, are needed for the project. At this meeting, the commission will not decide whether the project should be approved.
The project on this property has gone through several changes over the years. The current proposal is for 106, 3-bedroom units in three separate buildings. Two of the buildings will be a little over two stories and one building will be a little over five stories in height.
The project is being proposed for an undeveloped area just north of Consolidation Avenue but near a single-family residential neighborhood. The city has received dozens of comments from neighbors, many of whom are concerned about traffic congestion in the area.
▪ A groundbreaking ceremony was held last week for a new building that’s going in at 2220 Cornwall Ave., near Bellingham High School.
The 4,000-square-foot building is a combined clinic for Mt. Shuksan Family Medicine and Dermatology as well as Advanced Sports Chiropractic. Mt. Shuksan is owned by Kirstin Curtis, while Advanced Sports is operated by Bob Curtis. Going into the former Bunks Drive-In site, the building is expected to completed in the first quarter of 2022.
▪ A new healthcare facility received design approval from the city’s design review board.
The two-phase project is being proposed for 505 W. Horton Road, near Cordata Park. The first phase is for a 5,140-square-foot dental clinic, while the second phase will have a medical clinic that’s around 5,800 square feet.
▪ Another multifamily project in the Fountain District is making its way through the permitting process. This project is at 2518 Meridian St., near Menace Brewing. The proposal is for a four-story building with 14 residential units and ground floor commercial space, similar in size to several other buildings recently built nearby.
This story was originally published June 3, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
