Bellingham’s Barkley district has these construction projects on tap for this fall
With a couple of big projects nearly complete, the Barkley district will have more construction ahead that includes affordable housing, a large office building and a new park this fall.
Last week Dawson Construction broke ground on the Barkley Family Housing building, which will have 77 affordable apartments and seven YMCA Early Learning Center Classrooms. The building is being constructed on Barkley Boulevard across from the Whatcom Family YMCA’s early learning center on Rimland Drive. It’s also near the Weatherby apartments, which were recently finished and are available for lease.
Barkley Family Housing, designed by Bellingham-based RMC Architects, is being developed by Mercy Housing Northwest. Mercy has completed six other developments in Whatcom County, including the $22 million Eleanor Apartments for seniors near the Bellingham Grocery Outlet. Mercy Housing has more than 300 units of family and senior housing in Whatcom County, said Allison Rollison, director of philanthropy and strategic partnerships for the organization.
The demand for affordable housing remains very challenging in Whatcom County. All but one of Mercy Housing’s facilities in Whatcom County has a waiting list of up to 2-5 years for families. The units with two or three bedrooms usually have a longer wait list, Rollison said in an email.
Barkley Family Housing will have units available for those who make up to 30% and 50% of the area median income.
As an affordable housing provider, resident services is one of the most important aspects of the project, said Joe Thompson, president of Mercy Housing Northwest
“Barkley Family Housing will offer robust, onsite services to assist residents in addressing acute needs and with fulfilling long-term goals, hopes, and dreams, with a special emphasis on out-of-school time programming for children,” Thompson said in an email.
According to a news release from Mercy Housing Northwest, construction is scheduled to be completed by November 2022.
▪ Work is also underway for a new park next to the Regal movie theater. The park, designed by the Barkley Company, will be a nature-themed park with logs, rocks, a swing and a water pump, said Barkley Company owner Stowe Talbot.
The plan is to have the park ready by the late spring or early summer of 2022, said Leah Macaleer, who handles marketing and community outreach for the Barkley Company.
▪ Along with the Weatherby apartments, the Northwest Gastroenterology and Endoscopy building is nearing completion. The 23,817-square-foot building at 3111 Woburn St. was originally scheduled to be completed by December.
▪ Expected to get started later this year is the construction of the three-story, Bellingham School District administrative office. It’ll be built across Barkley Boulevard from the Regal Barkley movie theater and is scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2023.
The earthwork part of the project is expected to begin in October, while construction of the building is set to begin in April, said Dana Smith, spokeswoman for the school district.
The new school administration building in Barkley will also include a child care center and room for nonprofit partners that serve families and the community. The building was designed by Bellingham-based RMC Architects.
This story was originally published September 7, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
