What’s next for Bellingham’s waterfront? Lots of activity is expected in the new year
A new round of construction and other activity in the Waterfront District is expected this spring.
Brian Gouran, director of environmental programs for the Port of Bellingham, gave a waterfront update to port commissioners at a Dec. 4 meeting, touching on a variety of projects. Here are some of the items discussed:
▪ Granary Building: Construction continues on The Annex, which is being built on the west side of the building near Waypoint Park. Gouran said the exterior of The Annex is expected to be completed this month, making it ready for tenant improvements. There are no announced tenants for that space yet, but there is interest, he said.
When the 6,000-square-foot Annex project was announced in June, Harcourt commercial manager Tony Gallina said at that time he expected the space to be home to a restaurant and retail businesses.
Inside the original Granary Building, a tenant has been signed. The Bellingham Yoga Collective announced on its website that it plans on moving into the third floor of the building sometime this spring. Along with yoga classes, the website said it plans to have massage and other wellness services.
▪ Laurel Street/Granary Avenue: The Granary Avenue portion of the road is basically complete, Gouran said, but the road won’t officially open until a nearby interim parking lot is ready. There are some construction issues that could slow things down, but Executive Director Rob Fix said the plan is to have the lot ready in January.
Laurel Street, which connects to Granary Avenue, is expected to open next spring, Gouran said.
▪ Residential project: Slated to go near Waypoint Park, construction of the first major residential project in the district is expected to start this spring, Gouran said.
The basic plan for the $32 million residential project would have about 70 residential units, a below-grade parking garage and around 26,000 square feet of commercial space. Construction was originally scheduled to start last August, but was delayed after the developer, Harcourt, decided to make some design changes.
▪ Gateway office building: The building is slated to go in near the Granary Building on the other side of Granary Avenue. That is still in the concept stage but more details should be coming soon, Gouran said.
According to its website bellinghamdowntownwaterfront.com, Harcourt is planning for about 100,000 square feet of office space with some ground floor retail.
▪ Clean energy plan: In a separate part of the port meeting, commissioners approved an agreement to work with Corix Utilities Systems to develop a district energy system. The company would create a strategy of using low-carbon, renewable energy sources to heat and cool future buildings in the area. Some possibilities include using waste heat from the Puget Sound Energy’s Encogen Plant, according to a port document.
