This Old Town Bellingham property now for sale is ready for development
A big chunk of Old Town is up for sale for developers interested in transforming land north of the Whatcom Creek Waterway.
The Parberry family put most of its properties in Old Town on the market this week. The nine different sites near C and Holly streets total nearly seven acres for a total price of $13.95 million. The properties can also be sold separately according to the real estate listing, which is being handled by Troy Muljat of Muljat Group Realtors.
Whoever buys the properties would need to adhere to the redevelopment agreement the Parberry family made with the city of Bellingham in 2019 and modified in 2020. In that agreement the Northwest Recycling business would move out of the area, clearing the way for residential and commercial business redevelopment. In return, the city would build streets, sewers, sidewalks and other infrastructure that a developer normally would be required to provide.
The Parberry family was also able to acquire the former Sash and Door property near Whatcom Creek, paying the appraised value of $1.92 million to the city in June 2021. That property is also part of properties listed for sale.
While the sellers would not rule out one buyer taking over all seven acres, Muljat said the expectation is that they will sell off the lots separately to different developers.
“We already have multiple local and regional developers considering the site. The demand is strong, and we believe the demand will continue to be strong,” Muljat said in an email.
When asked if having multiple owners would make it more challenging for the city to achieve its redevelopment goals for the area, Tara Sundin said that wouldn’t necessarily be the case. Sundin, the city’s community and economic development manager, said having multiple developers who are motivated to build near-term could create momentum and get projects done more quickly.
“It is a lot of property for one developer to handle in our market,” Sundin said in an email.
When the agreement between the city and the Parberry family was finalized, a list of milestones was created for the property owners to meet. Sundin said the owners have been meeting those milestones, noting that the building on 700 W. Holly St. is currently being remodeled for residential and commercial tenants and the residential recycling program has been shut down. Northwest Recycling is still operating the scrapyard in Old Town, which it is allowed to do until February 2023.
Kevin Moore, CEO of Northwest Recycling, said the remodeling of 700 W. Holly St. building should be completed by September. Once finished, the building will have up to four retail spaces and 11 apartments. Brad Parberry also restored the former territorial courthouse at 1308 E. St., which is now home to the Helen Loggie Museum of Art.
The redevelopment plan of the Old Town area is part of the city’s desire to transition the area from light industrial to an urban village. To help make that happen, the city worked with the Parberry family to remove Northwest Recycling, which wouldn’t fit in urban village zoning rules. Along with the Northwest Recycling property and the former Sash and Door property, areas slated for redevelopment include the building that’s home to Hana Teriyaki and undeveloped lots.
As for the city’s part of the deal, Sundin said the city is currently in the design stage of infrastructure improvements. That design work is expected to be completed later this year, but construction may depend on the property sales and where things stand with private redevelopment.
This story was originally published May 6, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
