A luxury housing and retail project is in the works near a Bellingham waterfront park
A two-building luxury housing and commercial development has been proposed near a popular waterfront area in Bellingham.
The project, proposed along the west side of 10th Street south of Taylor Dock, would feature one residential building and one mixed-use building with a total of 10 residential units.
The buildings would share a 27-stall basement parking garage that would span the length of both buildings. The southernmost building would include eight residential units while the northernmost building would include two residential units along with ground-floor commercial and amenity spaces, according to planning documents.
If approved, project construction is expected to begin next winter, with occupancy expected by the following winter. The development is a project of The RJ Group, and it was designed by Zervas Architects.
Housing and commercial space
The fully residential building is proposed to include two stories of housing above the parking garage with four, two-bedroom units on each floor. The building’s proposed design has an industrial revival form and is inspired by the historic buildings of downtown Fairhaven, planning documents state.
The mixed-use building would be three stories above the parking garage with one, two-bedroom unit on each of the top two floors. Its proposed design leans more modern.
All residential units in each building would have decks facing the waterfront to the west. The two units in the mixed-use building would also include north-facing decks.
The mixed-use building is designed to include a small eating and drinking establishment and office space on the ground floor. The eating area would have waterfront views and connect to a proposed park plaza between the two buildings to allow for outdoor seating.
Creating and maintaining public access
A concrete, public park plaza is proposed between the two buildings. Tenth Street, which currently includes public parking for visitors to Taylor Dock, the surrounding neighborhood and nearby trails, would be improved with a public trail and 25 angled street parking spaces.
The west half of 10th Street would be repaved with the addition of a 10-foot concrete trail, which will complete a pedestrian connection from the South Bay Trail to Boulevard Park.
The public plaza is also proposed to connect to the Taylor Avenue dock trail to the north via a secondary ADA gravel trail.
Local, state development goals
The state established targeted housing goals for every county in Washington over the next 20 years. Between 2024 and 2044, Whatcom County is estimated to need almost 35,000 new housing units. About 22,000 of those units, more than 60%, need to be affordable, according to the city.
Bellingham makes up about 48% of the housing production in Whatcom County. So the city needs to produce almost 17,000 total housing units to help meet the goal. More than 10,000 of those need to be affordable. To stay on track, the city needs to build more than 500 affordable housing units every year.
There are 576 residential units — 296 multifamily units and 280 single-family units — currently under construction in Bellingham.
Another 612 residential units — 333 multifamily units and 279 single-family units — are currently undergoing the application and review process for future construction in Bellingham.
Permits for 422 new residential units were issued in Bellingham in 2023.
This story was originally published January 8, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
