City to demolish 15 buildings and realign State Route 522
The city of Bothell will commence with the largest municipal-directed and -managed downtown revitalization effort currently under way in the state.
On April 6, construction fences will be visible along State Route 522 and demolition equipment will be moved on site as the city begins to demolish 15 downtown buildings, acquired by the city of Bothell over the past three years, in order to commence with the first phase of Bothell Landing.
At 10 a.m. Tuesday, Mayor Mark Lamb said he will drive a backhoe and ceremonially begin the demolition of the first building.
The event will take place at the former Beta Bothell Landing Shopping Center, across from Lytle House at the Park at Bothell Landing, at 9929 N.E. 180th St. in downtown Bothell on the Sammamish River and SR 522. Local elected officials, school children and the project team will also attend the event.
The $62 million Crossroads project will shift alignment of SR 522 one block south to improve congestion and create three new blocks of land for downtown economic development. The realignment allows the city to renew the historic downtown grid to its original configuration as it was established 100 years ago. The project was selected by Washington state for its economic benefits as one of a handful of projects authorized to use its limited tax increment financing program, called LIFT. The city will receive a rebate of the state’s share of taxes collected from the area of up to $1 million a year for 25 years and, with this authority, the city can also commit future revenues from its downtown revenue district for specified future improvements.
The second project poised to begin is SR 522, at Wayne Curve. This $21.6 million project will widen its hairpin corridor to add capacity and improve safety where frequent vehicular accidents have made it a priority for the city and state. Project funds come from the State Public Works Board and Department of Transportation, King County Metro, Sound Transit and the Regional Transportation Improvement Program, in addition to city capital funds.
As a result of these projects and a number of other public investments, the city has the potential to capture more than one million square feet of current projected demand (over a 10-year period from 2010 to 2020) for new retail, office and residential development in the downtown district, according to a 2009 economic study performed by The Concord Group.
New development in downtown is zoned to include residential (townhomes, midrise apartments and condominiums), retail, office and residential mixed-use development up to six stories (65 feet) tall. The city will also expand its existing civic campus to be anchored by a new 50,000-square-foot city hall to replace the one built in 1939.
