Hearing set on what port should do with Interbay site

Wednesday, December 1, 2004

By BRAD WONG
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

The Port of Seattle will hold an environmental impact meeting tonight for the public to voice opinions about a 57-acre Interbay site, known as North Bay, that could eventually have offices, retail stores, manufacturing and maritime businesses and housing.

Officials have said the port-owned land, at Elliott Bay's north end between the Queen Anne and Magnolia neighborhoods, is not being used to its fullest potential. Large chunks of the paved property are empty. A bus transportation company occupies some of the land, and an auto dealer uses the property for overflow vehicle storage.

Port spokesman Mick Shultz said no final decisions have been made about the North Bay project. The port expects to have a draft environmental review by March and a preferred plan by the summer.

Approval of the Port of Seattle Commission would be required for the final plan. Options range from doing nothing to a plan for mixed-use development that could create as many as 13,500 jobs, new transportation infrastructure and $311 million in state and local tax dollars.

Shultz said that some businesses have voiced interest in moving to the area but he declined to name those companies or say which industries they represent.

Greg Laycock, who works in the Seattle office of the real estate brokerage Cushman & Wakefield, said the issue is coming to the forefront because the port realizes something needs to be done with the land.

"There's lost opportunity with the project overall from a cash flow standpoint or utilization," said Laycock, a company senior director.

He added that if companies want to occupy the space, it will require infrastructure investment. "It's basically concrete surface with a minimal amount of buildings," he said.

Tonight's meeting marks another step in the public process. Last month, Shultz said, about 150 people attended an open house for the project.

"The general tenor was that people tended to be open-minded about it," he said.

Yesterday, Victor Barry, incoming Magnolia Community Club president, said that his neighborhood group has concerns about increased traffic, noise and evening lights.

"I would say the community is pretty much opposed to big box retail," he said. "The club has not taken an official position. There is still too much information that is not known."

In October, after port staff talked about possible uses for the site, a representative of the Ballard Interbay Northend Manufacturing and Industrial Center said the area should be kept for maritime and industrial use.

Barry said talk about the North Bay site coincides with the possible replacement of the Alaskan Way Viaduct, possible building of a citywide monorail and plans for a new Magnolia Bridge.

"We are paying very close attention to make sure that the projects are a benefit to the surrounding neighborhoods," he said.

GET INVOLVED

The North Bay project environmental meeting will take place today from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the National Guard Armory, 1601 W. Armory Way, Room 114, Seattle. For additional information, visit www.portseattle.org/northbay.

P-I reporter Brad Wong can be reached at 206-448-8137 or bradwong@seattlepi.com

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