[CouvScott]

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e214/couvttocs/vancouverstreetcar.jpg

Wednesday, August 15, 2007
BY JEFFREY MIZE, Columbian staff writer

Every weekday, about 10,000 passengers ride Portland's brightly colored streetcars in and near the city's downtown.

In mid-September, members of the Vancouver City Council will be a tiny addition to that daily ridership as they take a trip south for a firsthand look at what could be part of their city's future.

City Manager Pat McDonnell said the city needs to consider what type of transit could be used to promote movement within Vancouver and Clark County.

"This is just getting the council some education and bringing them some understanding of how one system works over there," he said about the Sept. 17 council excursion. "Whether we can emulate it, I don't know."

City officials want to answer that question. McDonnell said the city has asked Gramor Development to include streetcars or some other form of transit in its plans for redeveloping the former Boise Cascade industrial site on the Columbia River near downtown.

The waterfront is separated from downtown by a railroad berm and has relatively few roads leading in and out.

"What more clear opportunity could you have?" McDonnell said. "Not in a landlocked area, but a very difficult in and out."

Streetcars once were common but were phased out decades ago as the automobile became king. As far back as 1892, electric streetcars moved up and down lower Main Street. By 1910, a streetcar line extended east to Orchards.

For a short time, streetcars shuttled passengers across the Interstate 5 Bridge, which opened in 1917. Charles Edward Moors, on the eve of his 107th birthday in September 1997, recounted how he would ride the streetcar to Hayden Island for a nickel in the early 1920s. Moors, believed to be Clark County's oldest resident at the time, died three years later in Bend, Ore.

Vancouver's streetcars were used only until 1926.

Six years ago, Portland turned back the clock and reintroduced streetcars that today share the road with cars that caused them to vanish.

Portland Streetcar, owed by the city of Portland and managed by a nonprofit organization, operates a loop system from Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital in northwest Portland through the Pearl District, south on 10th and 11th avenues to Portland State University and east to the Willamette River. On Friday, an extension of the line will open, providing service to the South Waterfront area and creating an eight-mile loop.

How much of that loop the Vancouver City Council will see next month hasn't been determined.

"We're maybe going to take the light rail down," McDonnell said. "I don't have the final agenda yet, but the idea is to see how people can transfer."

Officials are planning to bring a form of high-capacity transit, either light rail or bus rapid transit, as part of the Columbia River Crossing project to build a new I-5 bridge. McDonnell sees a streetcar system as a way to move people around the community, not as a conduit for commuters heading into Portland.

"I really see the streetcar as being our community connector," he said. "Obviously, you have to have a major investment in your buses."

The Vancouver chapter of the American Institute of Architects is undertaking a study of how streetcars could fit into the city's future.

"It's a study to kind of educate folks to the history of streetcars here in Vancouver and then to look at the feasibility," said Ralph Willson, an owner of LSW Architects in Vancouver. "Does it make sense to bring them back as an alternative way to move people around?"

Willson said results from the study will be presented during a symposium, tentatively scheduled for Oct. 6.

"My personal view is that it would be really neat if streetcars can play a role in helping to alleviate some downtown traffic," he said.



Did you know?

Portland Streetcar began operating in July 2001 and shares road space with cars, trucks and buses in and near downtown Portland.

The streetcars carry up to 140 passengers in disabled-accessible, air-conditioned cars manufactured in the Czech Republic.

The Portland streetcars make 42 stops, one every three to four blocks, and run on 13-minute intervals during most of the time Mondays through Saturdays.

[CouvScott]

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e214/couvttocs/vanwaterfront2.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e214/couvttocs/vanwaterfront1.jpg

[PuyoPiyo]

^^^Awesome! Don't you mind to share the Ankrom Moisan's website link?

[CouvScott]

http://www.amaa.com/portfolio/?category=otb&PHPSESSID=03d71b6e36e30ea8b1858bd170da2162

[PuyoPiyo]

^^^Thanks! :)

[PuyoPiyo]

During my little trip around the downtown Vancouver, it appeared that the Boise Cascade area is blank, no more red barn there.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/Ufozacky2k/Animation11-1.gif

[PacificNW]

Shouldn't this thread be in "Portland Suburbs in Washington"?

[PuyoPiyo]

I just paid another visit to Ankrom Moisan's website and it appeared that they add a new image with detail of map, I believe this one is much better.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/Ufozacky2k/174_lg2_Vancouver_02.jpg

[joeplayer1989]

I just paid another visit to Ankrom Moisan's website and it appeared that they add a new image with detail of map, I believe this one is much better.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/Ufozacky2k/174_lg2_Vancouver_02.jpg

i like this a lot a lot a lot, wheres light rail!!!!

[PuyoPiyo]

i like this a lot a lot a lot, wheres light rail!!!!

Yupp it does look good! :) I think the light rail should be at that bridge at far right on the bottom (see those gray lines).

[PuyoPiyo]

From Ankrom Moisan's website, they change the design again.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/Ufozacky2k/174_lg1_Vancouver_01.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/Ufozacky2k/174_lg2_Vancouver_02-1.jpg

Notice those buildings behind the waterfronts, some of those buildings haven't built yet.

I think I like this much better.

Also you can look at the colored of the buildings by clicking this link: http://www.amaa.com/portfolio/project/?category=community&project=174&redir=Lz8=&PHPSESSID=d1188726b6517a451a2975b18b1bb304

I can't copy that image for some reason though.

[PuyoPiyo]

^^^The link isn't working anymore, it still show the colored of buildings, but the description are messed up. Also I just found out that the Vancouver's Waterfront part are disappeared, it's not there anymore.. :dunno:

http://www.amaa.com/portfolio/?category=

[PuyoPiyo]

Road projects

Build tunnels for Esther and Grant streets through the BNSF Railway berm.

Realign Jefferson Street to the southeast so it parallels the berm.

Improve Sixth Street and connect it to a realigned Jefferson Street.

Build T intersections at Jefferson and Eighth streets and at Esther and Grant streets.

Close at-grade rail crossings at Jefferson and Eighth streets.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/Ufozacky2k/newsPic254634_101783.jpg

STEVEN LANE/The Columbian

Boise Cascade's former industrial site has tremendous redevelopment potential, but it is cut off from the rest of downtown by a railroad berm and trestle. Several road projects are needed to provide adequate access to the area.

Putting money down on the waterfront

Saturday, December 29, 2007

BY JEFFREY MIZE, Columbian staff writer

2008 likely will be pivotal for the Boise Cascade project, the year the city of Vancouver must come up with road dollars to support its waterfront vision.


The former industrial site along the Columbia River south of downtown could be a redevelopment bonanza.

Mid-range projections depict a bustling waterfront community packed with 2,300 residences, 814,000 square feet of office space, 299,000 square feet of hotel space and 193,000 square feet of retail space.

All of which comes at a price to the city: $9.5 million for the city's share of road improvements opening up the waterfront area and maybe a portion of an additional $13.8 million funding gap.

An initial round of road and rail improvements is expected to cost $38 million. A variety of sources will be used to pay the bill, including city, developer and BNSF Railway contributions.

Then there's an additional $24 million needed to improve Jefferson Street and Kauffman Avenue between Eighth Street and Mill Plain Boulevard and to extend the popular waterfront trail west past the Interstate 5 Bridge through the Boise site.

All those figures are little more than educated guesses and could fluctuate by millions. Firmer estimates should be available next spring, at which time the city wants to nail down a strategy for plugging the $13.8 million funding hole.
It's a challenge that city officials ­believe they must meet. Mayor Royce Pollard said the Boise project, upon completion, could total a $1.5 billion private investment in Vancouver's future.

"I think we have to figure out how to make it work," he said. "There aren't many pieces of the river like this one left around, and we have the key."
Councilman Tim Leavitt agreed the promise of waterfront redevelopment is too great to let slip by.

"There is no other piece of waterfront property that I'm aware, and certainly not in the city of Vancouver, that has more value to the community, he said.

Lingering problem

The need to craft a waterf ront funding plan likely will reignite the debate over city finances and how to address a chronic shortage of transportation dollars, a problem that has flummoxed city officials for much of this decade.
A number of proposals have been floated, including doubling the city's water and sewer tax and reinstating a local business and occupation tax, but none of those ideas received city council approval.

The council added two-tenths of 1 percent to the local sales tax in August 2005 to raise money for roads. One year later, the council decided it had more pressing needs in police and fire and redirected that money to public safety.

In November 2006, the council approved a $50 per employee surcharge on local businesses, capped at $20,000 per company. That was projected to raise $2.4 million a year, but actual receipts for 2007 have been only $1.9 million, almost 20 percent below projections.

All of which leaves Vancouver facing an expensive bill to support waterfront redevelopment without a clear idea how to pay for it.

$3 million budgeted

So far, Vancouver has budgeted only $3 million to pay for design of the needed transportation improvements, not the $9.5 million the city tentatively agreed to contribute toward construction or an unspecified piece of the $13.8 million funding gap.

Gramor Development, the Tualatin, Ore.-based company that has pieced together a consortium of investors to purchase the Boise property and redevelop the site, is expected to contribute $8 million.

The city is looking at a variety of options, including seeking more money from BNSF Railway, lobbying for state or federal appropriations and forming a local improvement district, which could mean higher property taxes for nearby owners.

The ultimate solution likely will be cobbled together from a number of different sources. Pollard will be heading to Washington, D.C., in February to lobby for the city.

One possibility is to build the transportation improvements in phases, starting with punching Esther and Grant streets through to the waterfront as part of realigning the BNSF Railway tracks.

"Maybe our participation is spread out three to four years," Leavitt said. "I've got to believe a phased approach by the city will help to move the project forward and will be an easier pill to swallow."

Making the public case

Another part of the strategy w ill be persuading city residents that money spent near the waterfront is a prudent investment in the city's future.
The city doesn't have a large revenue stream for road projects needed to ease worsening traffic congestion in east Vancouver. At the same time, it wants to invest millions in downtown, a place with little traffic congestion, to support a posh waterfront development loaded with condos and upscale shopping for wealthy residents.

Pollard disputes any suggestion the waterfront will be an exclusive community for the rich, with little to offer the common person.

"That's not true," he said. "There will be waterfront access, shopping, restaurants for the whole community."

And Pollard said he is confident the city will be able to demonstrate a sizable return on investment through higher tax revenues generated by the project, justifying its financial participation.

"Right now, we've got nothing," the mayor said. "There's a fence. You can't go there."

[360Rich]

Boise Cascade project draws a step closer

The Port of Vancouver, Boise Cascade Corp. and BNSF Railway are expected to finalize a three-way land swap by Tuesday that will remove a rail spur from Boise's vacated waterfront site and clear the way for redevelopment of the 29-acre parcel.

Boise has a deal to sell the land just west of the Red Lion Hotel at the Quay to a group of local investors led by Gramor Development of Tualatin, Ore. The sale was expected to close by December but can't take place until the land switch is completed. A closing date for the total Boise sale is still uncertain.

Gramor envisions transforming the Boise land into an urban neighborhood of condominiums, waterfront retail and restaurants, office space and possibly a new hotel.

http://columbian.com/business/businessNews/2008/01/01232008_Daily-roundup.cfm

[PuyoPiyo]

Developers buy Vancouver waterfront site for $19 million

Tuesday, January 29, 2008
The Columbian
After lengthy and complex talks, Gramor Development said today that it has completed negotiations to purchase for $19 million the former Boise Cascade mill site on the Vancouver waterfront, opening the door for a new phase of downtown redevelopment.
Doing business as Columbia Waterfront LLC, Gramor led a group of local investors in the negotiations to purchase the 29 acres down river from the Interstate 5 bridge. The deal is expected to close by week's end, a year and a half after it was first announced. Negotiators included the city of Vancouver, Port of Vancouver, BNSF Railway and Gramor.
Read full details in Wednesday's Columbian.

[PuyoPiyo]

^^^(also refering to Rich360's post) I really hope Gramor would change their mind to build the condos towers, not condos neighbors... While the Gramors never build any highrises, I don't know if I would trust Gramor... :(

[360Rich]

Awesome responsibility

http://www.columbian.com/_images/newsPhotos/newsPic270324_Head.jpg
Steve Lane/Columbian

Wednesday, January 30, 2008
BY JONATHAN NELSON

In a landmark agreement, Gramor Development announced Tuesday the completion of a deal that will transform 32 acres of prime Vancouver waterfront property into an urban neighborhood that someday could be worth as much as $1.2 billion.

Gramor, of Tualatin, Ore., is to close this week on the $19 million sale of 29 acres it is buying from Boise Cascade. Gramor, the development partner for Columbia Waterfront LLC, plans to take the now bare former mill site and three acres it is leasing from the Port of Vancouver and sculpt a project filled with offices, housing, a hotel, parks and waterfront restaurants.

The Boise project is perhaps the capstone in the newest chapter of downtown Vancouver's makeover. There are plans for five major projects in the downtown core that promise to increase housing, office and retail space, and bring the city a new downtown library.

Gramor's riverfront site, however, is one that has captured the public's attention because of its location, magnitude and potential.

"Whatever we do is going to change the face of Vancouver," said Barry Cain, Gramor president. "We feel an awesome responsibility."

David Copenhaver, vice president of development at Gramor, said the company will be meeting with several neighborhood, business and community groups in the coming months to talk about details of the development. The company hopes to submit formal plans to the city by midyear and start construction by 2010. At completion, the capital investment could be between $900 million and $1.2 billion, Copenhaver said.

Gramor and local investors Steve and Jan Oliva, Allan and Saundra Kirkwood, Steven and Jo Marie Hansen and George and Paula Diamond confirmed in 2006 that they won the right to buy the Boise land. It took 18 months to close the sale because of a complex land swap involving the Port of Vancouver, BNSF Railway and Boise that pulled a rail spur out of the Boise site and allowed the port to redesign rail access into its facility. The land exchange agreement is expected to be completed this week, clearing the way for Gramor and Boise to finish the sale .

Transcending uncertainty

Cain acknowledged that buying Boise's land might seem ill advised, given the struggling economy and shaky housing market, but said the opportunity to connect Vancouver to the waterfront "transcends economic times."

Ankrom Moisan Associated Architects of Portland has been hired as the lead architect. Cain said the firm designed several buildings in Portland's Pearl District, but added that Gramor won't be constructing all the buildings.

A significant unknown with Gramor's plans is the alignment of a new Interstate 5 bridge, which could affect the Port of Vancouver's ­Terminal 1, where the Red Lion Hotel at the Quay sits. Cain said that could alter the intention to start construction on the eastern edge of the property and move west .

Regardless of the obstacles, state of the economy and housing market, interest is high in Gramor's work. Copenhaver said he fields an average of five calls a week from people interested in waterfront condos and office space.

Cain said that speaks to the allure of the Columbia River.

"This is one place where we're way ahead of Portland," Cain said. "That is a serious body of water to look over."

Update

Previously: Local investors and Tualatin, Ore.-based Gramor Development submitted the winning bid in 2006 to buy 29 acres of waterfront land owned by Boise Cascade.

What's new: The sale is expected to close this week, 18 months later.

What's Next: Gramor will conduct a series of meetings with community, civic and business groups before submitting formal development plans to the city. Construction could start in 2010.

http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/01/01302008_Awesome-responsibility.cfm

[PuyoPiyo]

^^^Good thing that they hired Ankrom Moisan Architects!

[PuyoPiyo]

A new vision for waterfront

Sunday, February 03, 2008
Julia Anderson, Columbian business editor
Now that the development ice jam is breaking up on Vancouver's waterfront, let's look ahead to what might happen on the 29-acre former Boise Cascade site.

Last week, we learned of two key agreements. First, the Port of Vancouver made a deal with BNSF Railway and Lafarge Concrete to move a rail spur from the middle of the Boise site. Second, Gramor Development and its investor group said the port's agreement triggered their purchase of the Boise property for $19 million. Both transactions closed last week.
So what happens next? Gramor plans to hold meetings with community, civic and business groups to gather input on what should go on the waterfront property before submitting development plans to the city. The intention is to be in construction in 2010 on what is expected to be between $900 million and $1.2 billion worth of office, retail and residential construction.
Let's face it, the Boise site is a gorgeous piece of property that along with three port-owned acres at the Red Lion Hotel at the Quay is the gateway to Vancouver, Clark County and Washington. Some 100,000 vehicles cross the Interstate 5 Bridge on any given day within sight of the property. Passengers on planes arriving and departing from Portland International Airport get a daily aerial view of the location. There's river and rail traffic. It would be difficult to identify another piece of ground on the West Coast as visible and with such dramatic river views as this one. So what would we like to see at the gateway to our community? Here are some thoughts:

Through some partnership the city, the port, Gramor and the folks involved with the Center for the Arts must work to build a public performing arts center on the site. Such a structure would bring community identity to Clark County, give us a long-hoped-for arts facility and provide an iconic "signature" structure on the waterfront symbolizing our economic energy. Think Sydney Opera House, the Louvre Museum, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Gramor must design a mix of residential housing there available to different income groups; Enough housing for at least 3,000 people. As nice as it is, we don't need another Tidewater Cove, but downtown Vancouver does need a lot more people living within a few blocks of Esther Short Park.
Something funky. Portland's Pearl District has a bit of funkiness. Let's try for at least as much. That means bringing a diverse mix of businesses to the project. Could McMenamins be enticed to join in the planning? How about a Big Al's bowling center that would draw from all of west Vancouver? How about a movie theater-pub?
Something for kids. Provide space for some kind of water-oriented interactive educational facility similar to the Seattle Aquarium. Or, even better, a permanent museum linked to the rich Native American history and culture of this region. We've got Fort Vancouver, Officers Row and Pearson Field. A Native American museum such as the fabulous one in Santa Fe, N.M., would offer rotating exhibits of artifacts and live cultural displays. It would complement what we've got.Let the Cowlitz Tribe pay for it in exchange for getting their casino near La Center.

[360Rich]

http://www.columbian.com/_images/newsPhotos/newsPic293279_124314.jpg

Sketch of proposed waterfront development unveiled

Monday, March 17, 2008
By JEFFREY MIZE Columbian Staff Writer

A sketch is worth a thousand words.

Renderings released Monday morning show how the former Boise Cascade site, now a patch of bare ground along the Columbia River, could be transformed into an upscale waterfront community packed with condominiums, offices, restaurants and shops, along with parks and walking trails.

The images are the first official depictions from the development consortium headed up by Gramor Development of Tualatin, Ore.

David Hansen of Ankrom Moisan Architects in Seattle will make a detailed presentation to the Vancouver City Council during a two-hour work session beginning at 4 p.m. Monday in city hall, 210 E. 13th St. CVTV (cable Channel 23) will provide live coverage.

The project, planned for 32.8 acres west of the Interstate 5 Bridge, could represent up to $1.3 billion in private investment.

Mayor Royce Pollard has embraced the project as a way to create the premier waterfront community on the West's grandest river.

"We have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to do a great project," Pollard said last week. "This is an opportunity most cities would die for."

http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/03/03172008_Sketch-of-proposed-waterfront-development-unveiled.cfm

[PuyoPiyo]

Developers unveil detailed plan for revitalizing waterfront property


Tuesday, March 18, 2008
By JEFFREY MIZE, Columbian staff writer Success in redeveloping the Vancouver waterfront will mean that all Clark County residents will see it as their favorite place to play and to bring visitors, the man who is leading the effort said Monday.

Barry Cain, president of Gramor Development, told the Vancouver City Council that redeveloping the former Boise Cascade site is all about creating a success, not only for his company and its investors, but for the entire community.
“It’s going to be a success when people from the other side of the river want to come here for a night out,” Cain said. “It’s a success when the mayor doesn’t feel he has to say, ‘America’s Vancouver.’ ”
Mayor Royce Pollard didn’t make any promises to drop the phrase he coined more than a decade ago, but he did like what he saw during a two-hour presentation on Columbia River redevelopment.
“We are only going to get one shot at this, Barry, and we had better make it right,” he said. “It’s an opportunity I believe this council can’t pass up. We have to grasp it.”
Pollard made comments after council members got their first detailed presentation of the streets, parks, trails and buildings that could be built on 32.6 acres of Columbia River waterfront property controlled by Gramor and its investors.
Other council members were equally enthusiastic.
“We are looking at a project that is going to change or has the potential to change the face of our community,” Councilman Tim Leavitt said. “And I’m not talking about a shot of Botox. I’m talking about a complete reconstruction of our waterfront.”
Councilwoman Jeanne Stewart, who tends to be one of the council’s more cautious members, said decision-makers later will have to deal with policy issues and spending public dollars to support the project.
“You have made it impossible not to be excited about it,” Stewart said.
Although it was not discussed Monday, the city faces the daunting task of raising an estimated $38.5 million for roads.
Councilman Pat Campbell, who voiced outright opposition to the waterfront project during a Jan. 24 retreat, was the only council member who did not speak at the end of Monday’s presentation.
Most council members clearly liked what they saw and heard as David Hansen of Ankrom Moisan Architects in Seattle went through a series of sketches and maps. His presentation included three-dimensional computer animation of what it would be like to travel through a dense waterfront community with a esplanade and buildings soaring as high as 200
Hansen stressed that architects and planners see the project as an extension of downtown, not an isolated community on the Columbia River.
“We are developing to the water and pulling back to the city,” he said.
The project presents many challenges, including noise from planes using Portland International Airport and Pearson Field, soil that could become unstable during an earthquake and state laws designed to safeguard shorelines, along with difficulties in extending a street system into the site through an existing railroad berm that currently separates downtown from the river.
“I can promise you this,” Hansen said about a street grid. “There is no one right answer, but there is a ton of wrong answers.”
The project is being designed so a streetcar could help move pedestrians. Although there would be ample street parking and garages — “The car is not going anywhere in my opinion,” Hansen said — the project is being designed with pedestrian paths designed to pull people to the waterfront.
What will be built on the site during the next 20 years is likely to change with time to reflect market conditions.
David Copenhaver, Gramor’s vice president of development, said Monday that his company is currently looking at 180,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, 600,000 square feet of office space, two hotels with a total of 300 rooms and 2,300 to 2,500 condominiums and apartments.
“We are very serious about this being a mix,” he said about building apartments and not just condominiums.

[bvpcvm]

um, have the city council run this by the owner of the dairy queen on main st yet? 'cause, during construction, some dust might blow his way and there might some trucks rumbling nearby.

[PuyoPiyo]

um, have the city council run this by the owner of the dairy queen on main st yet? 'cause, during construction, some dust might blow his way and there might some trucks rumbling nearby.

There is no Dairy Queen in or any near to the downtown Vancouver's waterfront. I think you are mistaken the Dairy Queen at north of downtown Vancouver, which is the uptown.

http://maps.google.com/maps?um=1&hl=en&safe=off&q=Dairy+Queen+Vancouver+WA&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=il

[bvpcvm]

^ i was joking. there was that article the other day about the "historic" dairy queen on main st, which is supposedly endangered by the proposed max line.

[PuyoPiyo]

^ i was joking. there was that article the other day about the "historic" dairy queen on main st, which is supposedly endangered by the proposed max line.

Ohh gotcha lol. Really? Interesting, but I really don't care about Dairy Queen, I think they need to relocate.. I guess have to wait till what Mayor would say..

[CouvScott]

If master plan is approved this summer, construction contracts could be signed as early as 2009

POSTED: 06:00 AM PDT Wednesday, March 19, 2008
BY TYLER GRAF

Vancouver doesn’t have the same development activity as its neighbor to the south, but that only means that it’s more of a blank canvas. And Gramor Development, working with Ankrom Moisan Architects, is fine-tuning the brushstrokes on a master plan for a 32-acre development along former Boise Cascade land adjacent to the Columbia River.

As currently envisioned, the mixed-use waterfront development, slated to take shape on land Gramor purchased for $19 million in February, would include condominiums, retail and open space. For the city and the developers the hope is to create a multi-use development that expands Vancouver’s downtown.

“I don’t see this as a waterfront development,” said David Hansen, head of the design team at Ankrom Moisan. “I see this as a downtown development.”

Hansen likes the fabric of Portland’s Brewery Blocks and believes it’s a model of a “good ground-up development within Portland’s core.” He sees it as an example of a new kind of streetscape that might work for the Vancouver waterfront – a streetscape the Ankrom Moisan-led design team intends to use to incorporate cars, foot traffic and bicycles in a way that’s currently underrepresented in Vancouver.

The level to which the site is accessible has always been a major concern, according to the city. The site has historically acted as a barrier between the downtown and the waterfront, said Eric Holmes, Vancouver’s economic development manager.

“We see this development remarrying downtown to the waterfront, a continuation that will be an attractor for the entire region,” Holmes said. “It shouldn’t compete with the retail we already have downtown, but it will complement it.”

David Copenhaver, vice president of development at Gramor, says it’s too early to talk specific costs on the project, but he expects all phases of the waterfront development to total about $1 billion.

In Oregon, a project like the waterfront development could qualify for tax-increment financing. Washington, however, doesn’t have such a program. Instead, Gramor and Vancouver city officials are looking into another statewide pilot program called LIFT. The acronym stands for Local Infrastructure Finance Tool, which is a limited version of tax-increment financing.

Under LIFT, a regional development competes with other statewide projects for a limited pool of financial resources. In the Vancouver waterfront’s case, the city will be applying for $500,000 a year for 25 years for the development, which would also require a regional match.

Gramor and the city will be meeting with the public during the next 30 days to go over the design for the development. Sometime this summer, the Vancouver City Council is expected to approve a final master plan. Copenhaver expects construction contracts to be signed in early 2009.

“We duly expect public debate about what we are going to be doing,” Hansen, of Ankrom Moisan, said. “(It should be a) good debate, though.”

[PuyoPiyo]

New renderings from Ankrom Moisan.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/Ufozacky2k/174_lg1_Vancouver_01-1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/Ufozacky2k/174_lg2_Vancouver_02-2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/Ufozacky2k/174_lg3_Vancouver_03.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/Ufozacky2k/174_lg4_Vancouver_04.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/Ufozacky2k/174_lg5_Vancouver_05.jpg

[Dougall5505]

pretty good but are there any plans to bury or relocate that rail line so it doesn't cut off downtown vancouver from the river for pedestrians?

[bvpcvm]

i thought i read a while back that they were actually going to elevate the rail line. in fact, if you look closely at the last rendering, it looks like you can see shadows cast by a rail bridge over the roadway. next to the furthest-down blue bldg.

[JCW]

In the last picture you can see the MAX bridge under the current CRC design - shame they don't run it further to the west and at least have it come through between the Red Lion and the new development to help encourage transit. If they don't think about connections to the MAX extension over the bridge this new development will be VERY short-sighted (at the last they need a stop within easy walking distance!).

[Civ E JB]

Right now that rail line rides on an elevated berm out to the main lines just west of downtown and I doubt BNSF has any plans to relocate (actually, I can't picture where else they could go) or bury the tracks. What the city is planning, I believe, is to punch holes in the berm at selected areas and create intersections with streets on the existing downtown road grid in order to encourage pedestrian movement. I can't remember which actual streets, but I know I've seen an article on this somewhere. Perhaps someone else knows what I'm talking about?

As for a nearby MAX stop I know that the issue all comes down to grades. The transit bridge needs to have a specific clearance over the river and can only follow the required grade down to surface level. If I remember right, touchdown for the MAX line was somewhere around 7th street. So, if people don't mind walking a bit it isn't too far to the development.

[bvpcvm]

^ or they could build an elevated station right at the river bank

[PuyoPiyo]

Actually Civ is right, there's punch hole through the elevated railway. I know there's news article somewhere in this thread saying that they will have Esther Short St and Grand St going through under the elevated railway. If you check this google map, you will get the idea. (just zoom to the downtown Vancouver)

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&safe=off&q=Vancouver+Washington+&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl

[CouvScott]

3. Close 8 St. & BNSF rail crossing and divert traffic along the grid to Harney, Ingalls, Jefferson and the 6 th, 5th, and Grant underpasses. Elimination of the train horns and whistles is vital to develop waterfront housing. Doing so relieves rail traffic congestion, improves train stacking alternatives and adds nine blocks to the waterfront district. The closure will be a major benefit for BNSF and the City should use this as leverage to acquire under-utilized properties and rights-of-way nearby in the district.



Also, I believe they were talking about punching Esther street through and a pedestrian only underpass for what would be Daniels street, but is basically set up for a walk-way from Esther Short Park to the river.

[CouvScott]

The transportation issues are daunting. Vancouver is planning for a complete reconstruction of the busy railroad, with roads sliding under the tracks at Esther and Grant streets.

The elevated railroad would have vertical concrete walls instead of earth berm, Rorabaugh said. Architects already are discussing how to texture the surface and include other features "so it just won't be a flat ugly concrete wall," he said.

A similar concern is designing tunnels under the railroad at Esther and Grant streets so they invite, not deter, pedestrians. Connecting the waterfront to downtown and making it accessible for all modes of transportation is considered a top priority.

[DArch1]

No doubt one of the more dounting challenges we face is the BNSF rail line. Grant, Esther and Columbia both have underpasses that will act as "portals"... both to and from the waterfront. Even thought the roads dip around 6-8' as you enter the portals, the ped sidewalks will stay at grade and should be around 20' wide on one side and around 12' on the other. Framing these portals and providing great program on either side is crucial in making an inviting experience.

[PuyoPiyo]

Found a video of the waterfront redevelopment from Youtube. It's kinda of bad quality, but still worth to check it out! :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYJ35woJB94

[CouvScott]

Columbia Waterfront



Scope: Transformation of the 32-acre former Boise Cascade waterfront site into mid-rise office buildings retail development and waterfront condos.
Location: Shoreline west of Interstate 5 and south of the BNSF railroad berm.
Size: More than 3.25 million square feet.
Cost: Between $1 billion and $2 billion.
Developer: Gramor Development Inc., Tualatin, Ore., and local private investors.
Timeline: Breaking ground 2010.

[360Rich]

State to give city millions for waterfront redevelopment

Vancouver will get $500,000 annually for next 25 years, board decides
September 18 | 8:21 p.m.

By JEFFREY MIZE
COLUMBIAN STAFF WRITER

A state economic board decided Thursday that Vancouver should receive $500,000 in state dollars annually for 25 years, money that can be used for rail and road improvements to spur redevelopment of the former Boise Cascade industrial site.

Thursday’s decision takes Vancouver one step forward to build a dense community waterfront on the Columbia River with more than $1 billion of private investment.

Vancouver scored highest among nine projects that were competing for state funding, including a request submitted by Clark County to help pay for $41 million in road improvements on Northeast 179th Street near the Clark County Event Center at the Fairgrounds.

The county’s project scored the lowest. Regardless, it was impossible for Vancouver and Clark County to both get funding because state law allows only one award per county, except for cities and towns that straddle county lines.

The Washington Community Economic Revitalization Board, meeting in SeaTac, selected Vancouver, Mount Vernon, Yakima and Whitman County to receive state revenue as a way to promote redevelopment and create jobs, thereby generating tax revenue for state and local governments.

“It’s a reflection of the quality of work this city does, and the state appreciates that,” Mayor Royce Pollard said about Thursday’s decision. “When the state gives us money, we put it to good use, and they can see the results.”

Kelly Sills, Clark County economic development manager, said the county intends to push ahead with the 179th Street project, which is designed to encourage construction of more than $200 million in stores, restaurants and hotels.

Vancouver has even bigger plans to redevelop the former Boise paper mill site west of the Interstate 5 Bridge. Gramor Development of Tualatin, Ore., has assembled a team of local investors to build 2,700 condominiums and apartments, 200,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, 600,000 to 800,000 square feet of office space, two hotels and 10 acres of park and open space.

The city needs an estimated $38.6 million for transportation improvements to accommodate Gramor’s project, namely rebuilding the railroad berm that separates the waterfront from downtown and extending Esther and Grant streets to the former Boise site.

Eric Holmes, Vancouver economic development director, said with the state award, the city has only a $4 million funding gap, or about 10 percent of the transportation bill.

That presumes the city will get the $7 million it wants from the federal government, as well as $5 million direct appropriation from the state Legislature. Earlier this year, the Legislature agreed to provide an initial $910,000. U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., is trying to include $3 million for the project in the 2009 federal budget.

Holmes said he believes Vancouver’s project scored well because it provides a high tax return on the state’s contribution. It also involves redevelopment of a stretch of Columbia River waterfront, what he called “the south gateway to the state of Washington.” Plus the city’s proposal benefited from having a developer, Gramor, who already had purchased the land and made other investments.

The city of Mount Vernon, one of the other three projects selected Thursday, also is pursuing waterfront redevelopment but didn’t score as high as Vancouver.

“They didn’t have a developer in hand who was ready to invest a billion dollars over the next 14 years,” Holmes said. “I think that really is project readiness and project certainty, as certain as you can get.”

Sills said the city’s project scored higher than the county’s in three key areas:

-- The ability to promote transit-oriented development, which tends to favor an urban waterfront over retail-commercial development in a suburban unincorporated area.

-- The potential to generate taxes. Clark County’s project, with its retail emphasis, competed well when it came to sales tax. But Vancouver’s project, with its higher densities, would cause more property taxes to flow into state and local coffers.

-- The promise of wages and benefits for jobs created. Clark County’s project would create retail and other lower-paying jobs, while Vancouver’s waterfront project has more potential for higher-paying office jobs.

Thursday’s decision will let Vancouver use a limited form of tax increment financing, which allows the city to borrow money to pay for roads or other infrastructure to encourage private development. The city then uses the additional, or incremental, property and sales tax revenue generated by the development to gradually pay off the debt.

The state will provide a matching contribution, up to $500,000 annually for 25 years, with the provision that it will contribute no more than what it receives in incremental tax revenue.

http://www.columbian.com/article/20080919/NEWS02/809189929

[CouvScott]

With a $1 billion price tag, the development would be Vancouver’s most expensive private development
POSTED: 04:00 AM PST Thursday, December 11, 2008
BY TYLER GRAF

Vancouver’s catalytic mixed-use project encompassing 32 acres of Columbia River property officially entered the pre-application phase Tuesday, signaling a step forward for the $1 billion project.

Developers for the Columbia Waterfront development filed their pre-application materials after months of stakeholder input and planning, in addition to financial structuring.

But there’s still plenty of work ahead.

In an October letter to Vancouver Economic Development Director Eric Holmes, the vice president of Gramor Development, David Copenhaver, wrote that his company was still finalizing the scope and density of the project.

The development would conform to a typical mixed-use makeup of housing, retail and commercial office space, which developers have likened to an extended downtown. Vancouver officials compare it to Portland’s South Waterfront.

“Because the waterfront development is a long-term project which will be built over the next 10 to 15 years, we do not know precisely how much of each use will be built, but (we) have identified a range of mix which will include 400,000 to 1,000,000 square feet of office, 2,500 to 3,000 residential units, (and) 100,000 to 400,000 square feet of hotel(s),” Copenhaver wrote.

Stakeholders have also voiced their support for parks and ample open space within the development, which is being designed by David Hansen of TWIST Architecture & Design.

Outreach started in May as a team of residents was asked to look at open-space issues. As proposed, the development would include buildings along with congeries of parks, waterfront trails and plazas, networked together.

It would also be the costliest development in Vancouver’s history, at a time when a slow economy has forced many contractors and developers to shy away from high-impact, high-cost projects.

Copenhaver remains nonplussed by the state of the economy, saying this week’s pre-application is a testament to Gramor’s dedication to the project.

The city of Vancouver, too, is staying optimistic.

“Pretty consistently, (Gramor has) said their first day of occupancy will be 2012,” Holmes said, in reference to the first residential phase of the project.

The optimism comes despite the fact that the city learned it would not receive financial assistance on its end of the project – creating a connective arterial between the city and its downtown, using two underpasses – through a pilot program called the Local Infrastructure Finance Tool.

That program acts in a similar manner to tax increment financing, which Washington does not have.

“It was a bit of a bumpy road with that,” Holmes said.

To smooth out those bumps, Gov. Christine Gregoire announced that the state would appropriate $3.1 million from the state’s 2009 budget for the city’s $38 million portion of the project.

Still, that leaves a considerable funding gap. In late November, Vancouver announced it would anticipate filling a $7 million portion of that gap if no other revenue streams are accessible.

Gramor, meanwhile, plans to move past the pre-application process during the first quarter of 2009.

[CouvScott]

Developers hire Seattle man as lead designer for $1.1 billion project

Monday, January 19 | 5:19 p.m.

BY JULIA ANDERSON
COLUMBIAN STAFF WRITER


Architects at Twist Architecture have produced new renderings of how the Boise Cascade site might be redeveloped. (Twist Architecture & Design)

Developers of the former Boise Cascade property on the Vancouver waterfront have retained a new architect for the $1 billion project.

David Hansen, a partner in the Seattle design firm Twist Architecture & Design, is the new lead designer for the development planned on 32 acres downriver from the Interstate 5 Bridge. In documents filed last month with the city of Vancouver, developers describe the project as including 2,500 to 2,700 residential units, 200,000 square feet of retail space, 800,000 square feet of commercial space and 400 hotel rooms. The buildings would go up over 10 to 15 years depending on market demand.

Hansen had worked at Ankrom Moisan Architects of Portland, which provided initial design work on the Boise project. Now he has been independently retained by Gramor Development Inc. and Columbia Waterfront LLC to take the project through master planning with the city of Vancouver.

Gramor and Columbia Waterfront investors bought the Boise property a year ago.

As part of the new alignment with Twist, the architectural firm has released updated artist’s renderings of the site.

“One of the key elements in the Twist design process is place-making to align the project within its culture and environment,” Hansen said.

David Copenhaver, vice president of Gramor, said that the new affiliation with Twist will give his development firm a “fun, refreshing and collaborative” opportunity to take the project forward.

Twist Architecture was founded in October by Hansen and Kirk Callison of Seattle.

[360Rich]

^^ Here's the only new rendering I could find (taken from the linked pic in the Columbian article, and the max size changed in the URL).

http://tcimg.sv.publicus.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=TC&Date=20090120&Category=BIZ01&ArtNo=701209984&Ref=AR&maxw=1000&q=100&border=0

[CouvScott]

My company decided to ban flickr, so I am shut out of posting pics from work. :shrug:

[360Rich]

Baird is proud of ‘righteous earmark’

Infrastructure work on waterfront will pay for itself, says congressman
By Jeffrey Mize
Columbian staff writer
Congressman Brian Baird had finished the polite introductions and obligatory thanks.

Then, the Vancouver Democrat moved closer to a clay model depicting the high-rise waterfront community that Gramor Development and its local investors want to build on the Columbia River waterfront.

"The infrastructure money leverages so much more," Baird told Gramor President Barry Cain late Friday morning as he examined the model. "They’re not building waterfront. They’re not building Columbia Rivers anywhere."

The waterfront project, proposed for a barren former industrial site west of the Interstate 5 Bridge, will benefit from two federal contributions: $2.5 million in stimulus money and another $3.09 million from the 2009 spending bill President Barack Obama signed this week.

"Everyone bashes us for earmarks," Baird said, standing where a cluster of office buildings, condominiums, apartments, stores and restaurants could pop up in the next 10 to 15 years. "This is a righteous earmark. You get a 30-to-1 return on our investment. Bash us for that earmark, Bobby Jindal."

Jindal, the Republican governor of Louisiana, delivered the GOP’s response to Obama’s Feb. 24 joint address before Congress and criticized federal officials for what he called an "eruption of spending in Washington, D.C."

As for the 30-to-1 figure, Baird used an estimate developed by the city of Vancouver of how much every public dollar — city, state and federal — spent on infrastructure will return in higher tax revenues.

Baird attended a Friday gathering with representatives of Gramor and its investors, along with city, Port of Vancouver and Clark County representatives, to show his support for the project and boost its community standing. A push pin in the clay model indicated where organizers had set a small tent, chairs and podium for the event.

Gramor’s preliminary plans call for 2,500 to 2,700 condos and apartments, 200,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, 800,000 square feet of office space and 400 hotel rooms.

Mayor Royce Pollard described the waterfront development as "the most significant project in the history of our city and probably Clark County."

"The daytime population of this little city will be about 10,000 people," he said, referring to the 32-acre mixed-use project.

Vancouver has identified $42.3 million in rail, road and utility improvements that would be needed to support the development and pledged $15.5 million to the project. Developers have agreed to chip in $8 million, not counting the money they will spend on internal streets within the waterfront site itself.

Baird said money spent on infrastructure, investing in roads, bridges and ports, will create jobs and get the local economy moving again.

"Yes, we’re facing a challenge," he said. "Our unemployment rate, as you know, is in double digits. But it’s projects like this that are going to turn this around."

http://columbian.com/article/20090314/NEWS02/703149950

http://columbian.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=TC&Date=20090314&Category=NEWS02&ArtNo=703149950&Ref=AR&maxw=1000&q=100&border=0

[CouvScott]

http://www.columbian.com/article/20090313/MULTIMEDIA0405/90313001

[MarkDaMan]

I wish it was a bit taller, maybe with a couple of the blockier towers away from the river instead turned into park blocks to not overwhelm.

Overall, I really hope this goes up!

[CouvScott]

Developer envisions 5,000 residents on former industrial site
Wednesday, June 10 | 7:27 p.m.

BY JEFFREY MIZE AND JULIA ANDERSON
COLUMBIAN STAFF WRITERS



Twist Architecture and Design This rendering released Wednesday is the latest depiction of a high-rise waterfront community that could be built west of the Interstate 5 Bridge.

A formal plan to build a Vancouver waterfront community with almost 5,000 residents and 3,500 workers was submitted Wednesday to city planners.

Gramor Development of Tualatin, Ore., and its local investors, doing business as Columbia Waterfront LLC, filed a master plan for redeveloping the former Boise Cascade paper mill site along the Columbia River.

Gramor President Barry Cain called the project "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to connect the community with the river."

The waterfront project could represent almost $1.3 billion worth of construction and create 12,000 construction jobs over its development timeline, set to start in 2011.

Cain and David Copenhaver, Gramor's vice president of development, acknowledged that obstacles remain, including signing up development partners who can secure construction financing, experiencing a turnaround in the housing and office markets and winning continued support from the city of Vancouver for parks and other amenities.

"The economy is starting to turn, so we feel that by the time we are ready to begin construction, things will be on the upswing," Cain said. "Financial markets are not where they need to be, but they are going in the right direction. We're confident about the Northwest (economy) and about Vancouver."

The master plan was filed with the city Wednesday afternoon. City officials have long coveted the waterfront project, not only for its potential to create jobs and generate taxes, but also for the prestige of having a prominent project on the West's mightiest river.

The overall project would include:

n More than 1 million square feet of office space.

n 250,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.

n 3,000 to 3,300 residential units.

n A 160-room hotel.

n Ten acres of trails, parks and other open space.

Residential units would be a mix of condominiums, apartments, senior housing and so-called "affordable" work force housing for people earning modest wages.

Cain said the first phase of construction likely would include five or six buildings offering 1 million square feet focusing on affordable and senior housing, a reflection of a sour market for luxury condominiums.

"No one is going to plan on … regular condos right now," he said. "We are probably a few years away."

The city intends to extend Esther and Grant streets south though the railroad berm to open up the 32-acre site, just west of the Interstate 5 Bridge. The land has been cleared of the old paper mill and is now fenced off from the public.

The developer and the city both want to see a waterfront park along the length of the project.

Gramor intends to create a "festival" street along a section of the waterfront that could be closed for street fairs and other events. It's all part of fostering an environment that encourages restaurants, shops, nightlife and pedestrian-oriented development.

"The waterfront can't be the sole attraction," Copenhaver said. "This project really is an extension of downtown offering a diversity of uses. The waterfront is an amenity, but this can't be a standalone development. It's got to connect with the rest of downtown."

Buildings in the first phase likely would be five to seven stories tall. As construction progresses farther to the west, away from Pearson Field, buildings could rise to 20 stories, which would make them the tallest in Clark County.

"It will completely transform the downtown," Cain said. "That's what we want to do."

Gramor has developed more than 40 retail projects valued in excess of $700 million throughout the Portland-Vancouver area.


Down economy

Gramor officials say they are talking with development partners who would take on pieces of the project within the overall master plan submitted Wednesday.

George Diamond, with Real Estate Investment Group of Portland, is handling the sales and leasing. Diamond is also an investor in Columbia Waterfront.

Gramor officials say now, during a lousy economy, is precisely the time to lay the foundation for a major project that can proceed when the economy rebounds.

"Just as sure as there are down times, there are up times," Cain said. "This is the best site in the world. You look back in a few years, you aren't going to be thinking about the bad times."

Vancouver already has spent $4.4 million on land and engineering to promote waterfront redevelopment and has lobbied state and federal officials to provide millions more.

The city, however, still has not signed a development agreement with Columbia Waterfront to ensure developers deliver on their project.

The agreement has been delayed for months as the different parties sort though final details. The latest plan calls for the city council to approve the agreement in early July.

The agreement would last for 20 years and require developers to hit minimum densities to ensure the city doesn't build infrastructure to support a high-rise waterfront community but end up with a low-density enclave.


Binding restriction

The city council last November agreed to spend $15.5 million toward more than $44 million in rail, road and utility improvements. Columbia Waterfront has pledged $8 million to this off-site infrastructure work, in addition to the $31 million the developer expects to spend on streets, street lights and utilities inside the 32-acre site.

Even if Gramor and its investors walk away from the project and sell the land, the agreement's conditions would be a deed restriction on the waterfront site that would obligate future owners.

For an additional layer of financial certainty, the development agreement would require Columbia Waterfront's investors to provide personal guarantees for the $8 million commitment.

That means that even if the limited liability company folds, the city could go to court to pry the $8 million loose from Gramor and its investors.

http://www.columbian.com/article/20090610/NEWS02/706119991/Waterfront+plan+filed+

[360Rich]

http://columbian.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=TC&Date=20090610&Category=NEWS02&ArtNo=706119991&Ref=AR&maxw=5000&q=100&border=0

[Okstate]

^ If i'm reading this correctly, build out could take 20 years? Looks like an outstanding rendering. The Couv would have an urban canyon.

[WonderlandPark]

That is a drool worthy rendering. Hope there is a MAX train in there somewhere.:slob: :slob:

[holladay]

I fully believe that Vancouver will see densification over the next couple of decades. I don't know the plausibility of a project this large, but I am certain The Couv' is poised for lots of positive changes.

[65MAX]

That is a drool worthy rendering. Hope there is a MAX train in there somewhere.:slob: :slob:

It'll definitely have MAX access. An easy commute into Portland on the Yellow line will make this area boom.

[CouvScott]

Tuesday, June 23 | 9:50 p.m.

Port of Vancouver commissioners agreed Tuesday to delay installing a new rail bridge that will allow downtown car traffic to access the proposed Columbia Waterfront development.

Port contractor Nutter Corp. has already installed support columns for the bridge at Sixth and Grant streets as part of the West Vancouver freight project to reduce rail traffic congestion near the port. Finishing the bridge, however, will interfere with the city’s nearby project to build a temporary rail line, said Thayer Rorabaugh, the city’s manager of transportation services.

The city will pay the port $123,000 to fulfill its existing obligation with Nutter and a new contract will be issued when the city’s project is complete in 2011.

[CouvScott]

http://service.govdelivery.com/service/view.html?code=WAVANC_185

see the link at the bottom of this page

[CouvScott]

Monday, September 21 | 9:03 p.m.

BY JEFFREY MIZE
COLUMBIAN STAFF WRITER


Vancouver's proposed development agreement for the Columbia River waterfront essentially spells out who does what and when.

The city council spent almost two hours Monday hearing about those details in preparation for an Oct. 19 public hearing on what amounts to a business deal between Vancouver and Columbia Waterfront LLC, consisting of Gramor Development of Tualatin, Ore., and its local investors.

Council members generally liked what they see in the agreement, which was reached following more than a year of negotiations.

Columbia Waterfront has started inching away from earlier depictions of a high-rise community with buildings soaring more than 20 floors above the Columbia River at the former Boise Cascade industrial site west of the Interstate 5 Bridge.

But even a midrise project is expected to represent more than $1 billion in private investment and provide homes for 5,000 people and permanent jobs for 3,500 workers.

Under the proposed agreement, developers would be required to:

• Build at least 2,500 apartments, condominiums and other residential units, 400,000 square feet of office space and 100,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space using sustainable development practices.

• Provide 10 acres of parks, trails and open space, including extending the waterfront trail throughout the project and grading and planting grass for a waterfront park.

• Install streets, sidewalks, utilities and street lights inside the 32-acre site, at an estimated cost of $31 million, and deed the completed infrastructure to the city.

• Contribute $8 million to a city-coordinated project for road and other off-site improvements to open up the site for intensive redevelopment.

In return, the city would:

• Complete the off-site improvements, including extending Esther and Grant streets underneath railroad tracks, at an estimated cost of $44.6 million, before the end of 2011.

• Lock in development rules and regulations for 20 years, along with reserving road capacity, to provide developers with certainty as to what they can build and under what standards.

• Maintain the waterfront park and other open space for perpetuity following an initial two-year maintenance commitment by developers.

• Move to establish a quiet zone by closing Eighth and Jefferson streets before the railroad tracks, thereby eliminating the need for engineers to blast their horns every time a train rolls over the street.

Council members will continue reviewing the proposed agreement in the coming weeks, but there is every indication they will approve the deal later next month.

"This is a great opportunity," Councilwoman Jeanne Harris said. "Cities don't get an opportunity very often to create a waterfront from scratch."

Mayor Royce Pollard said he believes the community will recognize what he called a "historic" event.

"Not only are we going to recapture our waterfront," Pollard said. "We're going to recapture it in a very grand way."

Even Councilman Pat Campbell, who announced he was opposed to the waterfront project during his first month on the council almost two years ago, said Monday that he now supports "an excellent project" after examining geological and other reports.

"I have dug into this pretty deep," he said. "I know I might have irritated some people, but I think it was necessary to do that."

[Okstate]

Vancouver will be hands down the first suburb to offer an urban lifestyle. That feels funny even just typing it.

[CouvScott]

Feds to provide $2 million for new rail underpasses
BY PAUL LEONARD of the VBJ
September 25th, 2009


Downtown Vancouver will get $2 million in federal funding for the creation of two new rail under-crossings, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) announced last week.


The construction of the new access points will clear the way for the proposed $1.3 billion Waterfront Redevelopment project, set to include hotels, housing and retail outlets.

"The opportunity to connect and in some ways reconnect, our community to our waterfront is unmatched in size and potential," said Vancouver Mayor Royce Pollard. "This project will forever change the face of Vancouver and the state of Washington."

The waterfront project has become the cornerstone of Pollard's economic agenda for the city, and if it gets built, could well define the three-term mayor's legacy for decades to come.

Unlike the controversial Columbia River Crossing project, mayoral challenger Tim Leavitt has said he wholeheartedly supports efforts to revitalize the city's waterfront.

The city council is currently reviewing an agreement for the riverfront project. A vote is likely to take place next month.