Tag Archives: construction

Housing development approved in Winslow

The City of Bainbridge Island approved a 28-home housing development at the northeast corner of Wyatt Way and Madison Avenue in Winslow.

Wyatt Cottages will be built on two parcels bordering an apartment complex and the Madison Tot Lot (see the embedded site plan).

Madison Avenue Development and the island’s park district had discussed a land swap that would have relocated the tot lot to the corner of Wyatt and Madison.

That plan was unpopular with park-goers and eventually nixed.

According to documents posted by the city, the park district and developer did agree to an easement which will allow the access road for the development to cross the southwest corner of the park district’s tot lot parcel.

In exchange, the district will be able to use the new driveway for park access.

According to a project narrative filed last year, Wyatt Cottages is designed to be a “low scale, walkable neighborhood of single-family homes.” Each house will have a private garden space and a roof oriented to maximize exposure for solar panels.

Comments on the land use decision will be accepted through May 27.

Plans for three-story self storage building floated in Poulsbo

Tad Sooter

Building rendering by Jackson | Main Architecture, via the city of Poulsbo.

A Seattle self storage company is considering building a three-story self storage facility across the street from Safeway in Poulsbo.

The city received pre-application materials this month for a 90,000-square-foot complex proposed at 927 NE Lincoln Road, between Highway 305 and 10th Avenue.

Plans include office space and a caretaker apartment. Access would be from Lincoln and 10th.

The applicant is Urban Self Storage of Seattle. A subsidiary of Urban Self Storage bought the 2.6-acre property from Union Bank in 2014 for $545,000, according to county documents.

Company representative Travis Ameche said initial feasibility studies are underway for the Poulsbo site. Urban Self Storage also operates facilities near Keyport and on Bainbridge Island.

A pre-application conference for the Poulsbo proposal is scheduled for May 31.

In other Poulsbo development news, ambitious plans for a Best Western hotel near Central Market have been dropped due to challenges, the architect for the project confirmed this week.

Petco store proposed in Port Orchard

Tad Sooter

A national pet store chain has sniffed out a location in Port Orchard.

City planners are reviewing permit applications for a 11,500-square foot Petco at the southwest corner of Vallair Court and Bethel Road.

The applicant is PacLand, a development firm with offices in Seattle.

The pet store and parking lot would occupy two vacant parcels owned by Seattle-based Port Orchard Retail, LLC.

The property is located across Vallair from Taco Time (see inset image). Customers would access the store from Vallair.

The city issued a mitigated determination of non-significance for the project and will take comments on environmental concerns through Friday. The full notice is posted below.

Petco has stores in Bremerton and Poulsbo.

Port Orchard Petco Mdns by Tad Sooter

Commercial real estate roundup: Bainbridge development sells for $17 million

Tad Sooter

hildebrand A Bainbridge Island mixed-use development and a Port Orchard Walgreens building were among the prominent commercial properties that changed hands during a busy first quarter of 2016.

All told, 102 commercial parcels sold in January, February and March for a combined $111.1 million, according to county assessor’s records.

Sales of large apartment complexes, including Santa Fe Ridge, Bremerton Gardens and Admiral Manor, accounted a large portion of that total. I detailed those sales in a recent rundown of apartment transactions.

Below is a look at some of the notable commercial sales of the year so far, plus a couple from the end of December that didn’t make my last roundup.

Madison Square, Bainbridge — $17.5 million

Sale date: March 9

Assessed value: $13.9 million

Sold by: Madison Square LLC. to LBG Bainbridge LLC.

Description: Seven tax parcels on Hildebrand Lane, south of the Island Village shopping complex. Buildings include a mix of retail, office and apartments.

Notes: The seller is a corporation headed by islander Michael Burns. LBG Bainbridge LLC is a subsidiary of Lord Baltimore Group Ltd., and lists a Vancouver, B.C. mailing address.

The same buyer also purchased the adjacent Camelia apartments for $4.6 million this year, and bought a commercial cluster in Poulsbo which I describe below, all from Burns.

Liberty Center, Poulsbo — $5.93 million

Sale date: March 9

Assessed value: $5 million

Sold by: Liberty Centre LLC. to LBG Bainbridge LLC.

Description: Three buildings with a combined 30,000 square feet of space on 2 acres on the northeast corner of Liberty Road and Highway 305.

Notes: See notes above. Major tenants include John L. Scott and Key Bank.

Grow apartments, Bainbridge — $5.2 million

grow_cooperext3 — Courtesy Grow Community

Sale date: Feb. 4

Assessed value: $973,560

Sold by: Bainbridge Community Development to Clarke Properties LLC.

Description: Two tax parcels at the southeast corner of Wyatt Way and Grow Avenue where the “Cooper” rental apartments were constructed as part of the Grow Community project.

Three-story, 10-unit buildings were slated for each parcel, according to city planning documents.

Walgreens building, Port Orchard — $5.18 million

walgreens

Sale date: Feb. 11

Assessed value: $3.26 million

Sold by: McCandless Port Orchard LLC. to Lease Fund II LLC.

Description: A 15,000-square-foot pharmacy building on 1.8 acres at the northeast corner of Lund Avenue and Bethel Road.

Notes: Across the street from the Bethel Junction shopping center, which also sold recently.
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Average apartment rent in Kitsap reaches $1,077

Tad Sooter

12096541_10206510262029092_907327638897249611_n Kitsap’s rental market remains tight, but rents and vacancy rates seem to be steadying.

Average rent at large apartment complexes was $1,077 a month in the first quarter of 2016, a $6 increase from the fourth quarter of 2015.

Rent was up about $116 from a year ago, a 12 percent change, according to numbers provided by Tom Cain of Apartment Insights Washington.

Vacancy rates ticked up for the third straight quarter, reaching 4.22 percent.

The opening of the 71-unit 606 apartments in downtown Bremerton likely played a role in increasing vacancies. Bremerton’s vacancy rate jumped from 2.64 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015 to 4.53 percent in first quarter of 2016.

Poulsbo/Bainbridge Island remained the tightest submarket, with a 2.91 percent vacancy rate.

In his quarterly report, Cain noted the shortage of homes for sale in the region has been a boon for rental owners.

“The tight home sale market and moderate level of new apartment construction will help keep pressure on rentals,” Cain wrote. “We expect the market to flourish this year.”

Here’s a graphical look at Kitsap rental trends:

Kitsap county rental trends
Create your own infographics

Taco Bell planned for Highway 303

Tad Sooter

UPDATE: For those of you wondering, it appears the applicants for the new Taco Bell project are also owners of the existing Taco Bell on Wheaton Way.

A Taco Bell with drive-thru is planned for a vacant lot on Highway 303, south of Fairgrounds Road, according to a permit application filed with the county.

The 2,000-square-foot restaurant will be built adjacent to Starbucks, Quiznos and, most interestingly, a Taco del Mar.

(Taco Time is located on the same stretch of highway, and there’s a Taco Bell less than 2 miles south on Wheaton Way.)

Click on the image above to see the site plan for the new Taco Bell.

Costco expansion, self storage construction underway in Silverdale

Tad Sooter

Silverdale Costco is celebrating 30 years with a makeover.

An expansion project is now well underway at the Mickelberry Road store, and work will continue for the next few months, assistant manager Jeff Gagliardi said. (Click on my haphazard illustration for a rough overview).

Contractors are adding 13,000 square feet of footprint to the back of the warehouse.

The new store space could be open for use as early as next week. Gagliardi said the expansion is simply to keep pace with growth.

“The standard Costco footprint has evolved quite a bit,” he said.

Meanwhile, a new fuel station is being built at the east end of the parking lot. The future station will be bigger than the original, with nine gas pumps divided between three islands. (No diesel though. I asked).

Gagliardi said the fuel station should be open by early May. The original station will be replaced by parking and a water catchment system. Work in the parking lot will wrap up sometime around June.

Portions of the lot are closed during construction. Gagliardi said he knew the barricades were a nuisance for customers.

“We’ll be happy when thats done,” he said.

The overall project will be completed later this summer, when the store’s freezer area is upgraded.

Self storage going in on Randall Way

A lot near Target will soon be home to a self storage complex.

The facility, under construction at 3442 Randall Way, will open next winter, according to sign at the site.

County permitting docs indicate the three-story, 88,500-square-foot complex will be constructed in two phases. A 1,000-square-foot office will be built alongside the storage units.

The 3.3-acre property was previously slated for 99 senior housing units.

Application submitted for Viking Way apartments

Tad Sooter

Developers are moving ahead with plans for a 91-unit apartment complex on Viking Way in Poulsbo.

A site plan permit application for “Arendal on Viking” was filed with the city Monday.

Plans show four apartment buildings spaced across the 7.6 acre property, which lies east of Viking Way, just south of the Highway 305 intersection.

The complex will be served by 184 parking spaces, with access off Viking. Planned amenities include a clubhouse, barbecue area, bicycle storage and a dog park.

According to the notice of application, there is a category 3 wetland on the property, and the developer is proposing a 25 percent buffer reduction.

The applicant is Viking Avenue Properties, LLC., headed by Kelly Clark of Kingston.

Public comments on the project will be taken through April 5, and can be sent to 200 NE Moe Street, Poulsbo, WA 98370 or plan&econ@cityofpoulsbo.com. Plans can be viewed at City Hall.

The full notice of application is posted below: Continue reading →

Newlife sharing plans for Silverdale center

Tad Sooter

The curtains closed for good Jan. 15 at Silverdale’s Regal Cinemas, but the building won’t be left idle for long.

Newlife church will start work in late April on a project to transform the 14,000-square-foot Poplars Avenue building into a gathering space and training center.

Newlife bought the Regal property late last year with plans to create a centralized community hub. The church hired Rice Fergus Miller to draw up plans for the center, and chose Fairbank Construction as its builder.

Newlife’s plans promise to enliven a drab, boxy building.

Inside, the ground floor of the former cinema will be roughly divided in half, with one side will be dedicated to a 4,800-square-foot auditorium. The other side will be converted to classroom and office space.

Upstairs will be an area for kids, and a community conference room with large windows to allow views in and out.

A main entrance will face south, toward the YMCA.

Newlife will hold three open houses at the building in April to give visitors a feel for the existing building and what the church has planned.

“We want people to get a sense of what it could become, and share our vision for that space,” Mark Middleton with Newlife said.

The open houses are scheduled from 7-9 p.m. April 15, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 16, and 2-5 p.m. April 17. Tours will be given.

The property is located at 9923 Poplars Ave. in Silverdale.

New brand unveiled for home builders association

Tad Sooter

gI_146212_KBA_Logo_pms The Home Builders Association of Kitsap County unveiled a new name and logo earlier this month.

The group has changed its name to the Kitsap Building Association, to better reflect its mix of members from both the residential and commercial construction industries.

The association’s board approved the new brand in January, according to a news release.

“Our name has changed,” Executive Director Teresa Osinski said in the release, “but really, we have always welcomed non-home builders as part of our membership. Anyone involved in construction in Kitsap relies on us for support, advocacy, and community connections. That will never change.”

Poulsbo-based Rockfish Group designed the Kitsap Building Association logo, pictured above.

The full news release is posted below.

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