Millwright District Phase 2 Is Breaking Ground in 2026: Here’s What 300+ New Waterfront Homes Mean for Everett

What is the Millwright District? The Millwright District is the 10-acre second and largest phase of the Port of Everett’s Waterfront Place mixed-use development. Phase 2 adds 300+ residential units, 60,000+ square feet of retail and restaurant space, and 200,000+ square feet of commercial and office space to Everett’s working waterfront near the downtown core.

We’ve been watching the Millwright District take shape for years — the cranes, the construction fencing, the slow march of change along the waterfront. And right now, in spring 2026, the second and largest phase of Waterfront Place is officially underway. Private development partner Lincoln Properties is breaking ground on 300+ new residential units at the Millwright District, and when it’s done, the Port of Everett’s 65-acre waterfront transformation will look nothing like what stood here a decade ago.

Here’s what we know, what’s coming, and why this matters for everyone who lives in or near Everett.

What Is the Millwright District, Exactly?

The Millwright District sits within the broader Waterfront Place development — the Port of Everett’s $1 billion-plus effort to transform 65 acres of working waterfront into a mixed-use neighborhood. Phase 1 of Waterfront Place has already delivered: Restaurant Row is now home to Tapped Public House (which opened March 2, 2026, with Snohomish County’s largest open-air rooftop deck), Rustic Cork Wine Bar, The Net Shed Fresh Fish Market & Kitchen, and more tenants arriving this spring.

Phase 2 — the Millwright District — is a different scale entirely. We’re talking about a full 10-acre neighborhood being built from scratch, right on the waterfront near Everett’s downtown core. The project will deliver:

300+ residential units — waterfront apartment homes on Everett’s marina edge
60,000+ square feet of retail and restaurant space — a full neighborhood commercial district
200,000+ square feet of commercial and office space — bringing employers to the waterfront

Lincoln Properties, a national developer with a significant Pacific Northwest portfolio, is the Port’s private development partner on this phase. The groundbreaking for the first residential building was targeted for late 2025 into early 2026, with units expected to deliver as the project completes its build-out over the next several years.

Why Apartments on the Waterfront Are a Big Deal for Everett

Everett has been trying to bring residents to its downtown and waterfront for years. The Millwright District’s 300+ units represent one of the largest infusions of new residential supply the city has seen in a generation — and the location matters enormously.

These aren’t apartments tucked behind a strip mall off I-5. They sit within walking distance of the marina, Restaurant Row, the future Waterfront Place hotel properties, and — if things go according to plan — the Sound Transit Everett Link Extension station that will eventually connect the waterfront to Seattle’s light rail network.

Before Phase 2 breaks ground, the site already has 266 waterfront apartment homes from the first residential component of Waterfront Place. Add 300+ more units from the Millwright District, and you’re looking at nearly 600 waterfront homes where a working industrial port once sat. That’s a genuine neighborhood — with built-in foot traffic to support the retail and restaurant tenants the Port is recruiting.

The Port Is Still Hunting for a Flagship Dining Tenant

Alongside the residential groundbreaking, the Port of Everett is actively searching for one more piece of its restaurant puzzle: a high-end steakhouse or experiential dining concept willing to enter a long-term ground lease and build out a custom restaurant building on the final available parcel in the district.

This is significant because it signals the Port isn’t done curating Waterfront Place’s tenant mix — they want a flagship anchor that can draw diners from across Snohomish County and beyond. The right operator would build their own building on Port land, which is the kind of investment that only happens when a developer believes in a location’s long-term trajectory.

What the Full Waterfront Place Build-Out Looks Like

To understand the Millwright District in context, here’s what the complete 65-acre Waterfront Place development delivers when fully built out:

1.5 million square feet of total mixed-use development
Two hotels — already in the plan and on site
566+ residential units (266 existing + 300+ Millwright Phase 2)
Restaurant Row — multiple dining tenants open or arriving spring 2026
Marine services — S3 Maritime opened early 2026 for recreational vessel maintenance
Expanded public parking — with a free waterfront shuttle updated for 2026

The scale is hard to fully appreciate until you drive past it. This is not a small development. This is a new neighborhood being built on top of what used to be working waterfront infrastructure, and the pace has visibly accelerated since 2024.

What This Means for Everett’s Housing Supply

Everett’s housing market has been under pressure from demand and constrained supply for years. The latest data shows the median sale price in Everett near $547,000 in early 2026 — even amid some year-over-year softening. Adding 300+ new units to the waterfront won’t solve Everett’s affordability challenge on its own, but it adds meaningful supply in a location where none existed before.

These will be market-rate waterfront apartments — which means they’ll serve a specific segment of the market. But their arrival matters for the broader supply picture. Everett needs units. The Millwright District is delivering them.

Our Take

The Millwright District Phase 2 groundbreaking is the moment Waterfront Place stops being a promise and becomes a neighborhood. Restaurant Row proved the concept works — Tapped Public House is already packing in customers, and more tenants are coming. Now the residential component is arriving at scale, which means the foot traffic, the energy, and the sense of a real waterfront district are all about to intensify.

We’ll be at the waterfront watching the cranes go up. Follow along with us.

Frequently Asked Questions

When will the Millwright District apartments be ready?

Lincoln Properties began the groundbreaking phase for Millwright District residential units in late 2025 into early 2026. The full build-out of the 300+ units will unfold over several years.

Who is developing the Millwright District?

Lincoln Properties is the Port of Everett’s private development partner for the Millwright District. The Port retains ownership of the waterfront land.

How many apartments are in the Millwright District?

The Millwright District Phase 2 will deliver 300+ residential units. Combined with 266 existing waterfront homes in Phase 1, the full Waterfront Place development will have approximately 566+ waterfront residential units.

Is Millwright District the same as Waterfront Place?

The Millwright District is the second and largest phase of the Port of Everett’s broader Waterfront Place development. Waterfront Place is the 65-acre, 1.5-million-square-foot mixed-use project; the Millwright District is its 10-acre Phase 2 component.

What businesses are already open at Waterfront Place?

Restaurant Row at Waterfront Place includes Tapped Public House (opened March 2, 2026), Rustic Cork Wine Bar, and The Net Shed Fresh Fish Market & Kitchen. Menchie’s at the Marina and Marina Azul Cocina & Cantina are expected to open spring 2026. S3 Maritime also opened early 2026 for marine services.

Is there parking at Waterfront Place?

Yes. The Port of Everett offers two-hour free parking zones and a free waterfront shuttle with expanded service coming spring 2026. The Port published a 2026 Visitor Parking “Insider’s Guide” with full details at portofeverett.com.

What kind of flagship restaurant is the Port looking for?

The Port of Everett is seeking a high-end steakhouse or experiential dining concept interested in a long-term ground lease on the final available parcel in the Waterfront Place district. The chosen operator would build their own restaurant building on Port-owned land.