Q: What is the Port of Everett doing at the Mukilteo waterfront in 2026?
A: The Port of Everett is assembling a developer-ready site on the Mukilteo waterfront. In February 2026, the Port Commission accepted the former NOAA parcel next to the Silver Cloud Hotel via a federal quitclaim deed, and authorized staff to purchase the neighboring Ivar’s Mukilteo Landing property — pairing a 1.1-acre stretch with a 0.55-acre site and a 9,637-square-foot building. The Port has hired architecture and planning firm NBBJ to support the effort and plans to issue a formal solicitation for a private development partner this spring. The vision: a pedestrian-oriented Front Street with restaurants, retail, small-scale housing, and a waterfront promenade.

The Port of Everett’s Other Waterfront: Here’s What’s Coming Together in Mukilteo Right Now

Everybody knows what the Port of Everett is doing on the Everett side of the water. Waterfront Place is essentially full, the esplanade has its new Bowen bronze sculpture, Rustic Cork is four months in and the rooftop still lives up to the hype. The story on that side is “what opens next.”

The story on the Mukilteo side is something else entirely. It’s less finished, less visible, and — depending on how the next six months shake out — possibly the biggest new waterfront play the Port takes on this decade. If you haven’t been paying attention to what is happening on Front Street in Mukilteo, now is the time. A request for developers is going out this spring.

Here’s what the Port has quietly assembled so far, and what the RFP is going to ask the market to build.

The Property Puzzle the Port Just Finished Solving

For years, the Mukilteo waterfront has been a jigsaw puzzle. The Port owns a parklet and an interim parking lot on the site of the former Washington State Ferry terminal. The Silver Cloud Hotel sits right on the water. And tucked in between — and right next door — were two parcels that had to come together before anything serious could get built.

Parcel one: the former NOAA site. A 1.1-acre stretch east of the Silver Cloud at 710 Front Street. The U.S. Air Force conveyed the site to NOAA in 2013 for a planned research facility. Under a congressional directive, if NOAA didn’t move forward with the research facility, the site would transfer to the Port for public-use redevelopment. NOAA didn’t move forward. On February 3, 2026, the Port Commission formally authorized accepting the quitclaim transfer from the federal government.

Parcel two: Ivar’s Mukilteo Landing. The same February meeting authorized Port staff to enter a Purchase and Sale Agreement with MSI Mukilteo, LLC for a 0.55-acre site that includes a 9,637-square-foot building, a parking lot, and a long-term lease with Ivar’s that stays in place. The Port anticipates closing on the sale in July 2026 after the due diligence period wraps up.

Put those two pieces together with the parklet and the former ferry terminal site the Port already holds, and you have a contiguous Mukilteo waterfront stretch ready to be planned as one project instead of five.

Why NBBJ Is the Name to Know

NBBJ is the Seattle-based architecture and planning firm that led the visioning work for the Port on the Mukilteo concept — the workshops, the community input sessions, the renderings of a walkable Front Street. The Port selected NBBJ through a competitive process to support the development push going forward.

Having the visioning architect carried forward into the development phase is meaningful. A lot of waterfront projects get visioned by one firm, then handed off to a developer’s in-house team, and the community concept quietly drifts during value engineering. Keeping NBBJ in the seat as the Port goes to market for a development partner is the Port telling the community: the vision is the baseline, not a nice-to-have.

What “This Spring” Actually Means

The Port’s language in its February announcement was specific: a formal solicitation to identify a private development partner this spring. That means a Request for Qualifications — or a similar competitive call — for developers to put their financials, their track record, and their general approach in front of the commission. It is not a Request for Proposals with final site plans. It is the screening round that creates the short list.

From there, expect a longer RFP-style phase with selected developers, site-specific concept plans, and eventual negotiation on a development agreement. The timeline from “RFQ issued” to “shovels in the ground” on a project this size is typically measured in years, not quarters. The important thing is that the clock starts this spring. If it starts.

What the Vision Actually Calls For

The community vision that came out of NBBJ’s planning work and the Port’s outreach is about as Pacific Northwest waterfront as it gets: a pedestrian-oriented Front Street tied directly to the water, restaurants and retail at the ground level, small-scale housing above, and a promenade outfitted with what the Port has described as “a unique, beachy charm” — which means walkable, human-scaled, not a monolith.

That is a different flavor than what the Port is doing at Waterfront Place. Everett’s Waterfront Place is a larger mixed-use district with bigger buildings, a marina-scale esplanade, and commercial scope that reflects the Port’s industrial working side just to the north. Mukilteo is smaller, tighter, more fine-grained, and leans harder into the “charming village by the ferry” aesthetic that Mukilteo residents have said for years they want to protect.

The Ivar’s long-term lease staying in place is a tell. The Port isn’t planning to wipe the slate. The redevelopment wraps around the existing restaurant and builds a new pedestrian district out from it.

Why This Matters Beyond Mukilteo

For Everett neighbors, the obvious question is why the Port of Everett’s Mukilteo play matters to us. Three reasons.

First, the Port is one of the most important economic engines in Snohomish County, and its Mukilteo work is part of the same agency’s portfolio as the Millwright District, Waterfront Place, and the Central Marina. Its financial health there affects its financial health here.

Second, the Mukilteo waterfront and the Everett waterfront are part of one regional story — a Snohomish County shoreline that is being redeveloped piece by piece, with the Port as the through-line connecting the dots. How Mukilteo lands will set expectations for the rest of the shoreline.

Third, the community process the Port is using in Mukilteo — visioning first, then property assembly, then carry the vision architect into development — is a template. If it works, it’s the Port’s playbook for how it handles its next land opportunity, wherever that is. If it doesn’t work, the Port will try something else next time.

What We’re Watching Over the Next Six Months

A few concrete things to track. First: the actual RFQ document when it drops. What the Port asks for from developers tells you what it cares about — experience on mixed-use waterfront sites, a willingness to accept the community vision as the starting point, the ability to close the Ivar’s lease without disrupting the restaurant.

Second: the Ivar’s closing in July. Until that sale actually closes, the puzzle isn’t fully assembled. Due diligence on waterfront real estate can get complicated — environmental history, title quirks, shoreline jurisdiction — so the July target is something to verify when the month arrives.

Third: Port commission meetings in May and June. The real substantive discussion on the Mukilteo solicitation will happen in those meetings. The agendas are public. Worth watching.

Fourth: Mukilteo City Council, which has its own land-use authority and will have its own opinions. How aligned the city and the Port stay through the RFQ process will shape how quickly this project moves.

The Mukilteo waterfront is one of the most beautiful sites on the Puget Sound. The Port has just finished assembling the pieces required to redevelop it as one project. Now the hard part starts.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Port of Everett doing in Mukilteo?
The Port is assembling a contiguous waterfront site along Front Street in Mukilteo to be redeveloped as a walkable, mixed-use district. In February 2026, it accepted the former NOAA parcel from the federal government and authorized staff to purchase the neighboring Ivar’s Mukilteo Landing property. It plans to solicit a private development partner this spring.

How big is the site?
The NOAA parcel is 1.1 acres. The Ivar’s parcel is 0.55 acres with a 9,637-square-foot building. Together with the Port’s existing parklet and the former Washington State Ferry terminal site, the Port has assembled a contiguous stretch along Front Street.

Who is designing it?
Architecture and planning firm NBBJ led the community visioning and was selected by the Port through a competitive process to continue supporting the development effort.

Is Ivar’s leaving?
No. The Ivar’s long-term lease stays in place as part of the Port’s purchase. The redevelopment is planned to wrap around the existing Ivar’s Mukilteo Landing.

When will construction start?
The Port plans to issue the formal solicitation for a development partner this spring. After that, it takes a selection process, concept plans, a development agreement, permitting, and financing before anything breaks ground. Waterfront projects of this size typically run on a timeline measured in years.

What will get built?
The Port’s stated vision is a pedestrian-oriented Front Street with restaurants, retail, small-scale housing, and a waterfront promenade — walkable, human-scaled, and in keeping with Mukilteo’s existing waterfront character.

How does this relate to Waterfront Place in Everett?
Both are Port of Everett redevelopment projects, but they are different scales and different flavors. Waterfront Place in Everett is a larger mixed-use district anchored by a marina and commercial buildings. The Mukilteo project is tighter, smaller, and focused on a walkable village district around Ivar’s and the former ferry terminal site.