Exploring Everett - Tygart Media

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Category: Exploring Everett

Everett, Washington is in the middle of something big. A $1 billion waterfront transformation. A Boeing workforce that built the world’s largest commercial jets. A port city with a downtown that’s finally catching up to its potential. A Navy presence at Naval Station Everett. A comedy and arts scene punching above its weight. And neighborhoods — Riverside, Silver Lake, Downtown, Bayside — each with their own identity and story.

Exploring Everett is Tygart Media’s hyperlocal coverage vertical for Snohomish County’s largest city. We cover the waterfront redevelopment, Boeing and Paine Field, city hall, the food and arts scene, real estate, neighborhoods, and everything in between — written for people who live here, work here, or are paying attention to what’s coming.

Coverage categories include: Everett News, Waterfront Development, Boeing & Aerospace, Business, Arts & Culture, Food & Drink, Real Estate, Neighborhoods, Government, Schools, Public Safety, Events, and Outdoors.

Exploring Everett content is also published at exploringeverett.com.

  • Butter Notes Cafe on Broadway Is Everett’s Most Ambitious Coffee Shop — Jazz, a Podcast Studio, and a Menu That Actually Has Ideas

    Butter Notes Cafe on Broadway Is Everett’s Most Ambitious Coffee Shop — Jazz, a Podcast Studio, and a Menu That Actually Has Ideas

    Most coffee shops in Everett serve lattes and move on. Butter Notes Cafe, at 902 N Broadway, is trying to be something different — and four months in, it’s earning the ambition.

    The cafe opened in January 2026 in North Everett, tucked into a suite on Broadway that’s been quietly building a more interesting neighborhood commercial scene. From the outside it looks like a standard coffee stop. Inside there’s a piano, a drum set, ticketed jazz shows, a professional podcast studio, and a drink menu that goes considerably beyond your standard espresso lineup.

    We stopped by to see if the concept holds together. It does.

    The Drinks Menu Is a Statement

    Butter Notes starts with the basics — Americano ($4.25–$5.25), cappuccino ($4.75–$5.25), drip coffee ($3.50–$4.50) — and then gets interesting. The signature and best-seller section leans into Asian-influenced flavors with real commitment: Matcha Latte ($5.75–$6.75), Strawberry Matcha Latte ($6.25–$7.25), Ube Latte ($6.25–$7.25), Hojicha Latte ($5.75–$6.75), Black Sesame Latte ($6.25–$7.25), Blueberry Matcha Latte, and Earl’s Garden (earl grey with floral notes, $6.25–$7.25).

    The Cream Cheese Cold Brew ($5.75–$6.75) deserves a mention — the cream cheese foam cold brew format started in Taiwan and shows up in a handful of Pacific Northwest specialty shops, but rarely in Everett. Order it once and it becomes a habit.

    All prices are three-tier: 12 oz, 16 oz, 20 oz. Even the more elaborate specialty drinks top out at $7.25. A standard latte is $4.75 for a 12-ounce. The pricing is honest for the quality level.

    The Food

    Croffles — croissant waffles — are the signature food item. The strawberry croffle is the one people keep coming back for based on Yelp activity, and it shows up repeatedly in reviews as the thing that made someone a regular. Crepes are also on the menu. The food is the kind of thing that pairs with a long coffee order rather than standing on its own as a meal, which is exactly the right call for a cafe with this much going on in the drink department.

    The Piano, the Jazz Shows, and the Discord

    The piano and drum set are not decoration — Butter Notes hosts regular ticketed jazz shows, listed at turntabletickets.com, and the room is designed around them. This is unusual for Everett. A specialty coffee shop with a recurring live jazz program embedded into its weekly rhythm is not something the city has had before.

    They also run a Discord community server. This is a deliberate choice that signals the target audience: younger regulars who want a third place that actually does community rather than performing it. The newsletter is framed as “Help us bring jazz to Everett,” which tells you exactly what the owners are trying to build here.

    The podcast studio (bookable via Peerspace) adds another layer: professional multi-camera recording equipment, studio lighting, professional audio — for local creators who need the hardware without the overhead of a full production house. It’s an economically interesting bet. A podcast studio inside a coffee shop brings in a specific kind of regular who also tends to tell other people about the place.

    How It Compares to Other Everett Coffee Options

    The Broadway corridor has been underserved for sit-down specialty coffee. The closest direct comparisons in terms of specialty focus and community vibe would be Narrative Coffee downtown, The Loft Coffee Bar on Hewitt, or Nadine’s Coffee House off Wetmore — all worth visiting. What separates Butter Notes is the performance program. Jazz nights turn a coffee shop into a destination rather than a convenience, which is a fundamentally different kind of business. Sobar Coffee on Colby has the remote-work atmosphere; Butter Notes is doing something closer to a community arts space that also makes excellent lattes.

    Hours and How to Get There

    Open Monday through Friday 7 AM–8 PM, Saturday and Sunday 8 AM–8 PM. Online ordering available. The Broadway location is accessible from the North Everett residential neighborhoods, about a 10-minute drive from downtown or a short walk from the Broadway commercial corridor.

    The Bottom Line

    If your coffee rotation has gone stale, Butter Notes is the corrective. The specialty drink menu uses Asian flavors as a genuine design language rather than a novelty. The jazz shows make the space alive on weekday evenings. The podcast studio pays for the rent. It all adds up to a place with an actual point of view, which is rarer than it should be for a city the size of Everett.

    The move: Ube Latte or Strawberry Matcha Latte. Strawberry croffle if you’re hungry. Arrive early on weekends — seating fills before the jazz sets start.

    Address: 902 N Broadway, Suite B, Everett, WA 98201
    Hours: Mon–Fri 7 AM–8 PM, Sat–Sun 8 AM–8 PM
    What to order: Ube Latte, Strawberry Matcha Latte, Cream Cheese Cold Brew, strawberry croffle
    Jazz shows: turntabletickets.com
    Podcast studio: Bookable via Peerspace
    Price range: $–$$

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Where is Butter Notes Cafe in Everett?

    Butter Notes Cafe is at 902 N Broadway, Suite B, Everett, WA 98201, in North Everett on the Broadway corridor.

    What are Butter Notes Cafe hours?

    Monday through Friday: 7 AM–8 PM. Saturday and Sunday: 8 AM–8 PM.

    What is a croffle at Butter Notes?

    A croffle is a croissant waffle — croissant dough pressed in a waffle iron. Butter Notes’ strawberry croffle is their signature food item and one of the most-ordered items on the menu.

    Does Butter Notes Cafe have live music?

    Yes. Butter Notes hosts regular ticketed jazz shows. Tickets are available at turntabletickets.com and upcoming dates are listed on their events calendar at butternotescafe.com.

    Does Butter Notes Cafe have a podcast studio?

    Yes. Butter Notes has a professional podcast recording studio with multi-camera video, professional audio, and studio lighting available for rent. Book through their Peerspace listing or via butternotescafe.com/podcast-studio.

    What is the best drink at Butter Notes Cafe?

    The Ube Latte, Strawberry Matcha Latte, and Cream Cheese Cold Brew are the standouts based on menu positioning and customer reviews. The Ube Latte ($6.25–$7.25) is the most distinctive drink on the menu.

  • The Ten-01 Pub Has Spent 16 Months Earning Back a Hewitt Avenue Address — Here’s Why It’s Working

    The Ten-01 Pub Has Spent 16 Months Earning Back a Hewitt Avenue Address — Here’s Why It’s Working

    Some addresses carry weight. 1001 Hewitt Ave is one of them.

    For decades it was The Anchor Tavern, then The Anchor Pub. The last chapter under that name ended badly — the owner convicted of child rape, the building sold at public auction, the sign taken down. When Holly Heath and Shane Ratigan bought the place in 2024, they had a choice: carry forward a name locals associated with a dark chapter, or start fresh while honoring what made the address worth saving.

    They chose fresh. They named it The Ten-01 — after the address at 1001 Hewitt — and opened on January 17, 2025. Sixteen months in, it’s working.

    The Building Has Earned Its History

    The structure at 1001 Hewitt has been a bar since the 1930s, but the building itself dates to 1907. High ceilings, worn wood, walls that have absorbed a century of conversations. Heath and Ratigan knew this when they bid on it.

    “We’ve had our eye on this location for quite some time — it’s an incredible space in a historical building that we absolutely love,” the owners told My Everett News at opening. They spent months on renovations, cleaning up the space and the reputation simultaneously. The result is a room that feels lived-in without feeling tired. Long bar, booths along the wall, enough space to move without apologizing to strangers.

    The Food

    The kitchen does burgers, house-made pizzas, pub-style appetizers, and tacos. Nothing precious about any of it — these are things made to go with beer. The classic cheeseburger is half-price on Tuesdays, which is one of the smarter things a neighborhood bar can do if it wants regulars to show up mid-week.

    The price range is pub-appropriate. If you want elevated tasting menus you’re a few blocks east at Luca or The New Mexicans. The Ten-01 is not that. It’s the bar version of a homecooked meal — familiar and good.

    The Train Beer Tradition

    This is the detail everyone brings up first, because it earns it: whenever a train rolls past on the BNSF tracks right behind the building — which happens regularly on the corridor that runs through central Everett — you get $2 domestic draft beers. This is a tradition from the Anchor Tavern era that the new owners kept. Correct decision. It’s the kind of touch that tells you a bar understands what makes a neighborhood bar work.

    Freight trains on the BNSF line run through the evening and night. Regulars have been known to track them. We’re not saying you should, but we understand why.

    Events and the Weekly Calendar

    Thursdays: trivia at 7 PM. Live music is a regular weekend feature — the grand opening in January 2025 featured local bands Sugar Push and The True Romans, and the music programming has continued. Heath and Ratigan also own The Pinehurst Pub in North Seattle, so they have a working model for this. Regular events, consistent specials, a room that makes the next visit feel obvious.

    Where It Fits on the Hewitt Corridor

    The Hewitt Avenue food and drink scene has built itself into something genuinely interesting. Within walking distance of The Ten-01: Obsidian Beer Hall two blocks east, Vintage Cafe (50 years strong), R Harn Thai, STRGZR Coffee and Kitchen, and Luca Italian for a proper dinner. The Ten-01 slots in as the working pub — the place you end the night after dinner, or start the evening before a show at Angel of the Winds two blocks away.

    The Bottom Line

    Go, especially on a night when you can hear the trains. The address has earned a second chance and the current owners are honoring it. The building is a piece of Everett going back to 1907. The beer is cold, the food is solid, and $2 domestic drafts when freight passes through is one of those things you’ll be explaining to visitors for years.

    Address: 1001 Hewitt Ave, Everett, WA 98201
    Hours: Sun–Thu 3 PM–midnight, Fri–Sat 3 PM–2 AM
    What to order: Classic cheeseburger (half-price Tuesday), draft when the train rolls through
    Train beer: $2 domestic draft whenever a train passes
    Events: Trivia Thursday 7 PM, live music weekends
    Parking: Street parking on Hewitt, surface lots nearby
    Price range: $–$$

    Frequently Asked Questions

    What is The Ten-01 Pub in Everett?

    The Ten-01 Pub is a community bar at 1001 Hewitt Ave in downtown Everett, WA, named after its address. It opened January 17, 2025, in a historic 1907 building formerly occupied by The Anchor Tavern and Anchor Pub.

    Who owns The Ten-01 Pub?

    Owners Holly Heath and Shane Ratigan, who also own The Pinehurst Pub in North Seattle, purchased the building at public auction and opened The Ten-01 in January 2025.

    What is the train beer deal at The Ten-01?

    Every time a freight train passes on the nearby BNSF tracks, The Ten-01 offers $2 domestic draft beers. It is a tradition carried over from the building’s previous ownership and one of the pub’s most beloved features.

    What are The Ten-01 hours?

    Sunday through Thursday: 3 PM to midnight. Friday and Saturday: 3 PM to 2 AM.

    Does The Ten-01 have food?

    Yes. The menu includes house-made pizzas, burgers, pub-style appetizers, and tacos. The classic cheeseburger is half-price on Tuesdays.

    Does The Ten-01 Pub have live music?

    Yes. Live music is a regular feature on weekends. Thursday trivia night starts at 7 PM. Check their Instagram @theten01 for the current schedule.

  • Everett’s Riverfront Is About to Start Building Its Park — But Here’s the More Complicated Story of What’s Waiting

    Everett’s Riverfront Is About to Start Building Its Park — But Here’s the More Complicated Story of What’s Waiting

    📖 Exploring Everett — In-Depth Coverage of This Story

    Q: Where does Everett’s Snohomish River riverfront development stand in 2026?
    A: The City of Everett will begin Phase 1 construction on Eclipse Mill Park — the signature 3-acre public park for the Snohomish River waterfront — in summer 2026, with waterside amenities targeted for completion by November 2026. Developer Shelter Holdings’ land-side Phase 1 park work follows from fall 2026 through spring 2028. The broader riverfront development, which envisions up to 1,250 housing units and ground-floor retail, is advancing — but the retail side has faced significant delays, with a planned grocery store pushed to 2030 and a cinema concept replaced by a pickleball facility.

    The Park Construction Is Coming This Summer

    If you’ve driven along the Snohomish River lately, you’ve seen it: the buildings going up on what used to be a former landfill and lumber mill site, the streets carved into a neighborhood that didn’t exist five years ago, the quiet accumulation of infrastructure on one of Everett’s most ambitious bets on its own future.

    The riverfront project, led by Bellevue-based developer Shelter Holdings, is one of the largest private development projects underway in Snohomish County. It’s also one of the most publicly scrutinized. An August 2025 Everett Herald story captured the resident frustration that’s built alongside the housing: delays, empty storefronts, and a timeline that keeps moving.

    With the 2026 construction season now arriving, here’s the most complete picture of where the Everett riverfront actually stands.

    The most concrete near-term milestone is Eclipse Mill Park, the 3-acre public green space planned as the social heart of the new riverfront neighborhood. The project has a split structure. The City of Everett handles the waterside portion: bank stabilization, a floating dock, and waterfront amenities that will make the park usable from the river side. That work is slated to begin over the summer of 2026, with the city targeting completion of its portion by November 2026.

    Once the city finishes, Shelter Holdings has 18 months to complete its land-side portion of Phase 1 — the amenities including parking, a playground, a trail connection, and a play lawn. That puts the Phase 1 park completion in spring 2028, with a full park opening projected for that same window.

    What’s worth emphasizing now — with Phase 1 city work just months away — is that this is a real construction event, not a distant promise. By late summer 2026, heavy equipment will be working the riverbank at the Eclipse Mill Park site, and by Thanksgiving the city portion should be visibly taking shape.

    The Housing Side: What’s Built and What’s Coming

    The housing portion of the Shelter Holdings development is further along than the retail side. Phase 1 launched with 333 apartments as the initial residential component. The broader vision calls for up to 1,250 multi-family housing units across all phases — which would make this one of the largest residential additions in Everett’s history once fully built out.

    The units that are occupied are generating a resident base, which is exactly what the development needs to attract the commercial tenants the neighborhood has been waiting for. More residents means more foot traffic; more foot traffic means a business case for retail operators. The tension is that the sequencing hasn’t worked out that cleanly. The housing came first, but the retail hasn’t followed fast enough for residents who moved in expecting a neighborhood with a coffee shop, a grocery store, and things to do within walking distance.

    The Retail Gap: What Got Delayed, What Got Dropped

    This is the most candid part of the 2026 picture.

    The original Phase 1 vision for the Everett riverfront included a movie theater, a specialty grocer, ground-floor restaurants, and a commercial district that would activate the neighborhood from day one. Almost none of that has materialized on the original schedule.

    The cinema is gone. In 2024, the Everett City Council agreed to let Shelter Holdings replace the planned movie theater with a pay-to-play pickleball facility, citing the post-COVID difficulties facing the movie business. The deadline for that facility was also pushed from Phase 1 to Phase 3 of the development, which is likely several years away.

    The grocery store has been delayed to 2030. When Shelter Holdings asked the city for the extension in June 2025, the explanation was direct: grocery store operators “want to see additional surrounding population density to support a grocery store at the Riverfront.” With Phase 1 apartments occupied but the broader neighborhood still building out, the density threshold for a grocer to make the numbers work hasn’t been reached.

    The Herald’s August 2025 coverage of empty storefronts and resident frustration captured a real tension that anyone who has walked the riverfront neighborhood can see. The ground-floor retail bays that were supposed to activate the street-level experience are sitting empty. The buildings are there. The windows are there. The tenants aren’t.

    Why This Matters for Everett’s Development Story

    The Snohomish River waterfront project is one of three simultaneous waterfront and development efforts reshaping Everett. The Port of Everett’s Waterfront Place on Port Gardner Bay is further along commercially — Tapped Public House, Marina Azul, Menchie’s, Rustic Cork, and Jetty Bar & Grille are all operating. Millwright District Phase 2 targets a mid-2029 entertainment retail opening. The riverfront is the youngest and most interior of the three, running on the longest clock.

    The structural challenge is one that most large mixed-use developments face: the first residents arrive before the amenities that make the development worth living in. Developers manage this by phasing construction so that commercial critical mass arrives shortly after residential density. At the Everett riverfront, that sequence got disrupted — first by COVID’s impact on the cinema sector, then by the grocery sector’s density requirements, then by the general commercial retail slowdown of 2023–2025.

    The 2026 construction season offers a reset moment. Eclipse Mill Park Phase 1 city work beginning over the summer is a visible, tangible marker of progress — exactly the kind of milestone that builds confidence in the neighborhood among both prospective residents and prospective retail tenants. The floating dock, the riverbank improvements, and the infrastructure going in this year will make the Snohomish River accessible to the neighborhood in a way it hasn’t been yet.

    What to Watch in the Second Half of 2026

    The markers worth tracking between now and December 2026:

    City park construction progress. The city targets its riverbank and floating dock work by November 2026. Any slippage to that schedule pushes back Shelter Holdings’ Phase 1 timeline and the spring 2028 park opening.

    Retail tenant announcements. With 2030 now the grocery anchor target, any pre-2030 commercial lease signing in the riverfront district would be meaningful news. Even a smaller-format coffee shop or neighborhood retail commit would signal that the density threshold is being crossed.

    Phase 2 housing permit filings. More housing permits mean more residents on the way, which advances the case for retail faster than anything else the developer can do.

    The Everett riverfront isn’t behind the way a stalled project is behind. It’s behind the way ambitious urban development always is when it tries to build a neighborhood from scratch on challenging land. The bones of a genuinely good waterfront district are visible — the housing, the infrastructure, the park framework. The retail chapter is just taking longer to write.

    This summer’s construction season will be the most visible progress the riverfront has shown in a year. When the city starts moving dirt at Eclipse Mill Park, it’ll be the clearest sign yet that Everett’s Snohomish River waterfront is still building toward what it promised to be.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Q: When will Eclipse Mill Park open?
    Eclipse Mill Park Phase 1 is projected to fully open in spring 2028. The City of Everett will complete its waterside construction by November 2026, after which Shelter Holdings has 18 months to complete the land-side Phase 1 amenities.

    Q: Who is developing the Everett riverfront?
    Shelter Holdings, a Bellevue-based developer, is the primary private developer for the Snohomish River waterfront project. The City of Everett is separately responsible for Eclipse Mill Park’s waterside construction phase.

    Q: How many housing units are planned for the Everett riverfront?
    The full Shelter Holdings development envisions up to 1,250 multi-family housing units across all phases. Phase 1 launched with 333 apartments.

    Q: Why was the riverfront cinema cancelled?
    The Everett City Council approved Shelter Holdings’ request in 2024 to replace the planned movie theater with a pay-to-play pickleball facility, citing challenges facing the cinema industry since COVID-19. The project’s deadline was also moved from Phase 1 to Phase 3.

    Q: When will the riverfront grocery store open?
    The grocery store has been delayed to 2030. Shelter Holdings cited grocery operators’ requirements for greater surrounding population density before they will commit to a store.

    Q: Where is the Everett riverfront development located?
    The Shelter Holdings riverfront development sits along the Snohomish River in Everett, on the site of a former city landfill and lumber mills. It’s distinct from the Port of Everett’s Waterfront Place development on Port Gardner Bay to the west.

  • Snohomish County’s Retail Market Is the Tightest in Puget Sound — And Q1 2026 Just Started Testing That

    Snohomish County’s Retail Market Is the Tightest in Puget Sound — And Q1 2026 Just Started Testing That

    📖 Exploring Everett — In-Depth Coverage of This Story

    Q: How does Snohomish County’s retail vacancy compare to the rest of the Puget Sound region?
    A: Snohomish County ended Q4 2025 at 3.4% retail vacancy — the tightest rate in the Seattle-Puget Sound metro, according to Kidder Mathews. While the broader Seattle market finished 2025 at 4.0% and continued rising into Q1 2026, Snohomish County’s retail market has stayed tighter because almost no new retail square footage has been built in years. That scarcity protects existing landlords but creates a challenging environment for major new developments like Waterfront Place and Millwright Phase 2 that need to recruit tenants into a market where selectivity is rising.

    Why Snohomish County Retail Stays Tight

    Here’s a number that doesn’t get talked about enough: Snohomish County’s retail vacancy rate ended 2025 at 3.4 percent.

    For context, the broader Seattle metro finished 2025 at 4.0 percent, and that number was climbing. King County’s vacancy was trending higher through the back half of the year. Portland hit 4.8 percent in Q1 2026. By every regional benchmark, Snohomish County’s retail market is the tightest in Puget Sound — and it has been for most of the past three years.

    That’s a complicated backdrop for everything happening on Everett’s waterfront right now.

    The short answer, according to Kidder Mathews’ Q4 2025 retail market data cited by the Everett Herald in February 2026, is construction — or rather, the lack of it. Almost nothing has been built. The last major new shopping center project in Snohomish County was years ago, which means existing retail square footage is scarce. When tenants look for space, their options are limited — which keeps occupancy high and keeps asking rents elevated.

    The Everett Herald framed it plainly: “Few vacant retail spaces in Snohomish County.” At 3.4 percent vacancy, that’s not just a real estate headline — it’s a physical reality that shapes which businesses can afford to open here.

    But Q1 2026’s Kidder Mathews data, published by The Registry Pacific Northwest on April 8, 2026, introduced something new into the conversation: a trend line. Vacancy is “creeping higher.” Tenants are “growing more selective.” The words are measured — this is not a market in distress — but they signal that the floor-tight conditions of the past two years are starting to soften at the margins.

    What This Means for Waterfront Place

    The Port of Everett’s Waterfront Place development has approximately 63,000 square feet of planned retail and restaurant space across the full buildout of Fisherman’s Harbor and Marina Village. A meaningful portion of that is already occupied and generating activity: Tapped Public House opened in March 2026 with the largest waterfront rooftop deck in Snohomish County; Marina Azul Cocina & Cantina arrived in spring 2026; Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt opened at the marina in March; Rustic Cork Wine Bar has been operating for months; Jetty Bar & Grille remains a marina staple; South Fork Baking Co. and Anthony’s HomePort anchor the established tenant base.

    That’s a functioning dining and retail district — and it’s operating in a county where retail space is genuinely scarce. In a 3.4 percent vacancy environment, every new restaurant that opens at Waterfront Place is competing not just with other waterfront tenants, but with a county-wide retail market where operators are getting more selective about where they commit.

    The remaining Parcel A7 restaurant site — the Port’s search for a flagship dining tenant at the last undeveloped waterfront pad — is an open question in this context. A tight market should theoretically accelerate recruitment. But Q1 2026’s rising selectivity from prospective tenants complicates that math. Operators have more choices than they used to, and they’re using them.

    The Millwright Phase 2 Question

    The more significant long-term implication of the Q1 2026 retail data is for Millwright District Phase 2, which envisions up to 120,000 square feet of retail, entertainment, and dining — the movie theater, mini golf, arcade, bowling, specialty shops, gyms, and salons announced as the anchor concept, with a projected opening window of mid-2029.

    Between now and 2029, the retail market will complete several more cycles. The current “vacancy creeping higher, tenants more selective” phase could resolve in either direction. What the Q1 2026 data confirms is that the foundation is solid. A county that has held below 3.5 percent vacancy for multiple years, with no meaningful new inventory in the pipeline, is a county where well-positioned retail real estate still works. Millwright Phase 2’s 120,000 square feet will be the largest single retail addition Snohomish County has seen in years — arriving into a market that will almost certainly still be undersupplied by mid-decade.

    Downtown Everett and the Bank of America Signal

    One notable data point in downtown Everett’s retail landscape deserves separate attention: the 12,000-square-foot Bank of America building at 1602 Hewitt Avenue, which came to market this spring for the first time in 60 years. Skotdal is marketing the building with a three-lane drive-through and 92 covered parking spaces.

    At 3.4 percent county-wide retail vacancy, a 12,000-square-foot class-A footprint in downtown Everett should theoretically be in high demand. The fact that it’s available at all is a testament to how thoroughly the banking sector has contracted its physical footprint. The question is whether the retail market’s tightness is enough to attract a non-bank tenant willing to work with that building’s legacy configuration.

    The comparison to the office market is instructive: Snohomish County office vacancy hit 10.7 percent in Q1 2026 — nearly triple the retail rate. Office space is available and under pressure; retail space is not. That divergence matters for how developers think about the use mix at Waterfront Place and Millwright Phase 2. Retail and dining are still the anchor draw. Office demand follows workers, not the other way around.

    The Snohomish County Retail Advantage — For Now

    For anyone tracking Everett’s development story, the retail market data adds an important piece of context. The waterfront, downtown, the riverfront, and Millwright are all recruiting tenants into a county that remains the most retail-constrained in the region. That constraint cuts both ways.

    It means existing retailers perform well. It means new entrants can establish market position before competition multiplies. And it means the large-format entertainment retail vision at Millwright Phase 2 — the first genuine new retail district Snohomish County will have seen in years — will arrive into conditions that still favor well-capitalized landlords.

    The Q1 2026 signal worth watching is whether rising tenant selectivity translates into slower absorption at Waterfront Place. The next few quarters of lease announcements will be a real-time test of whether the Port’s restaurant row momentum can hold through a softening. Based on what the data shows right now, there’s no reason to expect it won’t — but the days of almost any tenant being available are giving way to a market that’s starting to pick and choose.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Q: What is Snohomish County’s retail vacancy rate?
    Snohomish County ended Q4 2025 at 3.4 percent retail vacancy, the lowest in the Puget Sound metro according to Kidder Mathews. Q1 2026 showed the rate beginning to edge higher as tenants grew more selective.

    Q: How does Snohomish County compare to Seattle’s retail market?
    The broader Seattle metro finished 2025 at 4.0 percent retail vacancy, roughly half a point higher than Snohomish County. Q1 2026 continued that divergence, with the Seattle-area rate climbing while Snohomish County remained below regional averages.

    Q: How much retail space is planned at Waterfront Place?
    The Port of Everett’s Waterfront Place development plans for approximately 63,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space across Fisherman’s Harbor and Marina Village, with multiple tenants already operating.

    Q: How much retail is coming to Millwright District Phase 2?
    Millwright District Phase 2 envisions up to 120,000 square feet of entertainment-anchored retail — including a movie theater, mini golf, arcade, bowling, and specialty shops — with a projected opening window of mid-2029.

    Q: Why is Snohomish County retail vacancy so low?
    The primary driver is a near-complete absence of new retail construction in the county for multiple years. With no significant new inventory entering the market, existing space stays occupied and asking rents remain elevated.

    Q: What is happening at the Bank of America building on Hewitt Avenue in downtown Everett?
    The 12,000-square-foot former Bank of America building at 1602 Hewitt Avenue became available for the first time in roughly 60 years in spring 2026. Skotdal is marketing the space with a three-lane drive-through and 92 covered parking spaces in downtown Everett.

  • Snohomish County Council Member Introduces Four Bills on Homelessness Policy, Drug Paraphernalia, and Child Fentanyl

    Snohomish County Council Member Introduces Four Bills on Homelessness Policy, Drug Paraphernalia, and Child Fentanyl

    A Snohomish County Council member introduced four new ordinances this week that would significantly shift how the county approaches homelessness, behavioral health treatment, and drug policy — including a proposal to prohibit county funding from being used to purchase drug paraphernalia and another that would criminalize exposing children to fentanyl.

    Council Member Nate Nehring, who represents District 1 on the Snohomish County Council, introduced the package and outlined each proposal in a May 6, 2026 column published in The Daily Herald.

    For Everett residents, the legislation touches on issues that directly affect city neighborhoods — from the cost and structure of county-funded shelter and housing programs to the legal framework around drug exposure in homes with children. The four bills are proposals; they have not yet been voted on. Each must go through committee review and at least one public hearing before the full council takes action.

    The Four Proposals, One by One

    Proposal 1: Removing the County’s Housing First Preference

    The first ordinance would prevent the county from requiring county-funded housing programs to adhere to strict “Housing First” policies. Instead, Nehring wrote, the proposal would “level the playing field for entities which prioritize accountability.”

    Housing First is a model used by many government housing programs that prioritizes placing people in stable housing before addressing other challenges such as addiction or mental health treatment. Under Nehring’s proposal, county-funded programs would not be required to follow the Housing First framework, opening the door for the county to fund programs that incorporate treatment requirements as part of their model.

    Proposal 2: Directing More AHBH Dollars Toward Behavioral Health Facilities

    The second ordinance would redirect a larger share of the county’s Affordable Housing and Behavioral Health (AHBH) Fund toward behavioral health facilities specifically.

    Nehring wrote that $3 million annually — about 12.2% of AHBH funds — currently goes toward behavioral health facilities. The proposal would increase that share to 20%, expanding the funding available for treatment, recovery, and stabilization services.

    The AHBH fund is a sales-tax-funded source — authorized under state law — that the County Council allocates to housing and behavioral health projects across Snohomish County. In April 2026, the county council awarded $23 million from the fund to six housing projects, including three in Everett: a 172-bed shelter expansion, a 28-unit affordable apartment building, and a 58-unit transit-oriented mixed-use building. Read: How $23 Million in Housing Money Moved Without a Tax Vote

    Proposal 3: Prohibiting County Funds for Drug Paraphernalia

    The third ordinance would prohibit Snohomish County from using local taxpayer dollars to purchase and distribute drug paraphernalia. Nehring described the proposal as intended to “ensure that county government does not facilitate activities that enable ongoing drug abuse,” with county policy instead focused on “treatment, recovery, and accountability.”

    The specific definitions and any exemptions — including for medications such as naloxone, the overdose-reversal drug — would be determined in the ordinance’s legislative text as it moves through the review process.

    Proposal 4: Child Fentanyl Exposure Ordinance

    The fourth ordinance would criminalize the exposure of minors to fentanyl at the county level, modeled on a similar law recently enacted by the City of Everett.

    Washington State law already criminalizes exposing children to methamphetamine, but does not specifically address fentanyl. Nehring wrote that “local governments around the state are now taking action to address child fentanyl exposure.” The Snohomish County proposal would extend similar protections to cover fentanyl exposure at the county level.

    What Comes Next for the Legislation

    Nehring introduced the four proposals this week at the Snohomish County Council. None has yet been voted on. Snohomish County ordinances go through a committee review and public hearing process before the full council votes on them. The timeline for hearings on each bill will be set by the council’s legislative calendar.

    The Snohomish County Council has five members elected by district. For any proposal to become law, a majority — three votes — would be required.

    The Policy Context

    Snohomish County — with Everett as its county seat — has invested substantially in housing and behavioral health programs in recent years, using dedicated sales tax revenues to fund shelter, affordable housing, and treatment projects.

    Nehring’s four-bill package reflects a debate playing out in counties and cities across Washington State about how government housing programs should be structured, whether treatment requirements should be part of publicly funded housing programs, and how counties should allocate limited behavioral health dollars.

    Nehring represents District 1 on the Snohomish County Council and lives in Arlington. In his column, he described witnessing the day-to-day work of social workers embedded with law enforcement and said current policy approaches “do not appear to be solving the problem.”

    Frequently Asked Questions

    What is Housing First?

    Housing First is a policy framework that prioritizes placing people experiencing homelessness in stable housing as quickly as possible, without requiring sobriety or participation in treatment as a precondition. It is used in many county and state housing programs across Washington.

    Have these bills passed?

    No. As of May 6, the four ordinances have been introduced. They must go through committee review and at least one public hearing before a full council vote.

    Does this affect the City of Everett’s budget or the EMS levy?

    No. These are county-level ordinances. They would affect how Snohomish County allocates county funds, not the City of Everett’s budget or any pending city ballot measures.

    How is the AHBH fund paid for?

    The Affordable Housing and Behavioral Health Fund is funded by a sales tax authorized by state law (RCW 82.14.530 and RCW 82.14.540). The county council allocates the proceeds through its regular legislative process; no separate voter approval is required for each award.

    Can Everett residents comment on county legislation?

    Yes. Snohomish County residents can testify at County Council meetings, submit written comments through the county website, or contact their district representative directly. The County Council meets at 3000 Rockefeller Ave in Everett.

    What To Do Next

    Track the bills: Visit snohomishcountywa.gov and navigate to the County Council’s meeting calendar to follow committee schedules for these four ordinances.

    Submit written comment: Contact the Snohomish County Council office with your perspective on any of the four proposals before they reach a public hearing.

    Attend a council meeting: The Snohomish County Council meets at 3000 Rockefeller Ave, Everett. Meeting dates and agendas are posted at snohomishcountywa.gov.

    Find your council district: Visit snohomishcountywa.gov to identify which of the five council members represents your area.

  • Everett City Council Votes Tonight on Permanent Protections for Seven Manufactured Home Communities

    Everett City Council Votes Tonight on Permanent Protections for Seven Manufactured Home Communities

    Tonight at 6:30 p.m., Everett City Council will hold a public hearing and take the third and final vote on CB 2604-23 — an ordinance that would permanently establish a new land-use zone to protect seven manufactured home communities from redevelopment pressure.

    If the council approves CB 2604-23 tonight, Everett will have a dedicated Neighborhood Residential – Manufactured Home Community (NR-MHC) zone — a zoning designation that requires parcels occupied by manufactured home parks to remain as such. That means the owners of the seven named parks could not convert them to other uses — apartments, retail, storage, office — without a future act of the city council.

    For the thousands of Everett residents who live in those seven communities, the vote represents the end of a multi-year legislative process and the formal close of a window that has left some residents uncertain about the long-term stability of their homes.

    What Tonight’s Agenda Shows

    The May 6, 2026 City Council agenda lists CB 2604-23 as both a public hearing and an action item — meaning the council will take public testimony and then vote on the ordinance in the same meeting. This is the third and final reading, the last step in Everett’s ordinance adoption process before a bill goes to the mayor for signature.

    The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. in City Council Chambers at 3002 Wetmore Ave, Everett. It is also a hybrid meeting, with remote participation available via Zoom.

    The Seven Parks Named in the Ordinance

    CB 2604-23 specifically names the following manufactured home communities as subject to the new NR-MHC zone:

    1. Creekside
    2. Fairway Estates
    3. Lago De Plata Villa
    4. Loganberry
    5. Mobile Country Club
    6. Silver Shores Senior
    7. Westridge

    Each of these parks would have its parcels rezoned to NR-MHC, making manufactured home community use the only permitted primary use on those sites.

    Why a Dedicated Zone Matters

    Manufactured housing is one of the most affordable forms of homeownership available in Snohomish County. Unlike apartment renters, many residents in manufactured home communities own their homes outright — but they rent the land beneath them from the park owner. That structure creates a vulnerability: if a park owner sells the land for redevelopment, residents may be required to move their homes or leave.

    Everett’s Comprehensive Plan identifies manufactured home preservation as a housing policy goal — specifically HO-10 (preserve manufactured housing as a naturally affordable housing type) and HO-19 (protect existing manufactured home communities from displacement). CB 2604-23 is the implementing ordinance that gives those goals legal teeth in the city’s zoning code.

    What the Ordinance Actually Changes

    CB 2604-23 does several things at once. It creates the NR-MHC zone as a distinct designation in the Everett Municipal Code and amends the Zoning Map to apply that designation to the seven named parks. It amends Chapters 15.02, 19.03, 19.04, 19.05, and 19.13 of the EMC to integrate the new zone into Everett’s planning framework. It repeals Title 17 EMC — which contained the prior manufactured housing regulations — and amends Ordinances 3774-20, 3534-17, and 4102-25 for consistency.

    The net effect: manufactured home community use becomes the zoning baseline for these parcels. A park owner who wanted to redevelop the land for another purpose would need to seek a rezone — a public process that would go back before the Planning Commission and City Council.

    The Legislative Timeline

    The ordinance has traveled a long road to reach tonight’s final reading. The NR-MHC zone proposal moved through the Planning Commission with a first review, then multiple public comment periods. Tonight’s public hearing is the formal hearing tied to the third reading of the ordinance — the last opportunity for public testimony before the council acts. Earlier in the process, the city held a public hearing at Walter E. Hall Park.

    For a detailed look at what the zone means for individual park residents, see the earlier resident guide: What Everett’s NR-MHC Zone Means If You Live at Creekside, Fairway Estates, or Any of the Seven Mobile Home Parks. And for a broader overview of the ordinance: Everett’s Proposed NR-MHC Zone: A Complete 2026 Guide.

    Related Everett Housing Policy Context

    CB 2604-23 moves alongside a broader set of Everett and county housing policies. Snohomish County awarded $23 million to six housing projects in an April 24 vote — including three Everett projects — through a separate funding pipeline. Read: How $23 Million in Housing Money Moved Without a Tax Vote.

    The city also recently updated its Critical Areas Regulations, affecting development near wetlands, streams, and landslide-prone areas citywide. Read: Everett’s Wetland and Stream Rules Are About to Change.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Can park owners still sell the land after this ordinance passes?

    Yes. Ownership of the land is not restricted. What changes is the permitted use. A buyer who purchased a park-zoned parcel would still be required to operate it as a manufactured home community or go through a rezone process that would require city council approval.

    Does this freeze lot rent in the parks?

    No. The NR-MHC zone addresses land use, not rent rates. Residents would still negotiate lot rent with park owners under applicable Washington State law.

    What is Title 17 EMC and why is it being repealed?

    Title 17 EMC contains Everett’s existing manufactured housing regulations. CB 2604-23 replaces those rules with the more specific NR-MHC zone structure, consolidating manufactured home community policy into the main zoning code for consistency and clarity.

    When would the ordinance take effect if it passes tonight?

    After the council votes, the ordinance goes to Mayor Cassie Franklin for signature. Under Everett’s standard process, ordinances typically take effect 30 days after adoption unless they include an emergency clause.

    Does this apply to all manufactured home parks in Everett?

    No. The seven parks named in CB 2604-23 are the specific sites being rezoned. Other manufactured home parks in Everett not named in the ordinance are not directly affected by tonight’s vote.

    What To Do Next

    Tonight’s public hearing: Attend in person at City Council Chambers, 3002 Wetmore Ave, starting at 6:30 p.m. Remote participation via Zoom is available — register at everettwa.gov/speakerform no later than 30 minutes before the meeting.

    Written comment: Email Council@everettwa.gov. Comments submitted at least 24 hours in advance will be distributed to all council members. You can also mail written comments to 2930 Wetmore Avenue, Suite 9A, Everett, WA 98201.

    Read the ordinance: The full text of CB 2604-23 is available at everettwa.gov/2777/Proposed-Code-Amendments.

    Watch the meeting: Live stream and recordings are posted at YouTube.com/EverettCity.

  • Everett Public Schools Summer 2026: Your Complete Guide to Summer Academy, Career Link, and What to Register For Now

    Everett Public Schools Summer 2026: Your Complete Guide to Summer Academy, Career Link, and What to Register For Now

    Everett Public Schools Summer 2026: Your Complete Guide to What’s Available, What’s Free, and What to Register For Right Now

    **What summer learning programs does Everett Public Schools offer in 2026?**

    Everett Public Schools runs four primary summer programs in 2026: the High School Summer Academy (July 6–24 in-person at Eisenhower Middle School; June 22–July 30 online), the Everett Ready kindergarten transition program in August, i-Ready online academic support for K–8 students, and Middle School Summer Programming for foundational skills. Most in-district programs are free. Online high school courses carry a tuition of $350 per half credit for in-district students.

    School is still in session, but summer 2026 is already underway in one sense: Everett Public Schools opened registration for its summer programs back on March 9, and for some of them — including the Everett Career Link paid internship program — the window is already closed. If you have an EPS student and haven’t looked at this yet, now is the moment.

    Here’s what’s available, who it’s for, and what it costs.

    High School Summer Academy: Credit Recovery, Acceleration, and Real Support

    The anchor program for EPS high schoolers is the High School Summer Academy, which runs two tracks:

    In-person track: Classes run July 6–July 24, 2026, held at Eisenhower Middle School. These are primarily credit recovery courses — designed for students who need to retake a course or pick up a credit they’re short on before the next school year. In-district students pay no tuition for in-person credit recovery. Support is available for Multilingual Learners and students with IEPs.

    Online track: Classes run June 22–July 30, 2026. These include both credit recovery and acceleration options. Tuition is $350 per half (0.5) credit for in-district students; $450 per half credit for out-of-district students. Online courses are scheduled for students who want to get ahead or who have scheduling conflicts with the in-person session.

    Both tracks include practical support: free breakfast and lunch are provided for all students in in-person sessions, and transportation is available from several pick-up sites across the district. For families managing complicated summer schedules, that combination of free meals and provided transportation removes two of the most common barriers to actually showing up.

    The Summer Academy is the district’s primary mechanism for keeping students on track for graduation — and for Cascade High students working toward IB requirements or other multi-year academic pathways, it’s also a tool for strategic course completion. If your student needs a specific credit before September, this is the fastest path to getting it done.

    Middle School Summer Programming: Building the Foundation Early

    EPS also runs Middle School Summer Programming designed to support students who need to solidify foundational academic skills before the next year begins, as well as students who want to accelerate into more advanced coursework.

    This is worth paying attention to: middle school is when academic trajectories often set in ways that follow students into high school. Students who enter 9th grade with a strong foundation in math and literacy are statistically better positioned for the four years ahead. EPS’s middle school summer option exists precisely to help students get to that starting line in better shape.

    Details on specific middle school session dates and locations should be confirmed directly at everettsd.org/summeropportunities, as enrollment and scheduling are managed through the district’s main summer hub.

    Everett Ready: Kindergarten Is Closer Than You Think

    For families with children entering kindergarten in fall 2026, EPS runs the Everett Ready transition program in August. This program is designed to help incoming kindergartners build confidence, develop familiarity with the school environment, and practice the routines that make the first weeks of school go more smoothly — for kids and parents alike.

    If you have a child who has never been in a structured school setting, or one who is anxious about the transition, Everett Ready is a low-pressure way to make the start of kindergarten feel less like a leap. The program runs before the school year begins, which means students arrive in September having already met teachers, seen their classroom, and practiced the basics.

    This one is first-come, first-served in terms of interest — if you haven’t reached out to your elementary school about Everett Ready, do it soon.

    i-Ready: The Online Tool That Works All Summer

    For students in kindergarten through 8th grade, EPS uses i-Ready as an online learning platform that supports continued academic progress through the summer. i-Ready is an adaptive tool — meaning it adjusts to each student’s level — and it works in both math and reading.

    This is not an assigned summer homework load. i-Ready works best when students are using it consistently, even briefly, to keep skills activated over a summer that can otherwise function as a long academic reset. The data on summer learning loss is real: students who don’t practice over a long break often start September behind where they finished June. i-Ready is the district’s lightweight, low-friction response to that problem.

    If your student has an EPS login, they should already have access to i-Ready. If you’re not sure how to access it, your student’s school can confirm credentials.

    Everett Career Link: One to Watch for 2027

    Everett Career Link is EPS’s partnership program with Snohomish STEM, the City of Everett, and regional employers that places students in real workplace environments — learning what a specific job actually looks like, building professional skills, and earning high school credit in the process. Think of it as a structured paid or credit-bearing internship program designed for high schoolers before they graduate.

    Summer 2026 registration for Career Link is now closed. The window for Summer 2027 opens in January of next school year. If you have a high schooler who is career-curious — especially one interested in aerospace, healthcare, public administration, or manufacturing — Career Link is worth flagging now so you don’t miss the January window. The program fills up.

    Why Summer Learning Matters for EPS Students This Year

    Summer 2026 arrives with some specific context for EPS families. The district is in the middle of a platform transition — Naviance is being replaced by SchooLinks as the state’s mandated college and career planning tool, with the change taking effect September 2026. Students who use Career Link, Summer Academy, or any EPS college-prep pathway this summer will be among the first to navigate that transition on the new platform.

    Everett Public Schools’ graduation rate reached a record 96.3 percent in 2025, and Cascade High hit 96.6 percent specifically — numbers that reflect a district genuinely committed to getting students across the finish line. The summer programs are part of the same infrastructure: they exist because the district has decided that summer is not a gap to manage around but a resource to use.

    You can review the full suite of summer options at everettsd.org/summeropportunities.

    Frequently Asked Questions About EPS Summer 2026

    When does the High School Summer Academy run in 2026?

    In-person sessions run July 6–July 24, 2026 at Eisenhower Middle School. Online sessions run June 22–July 30, 2026.

    Is the High School Summer Academy free?

    In-person credit recovery is free for in-district students. Online courses are tuition-based: $350 per half credit for in-district students and $450 per half credit for out-of-district students. Free breakfast and lunch are provided during in-person sessions.

    What is Everett Career Link?

    Everett Career Link is a partnership between Everett Public Schools, Snohomish STEM, the City of Everett, and regional employers that places high school students in real work environments for experiential learning and high school credit. Summer 2026 registration is closed; Summer 2027 registration opens in January.

    What is Everett Ready?

    Everett Ready is an August transition program for students entering kindergarten in the fall. It familiarizes children with school routines, their classroom, and their teachers before the school year begins.

    What is i-Ready?

    i-Ready is an adaptive online learning platform for EPS students in grades K–8 that supports summer reading and math practice. Students with active EPS logins can access it independently over the summer.

    Where can I find all EPS summer program details?

    The official hub for all Everett Public Schools summer programs is everettsd.org/summeropportunities, which is updated as sessions approach.

  • Power in Unity: Casino Road’s Diverse Communities Come Into Focus During AAPI Heritage Month 2026

    Power in Unity: Casino Road’s Diverse Communities Come Into Focus During AAPI Heritage Month 2026

    Power in Unity: Casino Road’s Diverse Communities Come Into Focus During AAPI Heritage Month 2026

    **What communities make up Casino Road in South Everett?**

    Casino Road is one of South Everett’s most culturally diverse corridors, home to significant Vietnamese, Cambodian, Filipino, and other Pacific Islander and immigrant communities. During May’s Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, those communities and the organizations that serve them offer a template for what “power in unity” actually looks like in a working-class neighborhood.

    May is Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month — and this year’s national theme, “Power in Unity: Strengthening Communities Together,” reads like it was written with Casino Road in mind.

    South Everett’s Casino Road corridor has never been a neighborhood that waits for outside recognition to celebrate its own strength. It does that continuously, through the restaurants, cultural organizations, faith communities, and neighbors who have built a genuine place here over decades. But Heritage Month is worth pausing to mark, because the communities along Casino Road reflect exactly what the theme describes: a corridor where different cultural communities share space, share resources, and have built a collective infrastructure of mutual support that outsiders rarely see clearly.

    Who Lives on Casino Road

    The Casino Road neighborhood in South Everett has one of the highest concentrations of immigrant and refugee families in Snohomish County, with approximately 25 percent of residents being first-generation immigrants according to community planning documents on file with the City of Everett. The community includes significant Vietnamese, Cambodian, Filipino, and other Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander populations, alongside Mexican, East African, and other communities who have made this stretch of Everett home.

    That diversity doesn’t exist in silos. What’s distinctive about Casino Road is that the communities here have overlapping needs, overlapping institutions, and a growing tradition of showing up for each other across cultural lines. That’s the “unity” part of this month’s theme made concrete.

    The Village on Casino Road: Where Community Actually Gathers

    At the center of Casino Road’s community infrastructure is The Village on Casino Road, operated in collaboration with ChildStrive and the Connect Casino Road initiative. The Village’s history on this block is long — it traces back to 1963 and the founding of the Little Red School House, which expanded operations to Everett in 1988. ChildStrive purchased the building in 1998, and beginning in January 2019 the Community Foundation of Snohomish County began leasing the facility to develop it as a community hub.

    Construction happened in two phases: Phase 1 in August 2019, Phase 2 beginning that November, with the full hub opening in March 2020.

    Today, The Village brings together more than two dozen community organizations to deliver services that the neighborhood’s most vulnerable residents need most. On Tuesdays, the space hosts fun activities and playful learning for families. On Fridays, ChildStrive runs early childhood programming for families with children aged 0 to 5. The regular programming roster also includes:

    • **Free ESL classes for adults**, taught by Everett Community College professors, with infants welcome in the classroom with their caregivers
    • **Free primary care health clinics** for low-income and uninsured adults
    • **Apple Health and health insurance enrollment assistance** for residents navigating the benefits system
    • **An onsite advocate** for survivors of intimate partner violence, with connections to protection orders and referral services
    • **Community event space** for cultural celebrations, neighborhood meetings, and organizational gatherings

    The Village is not a single-purpose building. It’s a gathering point — one where an ESL student in the morning might share the hallway with a family at a health clinic and a neighborhood group holding a planning session in the evening. That overlap is intentional and, over time, community-building in the most practical sense of the term.

    Connect Casino Road: 15+ Partners, One Corridor

    The Village operates within a larger collaborative called Connect Casino Road, which unites more than 15 private and public sector partners around a common goal: creating a safe, welcoming community for Casino Road families, addressing economic mobility in one of South Everett’s highest-need areas, and reducing the displacement pressure that has intensified as light rail development and broader Snohomish County growth reshape the neighborhood’s long-term geography.

    The Connect Casino Road partnership recognizes what any long-time resident of the corridor already knows: this is a high-need area not because of something broken in its residents, but because of decades of underinvestment in the infrastructure — physical, institutional, and economic — that other Everett neighborhoods have taken for granted.

    Heritage Month is a useful moment to name that work explicitly: the organizations operating along Casino Road are doing real things, for real people, with limited resources and consistent commitment.

    AAPI Heritage Month 2026: The Theme and What It Means Here

    The 2026 national AAPI Heritage Month theme — “Power in Unity: Strengthening Communities Together” — was selected to honor the history of collective action within AAPI communities across the United States, and to highlight the role that coalition-building plays in community resilience.

    On Casino Road, that theme is not abstract. It’s the EvCC professor teaching English to a Vietnamese grandmother in the same Village space where a Cambodian family is attending a health clinic. It’s the Filipino community members sharing resources with Mexican neighbors through mutual aid networks. It’s the nonprofit staff and city planners and faith leaders who have committed, over years, to treating Casino Road as a neighborhood worth investing in rather than a problem to manage.

    The AAPI communities along Casino Road — Vietnamese, Cambodian, Filipino, and others — have anchored this corridor’s cultural life for decades. Their restaurants, markets, and faith communities are woven into the everyday texture of South Everett in ways that go far beyond being photographed for a Heritage Month social post. They are the neighborhood.

    How to Engage With Casino Road This Month

    If you’ve never made Casino Road a destination, May is a good month to change that.

    The food alone — Vietnamese pho, Cambodian dishes, Filipino bakeries, Mexican home cooking — represents a concentration of culinary culture that Everett as a whole benefits from having. The FOOD desk at Exploring Everett has covered several of these restaurants individually, and the corridor rewards its own exploration.

    Beyond food: The Village on Casino Road is a public resource, and Connect Casino Road’s work is ongoing. Learning what these organizations do, attending a community event if you’re in a position to, or simply patronizing the businesses along Casino Road with the same enthusiasm you’d bring to a waterfront restaurant is itself a form of participation in Heritage Month.

    South Everett’s Casino Road community doesn’t need validation from the rest of the city. But recognition, attention, and economic participation from neighbors across Everett — that’s something every community can use more of. This month offers a specific reason to show up.

    Frequently Asked Questions About Casino Road’s Community

    What cultural communities live along Casino Road in Everett?

    Casino Road has significant Vietnamese, Cambodian, Filipino, and other Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander communities, alongside Mexican, East African, and other immigrant populations. Approximately 25% of residents are first-generation immigrants.

    What is The Village on Casino Road?

    The Village is a community hub operated in collaboration with ChildStrive and the Connect Casino Road initiative. It offers ESL classes, health clinics, Apple Health enrollment help, family programming, and community event space, bringing together more than two dozen service organizations.

    What is AAPI Heritage Month and when is it?

    Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month is observed every May. The 2026 national theme is “Power in Unity: Strengthening Communities Together.”

    What is Connect Casino Road?

    Connect Casino Road is a collaborative of more than 15 local public and private partners working to support families, address economic mobility, and reduce displacement pressure in the Casino Road corridor of South Everett.

    How long has ChildStrive been serving Casino Road?

    ChildStrive’s history on this corridor traces to 1963, with the Little Red School House. ChildStrive purchased the current building in 1998. The full community hub opened in March 2020 following a two-phase construction process.

    Why does Casino Road matter to Everett?

    Casino Road represents one of the most culturally diverse and economically active corridors in Snohomish County. The communities here have built real institutional infrastructure for mutual support. Engaging with Casino Road is engaging with a meaningful part of what makes Everett a genuinely diverse city.

  • Living in Evergreen: South Everett’s Pine-Lined Neighborhood Where Good Schools, Parks, and Everyday Convenience Come Together

    Living in Evergreen: South Everett’s Pine-Lined Neighborhood Where Good Schools, Parks, and Everyday Convenience Come Together

    Living in Evergreen: South Everett’s Pine-Lined Neighborhood Where Good Schools, Walkable Parks, and Everyday Convenience Actually Come Together

    **What is the Evergreen neighborhood in Everett, WA?**

    Evergreen is a south Everett neighborhood of nearly 5,000 residents known for its tree-lined streets, all-ages school pipeline from Madison Elementary through Cascade High, and a commercial corridor along Evergreen Way that puts everyday errands within easy reach. It is one of the few south Everett neighborhoods where walkability, park access, and schools all land in the same zip code.

    Drive south from downtown Everett on Broadway or Evergreen Way and the skyline shifts. The density of the urban core gives way to split-level homes set back from the road, pine trees rising above rooflines, and the particular quiet of a neighborhood that has been doing its job — housing working families within reach of everything — for decades. That neighborhood is Evergreen, and it’s one of the most consistently livable places in south Everett that doesn’t get nearly enough credit for it.

    Evergreen was established as a formal city neighborhood association in late 2004, with assistance from the City of Everett’s Office of Neighborhoods. But the community itself is much older than that — Evergreen Way has been the working commercial backbone of south Everett since long before anyone was holding neighborhood association meetings, and the schools that anchor it have been in place since 1958 when Evergreen Middle School first opened its doors.

    Where Evergreen Is and What It Feels Like

    Evergreen sits in the southern reaches of Everett, roughly 5 miles from downtown and approximately 30 miles from downtown Seattle. The neighborhood is bounded by major corridors and transitions naturally into adjacent areas including Twin Creeks to the south and Westmont-Holly to the west. Evergreen Way is the spine — a 5-mile commercial stretch that runs directly into downtown, lined with restaurants, Fred Meyer, Safeway, QFC, and the kind of corner stores that carry actual produce and spices for a genuinely diverse customer base.

    The residential streets branch off Evergreen Way into cul-de-sacs and quieter side streets. The housing stock is predominantly condos, split-level homes, ramblers, and traditional single-family homes — the kind of mix that attracts first-time buyers who want more space than an apartment but aren’t ready for a new-construction price tag. The median sale price for homes in Evergreen over the last 12 months sits at approximately $530,000, down about 5% from the prior year, and homes have been moving in roughly 33 days on average — significantly faster than the national average of 54 days. That combination of relative affordability by Everett standards and faster-than-average sales velocity tells you something real: people who find Evergreen make up their minds quickly.

    The School Pipeline That Actually Works

    One of Evergreen’s defining characteristics is that the entire K–12 pipeline runs through or near the neighborhood, and all three schools hold a solid grade.

    Madison Elementary feeds into Evergreen Middle School, which feeds into Cascade High School — and all three earn a B grade from Niche. What’s notable is that all three campuses are within walking distance of each other, which is genuinely unusual in a city Everett’s size. For families with kids across different grade levels, that concentration matters.

    Evergreen Middle School has been part of the neighborhood’s identity since it opened in 1958 and was fully remodeled in 1999. Cascade High School, meanwhile, has built a strong reputation for its robotics team, which has grown steadily in membership and actively competes at the regional level. Cascade also offers the International Baccalaureate program — one of the few public high schools in Snohomish County to do so — making it a destination school even for families outside the immediate attendance boundary.

    For parents of older students weighing career pathways, Everett Public Schools’ High School Summer Academy runs at Eisenhower Middle School each July, and Everett Career Link — a partnership between EPS, Snohomish STEM, the City of Everett, and regional employers — offers real-world job experience for high schoolers who want to start building a résumé before graduation.

    Phil Johnson Ballfields: The Park That Got a Real Upgrade

    If there’s one park that defines outdoor life in Evergreen, it’s Phil Johnson Ballfields at 400 Sievers Duecy Boulevard. The 13-acre facility includes four softball and baseball diamonds configured to also fit four soccer fields for youth leagues, a playground, picnic tables, and restrooms — and it was transformed by a $4.65 million renovation that made it one of Snohomish County’s most accessible athletic facilities.

    The renovation added artificial turf, adaptive markings designed for physically and developmentally disabled children, and improvements that make it significantly easier for wheelchair users to access the playground and playing surfaces. It’s one of those upgrades that doesn’t make headlines but changes daily life for families who show up on Saturday mornings. Youth sports leagues run throughout the spring and summer, and the field lighting means the facility stays usable well into the evening.

    The Commercial Corridor: What “Convenient” Actually Means Here

    The Evergreen Way commercial strip is not photogenic. It’s not the kind of streetscape that wins walkability awards. But for the people who live here, it delivers. Major grocery anchors — Fred Meyer, Safeway, QFC — sit alongside independent restaurants, nail salons, auto services, and the kind of small food businesses that reflect Evergreen’s genuinely diverse resident base. The corridor puts essentially every daily errand within a short drive or, for some residents, a walkable distance.

    The proximity to the corridor is also why Evergreen attracts a range of residents: Boeing workers who want a direct shot toward Paine Field, families who want to be in the Cascade High attendance zone, and young buyers who want more living space than north Everett offers at a price that still makes mortgage math work.

    What Long-Timers Know About Evergreen

    Residents who have lived in Evergreen for more than a few years tend to describe it with a specific kind of satisfaction: the neighborhood does what it promises. The schools are real, not aspirational. The park works. The commute to downtown or up to Paine Field is manageable. The streets are quiet without being remote.

    It’s not the most talked-about neighborhood in Everett — that distinction still belongs to the waterfront and downtown. But Evergreen occupies a particular role in the city’s neighborhood ecosystem: a stable, well-established south Everett neighborhood that has been absorbing families for decades without drama, and that continues to deliver on the basics better than its reputation might suggest.

    If you’re looking at south Everett and haven’t put Evergreen on the shortlist, it’s worth a closer look.

    Frequently Asked Questions About Evergreen, Everett

    What schools serve the Evergreen neighborhood?

    The Evergreen neighborhood is served by Madison Elementary, Evergreen Middle School, and Cascade High School — all within the Everett Public Schools district and all earning B grades from Niche. Cascade High also offers the International Baccalaureate program.

    What is the housing market like in Evergreen?

    Median home sale prices in Evergreen are approximately $530,000 (down ~5% year over year). Homes typically sell in about 33 days, faster than the national average of 54 days. The stock includes condos, split-levels, ramblers, and traditional single-family homes.

    Are there parks in the Evergreen neighborhood?

    Yes. Phil Johnson Ballfields at 400 Sievers Duecy Blvd is the area’s primary park — 13 acres with baseball, softball, and soccer fields, plus an accessible playground upgraded during a $4.65M renovation.

    Is Evergreen a good neighborhood for families?

    Evergreen consistently rates well for families because of its walkable school pipeline, accessible park facilities, and commercial corridor that handles daily errands. Niche rates it above average for families.

    How far is Evergreen from downtown Everett?

    Evergreen is approximately 5 miles from downtown Everett via Evergreen Way. It’s also roughly 30 miles from downtown Seattle.

    When was the Evergreen Neighborhood Association formed?

    The Evergreen Neighborhood Association was established in late 2004 with assistance from the City of Everett’s Office of Neighborhoods. The neighborhood itself is significantly older.

  • Celesten Does It Again, Stevenson Wins April Hitter Award: The AquaSox Prospect Pipeline Is for Real

    Celesten Does It Again, Stevenson Wins April Hitter Award: The AquaSox Prospect Pipeline Is for Real

    Q: Which AquaSox players won Mariners minor league awards for April 2026?
    A: Catcher Luke Stevenson won the Mariners Minor League Hitter of the Month, and right-hander Brock Moore won the bullpen award. Additionally, shortstop Felnin Celesten earned NWL Player of the Week honors for the second consecutive week in May.

    The AquaSox Prospect Pipeline Is Producing — In a Big Way

    Most Everett fans probably know Felnin Celesten is one of the more exciting young shortstops in the Mariners system. They might know Jonny Farmelo is a top-6 organizational prospect. But the 2026 AquaSox roster runs deeper than that — and April’s organizational awards, combined with Celesten’s back-to-back NWL Player of the Week honors, paint a picture of a High-A squad that is legitimately developed from top to bottom.

    Here is your guide to the names making noise right now at Funko Field.

    Felnin Celesten: Back-to-Back NWL Player of the Week

    Celesten earned Northwest League Player of the Week honors for the second straight week — an award announced on May 4 — making him the most recognizable name on the AquaSox right now outside of visiting pitchers on rehab assignments. His first POTW came after he went .471 (11-for-17) in five games against the Spokane Indians. He followed that with a .434 average in the Hillsboro Hops’ ballpark, recording at least one hit in every game of that road series and posting three multi-hit performances.

    Through the early part of May, Celesten is hitting .295 on the season — which undersells how hot he has been — while leading the entire AquaSox team in hits (26) and runs scored (18). The 20-year-old Venezuelan shortstop signed with the Mariners as an international free agent in 2023 and is already one of the youngest players in the Northwest League. Two consecutive POTW awards this early in the season is the kind of noise that accelerates prospect timelines.

    Watch his name carefully. The Mariners have been patient with his development, and nights like the ones he strung together in April and early May suggest the patience is being rewarded.

    Luke Stevenson: Mariners’ April Hitter of the Month

    Stevenson did not just have a good April — he had an elite April. The Seattle Mariners announced him as their Minor League Hitter of the Month for April 2026, and the numbers back it up completely: .321 batting average, six doubles, one home run, 10 RBIs, 20 walks, .500 on-base percentage, and a .982 OPS. Twenty walks in one month. That is a number you do not expect to see from a High-A hitter who was drafted just last year.

    Stevenson is the No. 35 overall pick from the 2025 MLB Draft out of the University of North Carolina — the Mariners’ catcher of the future, ranked as the organization’s No. 8 prospect. He is 22 years old, from Flemington, New Jersey, and plays with a veteran’s plate approach that belies his experience level. That .500 OBP is not an accident — it reflects elite pitch recognition and the willingness to work counts and take walks even when pitchers are challenging him.

    In Tuesday’s 8-6 win over Hillsboro, Stevenson delivered an RBI single in the first inning to give Everett the early lead — exactly the kind of contribution you want from your cleanup presence behind high-ceiling tools. He is setting the tone for an AquaSox offense that is beginning to find its rhythm on the homestand.

    Brock Moore: The Bullpen’s Secret Weapon

    If Stevenson is the headline, Moore might be the most dominant performer on the entire AquaSox roster right now. The 25-year-old right-hander from Carmel, Indiana — a seventh-round pick in the 2024 draft out of the University of Oregon — won the Mariners’ Minor League Bullpen Award for April, and the stats are borderline absurd:

    8.1 innings pitched. 20 strikeouts. 1 walk. 4 saves. 2.16 ERA. 0.48 WHIP. Three hits allowed all month. Two earned runs total.

    Twenty strikeouts against one walk in 8.1 innings. That is a 20-to-1 K/BB ratio, which is extraordinary at any level of professional baseball. Moore is attacking hitters and he is getting them out — consistently, emphatically, in high-leverage spots. Four saves in April means four times he was trusted to close out a game and delivered.

    Bullpen arms this reliable at High-A tend to move quickly through the system. Moore is a name to know before he’s in Tacoma.

    The Wider Picture: Farmelo, Jimenez, Washington Jr.

    The AquaSox roster extends well beyond the award winners. Tuesday night’s game gave a snapshot of the depth:

    Jonny Farmelo (Mariners No. 6 prospect) led off the third inning with a double that started the six-run explosion. He is a left-handed hitter with plus raw power and the kind of athleticism that scouts come to Funko Field specifically to see.

    Carlos Jimenez (Mariners No. 21 prospect) delivered a clutch two-run single with two outs in that same third inning, the kind of RBI situational hit that does not show up in a prospect profile but does show up in a player’s development. Jimenez has been building his RBI count steadily all spring.

    Curtis Washington Jr. launched his fourth home run of the season on Tuesday night — a three-run shot to right-center that was the decisive blow in the 8-6 win. His fourth homer is already a new single-season career high. Washington Jr. is not ranked among the Mariners’ top prospects on most lists, but he is producing like someone who wants to change that.

    Why This Matters for Everett Fans

    The AquaSox experience is more fun when you understand what you are watching. These are not just box scores — they are snapshots of the players who will wear Mariners uniforms in Seattle in two or three years. Celesten, Stevenson, Moore, Farmelo: these names will be familiar to Mariners fans by 2027 or 2028. Right now, they are playing at Funko Field in Everett, and tickets are affordable.

    Come watch them before they are too expensive to see.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Q: Who won the Mariners Minor League Hitter of the Month for April 2026?
    A: Luke Stevenson, catcher for the Everett AquaSox, won the award with a .321 average, 20 walks, .500 OBP, and .982 OPS in April.

    Q: Who won the Mariners Minor League Bullpen Award for April 2026?
    A: Brock Moore, a right-handed reliever for the AquaSox, won the award after posting 20 strikeouts, 1 walk, 4 saves, and a 0.48 WHIP across 8.1 innings in April.

    Q: Has Felnin Celesten won NWL Player of the Week twice in 2026?
    A: Yes. Celesten earned NWL Player of the Week honors for two consecutive weeks in late April and early May 2026, batting .471 in his first award week and .434 in his second.

    Q: What are the top Mariners prospects on the 2026 AquaSox?
    A: Key Mariners organizational prospects on the 2026 AquaSox include Jonny Farmelo (No. 6), Luke Stevenson (No. 8), Carlos Jimenez (No. 21), and Felnin Celesten, among others.

    Q: Where can I watch AquaSox games in Everett?
    A: The AquaSox play their home games at Funko Field (Everett Memorial Stadium), 3802 Broadway, Everett, WA. The current six-game homestand against Hillsboro runs through Sunday, May 10. Tickets available at aquasox.com.