Tag: City of Everett

  • Everett Stadium Site Survey Begins: 15 Parcels to Acquire

    Everett Stadium Site Survey Begins: 15 Parcels to Acquire

    Q: Has construction work actually started on the Everett stadium?
    A: Yes — the city has awarded a $200,000 limited early work agreement to Bayley Construction to begin site surveying on the 12.5-acre downtown parcel. Meanwhile, the city needs to acquire 15 separate properties before groundbreaking, with 2 purchase-and-sale agreements signed, 4 pending, and 8 in active negotiation.

    Ten days after the Everett City Council voted to release $10.6 million in design and acquisition funding for the new downtown stadium, the physical work has begun.

    Bayley Construction, the Mercer Island-based general contractor selected as part of the DLR Group/Bayley design-build team, has received a $200,000 limited early work agreement to begin site surveying on the stadium’s 12.5-acre parcel on Everett’s downtown east side, between Angel of the Winds Arena and Interstate 5. This is the moment when the stadium shifts from a city council decision to a job that has people on the actual ground.

    At the same time, the city is working through an acquisition list of 15 separate properties it needs to purchase before any heavy construction can begin — and the status of that acquisition is more complex than a single timeline suggests.

    The property acquisition scorecard

    Before Bayley can do much more than survey, the city needs to acquire 15 parcels that sit within the stadium’s footprint. Here’s where that stands as of early May 2026:

    • 2 parcels: Purchase-and-sale agreements signed. Finalized and done.
    • 4 parcels: Agreements pending. Terms are agreed upon; paperwork in final stages.
    • 8 parcels: Active negotiations. The city is in conversation with owners; no agreements yet.
    • 1 parcel: Being formally added to the acquisition list. Not publicly identified.

    Of the $10.6 million the council approved April 29, about $5.6 million is earmarked specifically for property acquisition. The remaining funds cover continued design work with DLR Group, permitting, and other pre-construction costs.

    The math on 15 parcels averaging out to roughly $370,000 each reflects a mix of small commercial lots, surface parking, and light industrial parcels scattered across the stadium footprint east of Angel of the Winds Arena. The 2 signed agreements and 4 pending deals suggest the more straightforward cases are closing first. The 8 active negotiations are the ones worth watching.

    DLR Group and Bayley Construction: who’s building this

    The design-build team selection was completed before the April 29 vote. The city used a Progressive Design Build process, and DLR Group/Bayley Construction scored highest among the finalists.

    DLR Group is the global architecture firm with a Seattle office that’s been doing the stadium design work. Their renderings show the open-air design: 5,000-seat capacity, a covered premium club area with seating for 200 and standing room for 400, and ADA-accessible sight lines throughout.

    Bayley Construction is the contractor that will build it. Headquartered on Mercer Island, they have prior experience in sports facility construction including the University of Washington Husky Ballpark. The $200,000 early work agreement for site surveying is the first physical contract they’re executing — before the full design-build contract, which will come back to the City Council for approval within the next several months.

    The site: 12.5 acres east of Angel of the Winds Arena

    The stadium site is approximately 12.5 acres on the eastern edge of downtown Everett, directly adjacent to Angel of the Winds Arena and roughly a half-mile west of Interstate 5. The proximity to the arena has been deliberate — city planners have been thinking about the two facilities as a combined entertainment district, not just adjacent buildings, capable of drawing people downtown for multiple reasons on the same block.

    The AquaSox opening target of April 2027 creates the deadline that’s driving everything: a September 2026 groundbreaking is required to hit that date. That’s roughly four months away from where we stand today.

    The $25 million gap that still needs to close

    Even with the $10.6 million approved and the design-build team conducting survey work, the stadium project still carries a funding gap. Total project cost is now approximately $118 million. Current committed or anticipated funding falls roughly $25 million short — a gap the city is working to close through state funding requests, naming rights negotiations, and other sources being tracked by Council Vice President Paula Rhyne’s Finance and Administration Committee.

    We’ve covered the four-step pathway from the April 29 vote to groundbreaking in earlier coverage. What’s new today is that while the governance process continues upstairs at City Hall, the physical pre-development process is starting on the ground. That’s the right posture for a project with this little margin in its timeline.

    Three milestones to watch

    Whether the September 2026 groundbreaking timeline holds will come down to three things:

    1. Property acquisition progress — specifically whether the 8 parcels in active negotiation move to signed agreements by early summer. A holdout owner or legal challenge could push the timeline. The city has eminent domain authority, but using it adds time and cost.
    2. Final design-build contract approval — that City Council vote will include the full contract value and a revised cost estimate. If DLR Group’s number has moved from the $82 million design-to-budget figure, that’s significant news.
    3. The $25 million funding gap — naming rights negotiations and state funding requests have to land before groundbreaking. The FAC meetings are where this closes or doesn’t.

    We’ll be tracking all three. The survey work starting now is the right signal — the city isn’t waiting for the funding gap to close before beginning the physical pre-development sequence. That discipline matters when you have 11 months between today and Opening Day 2027.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Who is building the Everett downtown stadium?

    The design-build team is DLR Group (architecture, Seattle office) and Bayley Construction (general contractor, Mercer Island). Bayley has received a $200,000 limited early work agreement to begin site surveying — the first physical contract on the project.

    When will the Everett stadium break ground?

    The city’s target is September 2026. That timeline requires acquiring 15 parcels, closing a roughly $25 million funding gap, and approving the full design-build contract — all within approximately four months.

    How many properties does the city need to acquire for the stadium?

    15 parcels total. As of early May 2026: 2 purchase-and-sale agreements signed, 4 agreements pending, 8 in active negotiation, and 1 more being added to the list.

    How big is the new Everett stadium?

    The new multipurpose outdoor stadium will seat 5,000 with a covered premium club area seating 200 plus 400 standing. The site covers approximately 12.5 acres east of Angel of the Winds Arena in downtown Everett.

    How much will the new Everett stadium cost?

    The current total estimate is approximately $118 million. The April 29 council vote released $10.6 million, of which about $5.6 million is for property acquisition. A funding gap of roughly $25 million remains to be closed.

    When will the AquaSox play their first game at the new stadium?

    The target is April 2027 — but that requires the September 2026 groundbreaking timeline to hold through property acquisition, final contract approval, and gap funding closure.

  • Dr. Ian Saltzman: Everett Schools Superintendent Profile

    Dr. Ian Saltzman: Everett Schools Superintendent Profile

    Who is the superintendent of Everett Public Schools?
    Dr. Ian B. Saltzman has served as superintendent of Everett Public Schools since summer 2019. A 30-year education veteran who came from Palm Beach County, Florida, Saltzman leads a district of more than 21,000 students across 27 schools. Under his leadership, EPS achieved a record 96.3% four-year graduation rate for the class of 2025 — the highest in district history and well above Washington State’s 84% average.

    He flew across the country for a job he wasn’t sure he’d get. Seven years later, Ian Saltzman is one of the most decorated school leaders in Washington State.

    In April 2026, Dr. Ian Saltzman received the Elson S. Floyd Award at the Economic Alliance Snohomish County’s annual meeting — recognition given to “a visionary leader who, through partnership, tenacity, and a strong commitment to community, has created lasting opportunities to improve quality of life and positively impact the regional economy.” The award is named for the late Elson S. Floyd, former president of Washington State University and a nationally recognized figure in higher education.

    It’s a fitting honor for a superintendent who has spent seven years doing something many people doubted was easy: turning a mid-sized, economically diverse Pacific Northwest school district into one of Washington’s strongest graduation performers — without the wealthy zip codes that make those numbers easy elsewhere.

    The Road to Everett

    Before Saltzman was walking the halls of Everett’s 27 schools, he was a middle school special education teacher in Palm Beach County, Florida. He spent his entire 30-year career in one Florida district — rising from classroom teacher to principal at four different campuses, from elementary through high school. By 2016, he was serving as the district’s south region superintendent, overseeing 59 schools.

    When the Everett School Board launched a superintendent search in 2019, Saltzman was among 35 candidates. He was selected unanimously after a marathon of interviews that included students, teachers, and principals. The unanimous vote spoke to something the board saw clearly: a leader who had done the work at every level.

    He brought to Everett a philosophy he’s held since the classroom: produce “great learners and great citizens.” Simple in language. Harder to execute across a community of 21,000 students from dozens of language backgrounds, neighborhoods spanning the entire east-west corridor of the city, and an economy still reshaping itself.

    What Seven Years Have Built

    The clearest measure: the graduating class of 2025 achieved a record 96.3% four-year, on-time graduation rate — the highest in Everett Public Schools history. Cascade High School’s Class of 2025 graduated at 96.6%. Washington State’s average: 84%. EPS isn’t performing like a district with obstacles; it’s performing like a district that figured something out.

    Saltzman has overseen a string of successful levy campaigns that kept program funding intact through tight budget cycles — no small feat in a political environment where school levies often fail. He’s secured grant funds that expanded career and college readiness programming. And he navigated EPS through COVID-era disruption that knocked other districts’ outcomes backward for years after reopening.

    His membership in Chiefs for Change — a national bipartisan organization of education leaders recognized for driving results in complex districts — signals that peers and policymakers far outside Everett are paying attention.

    Credentials Worth Knowing

    Saltzman’s credentials match his practice. He holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in special education from Florida State University — a foundation that, by his own account, shapes how he thinks about meeting every individual student’s needs. His specialist and doctoral degrees in educational leadership came from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale.

    The special education training shows up in how he approaches the district. The question, for Saltzman, isn’t whether students can succeed — it’s what systems need to change so they do.

    What’s Ahead in 2026

    With the Elson S. Floyd Award on his shelf and graduation metrics at a record high, Everett Public Schools heads into the 2026-27 school year with real momentum. The district’s SchooLinks college-and-career-readiness platform transition is underway ahead of a statewide September 2026 deadline. Summer Academy and Career Link programming are expanding. The proximity to Everett Community College and WSU Everett creates a direct pipeline that Saltzman has worked to strengthen from the high-school side.

    For a community that’s watched Everett change fast — waterfront development, Boeing’s North Line expansion, Sound Transit in motion — having a stable, experienced hand running the district matters. Schools are neighborhoods. And in Everett, under Saltzman, they’ve been getting better.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    How long has Ian Saltzman been superintendent of Everett Public Schools?
    Dr. Ian Saltzman became EPS superintendent in summer 2019 and has served in the role for nearly seven years as of 2026.

    Where did Ian Saltzman work before Everett?
    Saltzman spent his entire 30-year education career in Palm Beach County, Florida. His final Florida role was south region superintendent, overseeing 59 schools.

    What is Dr. Saltzman’s educational background?
    He holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in special education from Florida State University, and specialist and doctoral degrees in educational leadership from Nova Southeastern University.

    What was the Elson S. Floyd Award given for?
    The Economic Alliance Snohomish County gives the Elson S. Floyd Award to “a visionary leader who through partnership, tenacity, and a strong commitment to community has created lasting opportunities to improve quality of life and positively impact the regional economy.”

    What is Everett’s graduation rate?
    The Everett Public Schools graduating class of 2025 achieved a 96.3% four-year, on-time graduation rate — the highest in district history and above Washington State’s 84% average.

  • Everett Stadium Groundbreaking: 4 Steps to September 2026

    Everett Stadium Groundbreaking: 4 Steps to September 2026

    What comes next after the April 29 stadium vote? The council approved $10.6 million in design and acquisition funding — but that decision set four more in motion. Here is the exact sequence of decisions Everett must make before a shovel goes in the ground in September 2026, and what could still stop it.

    The April 29 Vote Was Not the Finish Line

    When the Everett City Council voted 6-1 on April 29 to approve an additional $10.6 million for the downtown stadium project, it made the biggest single step forward in the three-year effort to keep the Everett AquaSox in town and bring United Soccer League teams to a new outdoor venue. But it was a step, not the finish line.

    Council member Scott Bader put it precisely in remarks before the vote: “certain dominoes have to fall before the next domino can fall.” The $10.6 million approval was one domino. There are four more between today and a September 2026 groundbreaking — each dependent on the one before it.

    Here is what those four dominoes look like, where they stand, and what can still knock them over.

    Domino 1: The Stadium Fiscal Advisory Committee Reconvenes

    Immediately after the April 29 vote concluded, Council Vice President Paula Rhyne made a formal request: reconvene the Stadium Fiscal Advisory Committee before the council takes any further binding financial action on the stadium project.

    The Fiscal Advisory Committee was formed in 2024 to provide independent financial analysis of the stadium’s funding structure. It was active during the design-build procurement process but has not been formally reconvened since the project’s cost escalated to $120 million and the funding gap came into clearer focus.

    Rhyne’s request reflects a real concern that has been raised by multiple council members and community members: the city has not yet published detailed financial statements showing exactly how a stadium construction bond would be structured, repaid, and serviced. Former council member Scott Murphy voiced the same concern at the April 29 meeting: “There’s a big difference between having an economic development study and discussion around $100 million and seeing it on a piece of paper to understand how that will actually service the debt.”

    The committee’s work sets the terms under which the council can responsibly proceed to the bond vote. Until it completes its review, the bond vote cannot happen.

    Domino 2: Property Acquisitions

    The April 29 package allocated $5.6 million toward acquiring the remaining properties needed for the 12.5-acre stadium site. City staff reported that 14 property acquisition offers have been made: some purchase agreements are already completed, others are still pending.

    The stadium site is located north of Pacific Street between Broadway and Smith Avenue, adjacent to Angel of the Winds Arena. Full site control — meaning every parcel acquired — is required before construction can begin. The timeline depends on how quickly the remaining property negotiations close.

    The city has already allocated approximately $7.2 million in capital funds on the project before this vote, including prior property acquisition work and consulting fees. The new $5.6 million extends that work to the final parcels. City staff project that all properties can be acquired by fall 2026, which keeps the September groundbreaking timeline alive — but any negotiation that drags into litigation could push that date.

    Domino 3: The Bond Vote (~July or August 2026)

    The $10.6 million the council approved on April 29 was funded as an interfund loan from the city’s general fund — a bridge loan the city is lending to itself, structured to be repaid in a few months from a construction bond. The bond vote is the next major council decision, expected in July or August 2026.

    The bond package is expected to exceed $30 million. The full stadium budget is $120 million, which includes the $7.4 million state grant the council unanimously accepted on April 29, plus the $17 million the AquaSox and United Soccer League have agreed to contribute under their 30-year lease terms, plus the city’s accumulated $7.2 million in prior capital expenditures, plus the new $10.6 million package.

    There is still a funding gap of approximately $25 million — about 21% of the project’s cost. The city is pursuing public-private partnerships to close it. Economic development director Dan Eernissee has argued the gap is manageable: “We know this is going to be our growth area. We are counting on lots of residents to be in this downtown core, and we’re strategically investing before that time in real estate that can serve as an urban park, that can serve as a destination, can serve as a connector between our transit hub and downtown jobs.”

    The risk is clearly understood. Interim finance director Mike Bailey said at the April 29 meeting: “There’s an element of risk here. Again, we believe it’s manageable, or we wouldn’t have proposed it.” If the bond vote fails or a major contributor backs out before the bond is issued, the city faces the cost of repaying the interfund loan from its general fund — though some of that exposure is offset by the property acquisition component, which creates tangible city-owned assets.

    Domino 4: September 2026 Groundbreaking

    If the Fiscal Advisory Committee completes its work, the property acquisitions close, and the bond vote passes, construction can begin in September 2026. The design-build team — DLR Group (architecture, based in Seattle) and Bayley Construction (general contractor, based in Mercer Island) — is already active. DLR Group has designed multiple sports stadiums including Alex Box Stadium at LSU; Bayley Construction’s previous design-build work includes Husky Ballpark at the University of Washington.

    The design is roughly 60% complete. The facility will include 5,000 seats, a premium club section with a covered deck seating 200 (400 standing), a clubhouse building with team locker rooms and batting cages, an artificial turf field convertible between baseball and soccer layouts in a matter of hours, and a public walking path around the perimeter. The main entrance is planned for where Wall Street meets Broadway.

    The construction timeline targets completion by late 2027, in time for the Everett AquaSox to open their 2028 season at the new venue. The AquaSox have been explicit that without a new stadium, MLB’s requirements could force the franchise to relocate — which is why council member Bader framed the April 29 vote as a crossroads moment: “If we don’t move forward on this, I think the AquaSox will leave town and MLB will tell them to do that.”

    The One Unresolved Question: USL Team Ownership

    The AquaSox and United Soccer League have agreed to the financial terms of a 30-year lease for the new venue. But USL still needs to find an owner or ownership group to purchase the expansion teams that would actually play in the facility. That ownership search is ongoing. It doesn’t block the construction decision directly, but it remains an important loose end in the stadium’s long-term financial picture — since the lease revenue from the soccer teams is built into the stadium’s revenue projections.

    Labor and Community Perspective

    Labor representatives who spoke at the April 29 meeting were uniformly supportive. The city plans to use prevailing wages and apprenticeship requirements in the construction contracts. As Miguel Edmonson told the council: “I have some apprentices that have to go down to Tacoma for work. They’d be able to live here and work here and be a part of this community while they’re on the clock and then when they get off the clock.”

    Resident Erryn Guilfoyle framed the stadium’s strategic value as a second downtown anchor: “Right now, downtown Everett has Angel of the Winds arena. A stadium nearby would give us a second anchor that changes what downtown becomes. People park once and stay longer. They spend their time and their money downtown instead of somewhere else, and the businesses around them feel the difference.”

    Not everyone is convinced. Council member Judy Tuohy — the lone dissenting vote on April 29 — said explicitly: “My vote tonight is not a vote against the project. It’s really a vote of caution regarding the city’s financial risk. We need to ensure the funding foundation is in place before we commit more of our city dollars.” Her concerns will almost certainly surface again when the bond package comes before the council this summer.

    The Bottom Line: A Tight but Survivable Timeline

    For the September groundbreaking to happen, the Fiscal Advisory Committee needs to complete its review, property acquisitions need to close, and the bond vote needs to pass — all between now and late August. That is doable. It is also genuinely uncertain.

    The April 29 vote was the biggest single step this project has taken. The next step — the Fiscal Advisory Committee reconvening and the bond structure taking shape — will tell us whether September is a real target or an optimistic one. We’ll be watching closely.

    You can also review the full construction tracker for major Everett projects to see how the stadium fits into the broader development picture downtown.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    When will Everett break ground on the new stadium?

    The city is targeting September 2026, contingent on completing property acquisitions and passing a construction bond vote expected in July or August 2026.

    How much will the Everett stadium cost?

    The total project cost is $120 million. Funding sources include a $7.4 million state grant, $17 million from AquaSox and USL lease commitments, approximately $17.8 million in city capital and interfund funds, and a construction bond of $30+ million still to be voted on. A funding gap of approximately $25 million (21% of total) is being addressed through public-private partnerships.

    Who is building the Everett stadium?

    The design-build team is DLR Group (architecture) and Bayley Construction (general contractor). DLR Group is a global architecture firm with a Seattle office; Bayley Construction is a Mercer Island-based GC whose previous work includes Husky Ballpark at the University of Washington.

    What teams will play at the new Everett stadium?

    The Everett AquaSox (MLB High-A affiliate) and two United Soccer League expansion teams (men’s and women’s) are planned tenants under a 30-year lease agreement. USL still needs to identify ownership groups for the soccer teams.

    What is the Everett Stadium Fiscal Advisory Committee?

    The Stadium Fiscal Advisory Committee is an independent body formed in 2024 to review the financial structure and risks of the stadium project. Council Vice President Paula Rhyne requested at the April 29 meeting that it be reconvened to review the final bond financing plan before the council votes on the full funding package, expected this summer.

    When will the new Everett stadium open?

    The current target is late 2027, with the Everett AquaSox hoping to open their 2028 baseball season at the new venue.

  • Everett Riverfront Development: 2026 Park & Retail Delays

    Everett Riverfront Development: 2026 Park & Retail Delays

    📖 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 scheduled Phase 1 construction on Eclipse Mill Park — the signature 3-acre public park for the Snohomish River waterfront — to mobilize in July 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 Timeline

    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 under way, 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. The city’s project timeline puts construction mobilization in July 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 is that this is a real construction event, not a distant promise. The city’s schedule calls for crews to mobilize on the riverbank at the Eclipse Mill Park site in July 2026 and for the waterside portion to be complete by November 2026.

    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, scheduled to mobilize in July, 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.

    The 2026 construction season is set to bring the most visible progress the riverfront has shown in a year. When the city is 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.

  • Everett NR-MHC Zone: Final Vote on Manufactured Home Parks

    Everett NR-MHC Zone: Final Vote on Manufactured Home Parks

    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.

  • Guam Grub Everett: Authentic Chamorro Cuisine Review

    Guam Grub Everett: Authentic Chamorro Cuisine Review

    On July 22, 2023 — one day after Guam Liberation Day, the biggest holiday in the territory — Julita Atoigue-Javier opened Guam Grub at the Everett Mall food court. The timing wasn’t an accident.

    “It is sharing the culture, one dish at a time,” Atoigue-Javier said.

    What she’s sharing is food that is genuinely hard to find on the mainland: Chamorro cuisine, the indigenous cooking tradition of Guam, shaped by three centuries of Spanish colonial influence, Japanese occupation, Filipino proximity, and the particular flavors that emerged from all of it. Red rice colored with annatto. Kelaguen made with coconut and lemon. Pork ribs grilled over open heat until they’re something between barbecue and a family obligation.

    And there’s a layer beneath all of it. Every recipe Atoigue-Javier serves, she learned from her mother, who passed away in 2007. “I think that she would be really, really proud of me,” she said. “Everything that she basically taught me is what I’m bringing here today.”

    That is the actual story of Guam Grub. The food is a memorial and a celebration at the same time.

    What You’re Eating

    Guam Grub operates as a food court stall inside the Everett Mall at 607 SE Everett Mall Way, Suite 27-A — the same South Everett mall corridor that’s home to Dumpling World and Middleton Brewing. The menu reads like a Fiesta plate — the communal feast format that anchors every major celebration in Guam.

    Red rice is the foundation. Made with achote (annatto) powder, it’s earthy, slightly nutty, and nothing like the white rice you’re used to seeing next to everything else. This is the carb that earns its spot on the plate.

    Grilled pork ribs and chicken come off the heat with serious char and seasoning. The barbecue tradition in Chamorro cooking isn’t American BBQ — it’s its own lineage, marinade-forward, with a different flavor profile that’ll recalibrate your expectations in the first bite.

    Chicken kelaguen is arguably the most distinctively Chamorro item on the menu: shredded chicken mixed with fresh coconut, lemon, and green onion. It’s bright and acidic and unlike anything else in the food court around it.

    Empanadas at Guam Grub are the Chamorro version — smaller, crispier, and filled differently than the Latin empanadas most locals are familiar with.

    Shrimp patties and Spam musubi with red rice round out a menu that doesn’t pretend to be anything other than exactly what it is: the food Atoigue-Javier grew up eating, made the way her mother made it.

    The HeraldNet review called out the shrimp cake and kimchi as standouts. The King5 segment showed customers who grew up in Guam ordering by instinct, recognizing dishes they’d been missing since leaving the island. “It’s very exciting because it gives us a little taste of home,” said customer Jeralyn Roco (King5).

    Who This Is For

    The honest answer is everyone, but especially two groups.

    First: the significant Chamorro and Pacific Islander community in the Puget Sound region, which is large and underserved by restaurants that actually reflect their food traditions. Guam Grub is one of the only places in Snohomish County — and one of very few in the greater Seattle metro — serving food that reflects this culture with any authenticity.

    Second: anyone who has been eating their way through Everett’s genuinely impressive international food scene and wants to push further. We’ve written about Heritage African on Hewitt, Ubuntu Bar & Grill’s South African braai in south Everett, Enseamada Cafe’s Filipino-Hawaiian fusion on Evergreen Way. Guam Grub belongs in that same conversation.

    Chamorro cuisine has influences from Japan, Spain, and the Philippines, and yet it’s entirely its own thing. “We have influences from Japan, the Spaniards, and also from the Philippines,” Atoigue-Javier explained. “This is a melting pot of different influences. We have our own spin on the different foods.” If you’ve never had it, the Everett Mall food court is not where you’d expect to find your introduction. That’s what makes Guam Grub worth finding.

    The Logistics

    Address: 607 SE Everett Mall Way, Suite 27-A, Everett, WA 98208 — inside the Everett Mall food court.

    Hours: Closed Monday–Wednesday. Thursday–Friday: 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM. Saturday–Sunday: 2:00 PM – 8:00 PM.

    Phone: (425) 308-9997

    The afternoon and evening hours on weekends are the move. Saturday afternoon, park at the mall, eat a Fiesta plate, and drive home having tasted something that doesn’t exist anywhere else in Snohomish County.

    The Bigger Picture

    Julita Atoigue-Javier built a 100% female-owned and operated business around her mother’s recipes, launched it on Liberation Day, and has been quietly running one of the most culturally specific restaurants in the region ever since. She’s not trying to make Chamorro food palatable to people who’ve never heard of it — she’s making it the way it’s supposed to be made and trusting that people will find it.

    Fifty-two Yelp reviews and strong ratings as of April 2026 suggest they have. But Guam Grub deserves a bigger audience than the food court traffic it gets.

    If you’ve been working through Everett’s international dining corridor and thought you’d seen the full range of what this city’s immigrant communities are cooking, Guam Grub is the correction. Order the kelaguen, get the red rice, and let Atoigue-Javier tell the story one dish at a time.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Where is Guam Grub in Everett?

    Inside the Everett Mall food court at 607 SE Everett Mall Way, Suite 27-A, Everett, WA 98208.

    What are Guam Grub’s hours?

    Closed Monday through Wednesday. Thursday–Friday 5 PM – 8 PM. Saturday–Sunday 2 PM – 8 PM.

    What is Chamorro cuisine?

    Chamorro is the indigenous cuisine of Guam, shaped by Spanish, Japanese, and Filipino influences over centuries. It features dishes like red rice (achote-colored), kelaguen (marinated meat with coconut and lemon), grilled meats, and empanadas distinct from their Latin counterparts.

    What should I order at Guam Grub?

    Start with the red rice and grilled pork ribs or chicken. Add the chicken kelaguen for the most distinctively Chamorro item on the menu. The shrimp patties and Chamorro empanadas are also worth trying.

    Who owns Guam Grub?

    Julita Atoigue-Javier, who grew up on Guam and opened the restaurant on July 22, 2023 — one day after Guam Liberation Day. The business is 100% female owned and operated.

    Is Guam Grub the only Chamorro restaurant in Everett?

    As far as we know, yes — and one of the very few Chamorro restaurants in the greater Puget Sound region.

  • Nadine’s Coffee House: Everett’s Best Hidden Coffee Shop

    Nadine’s Coffee House: Everett’s Best Hidden Coffee Shop

    There’s a coffee shop tucked into an alley off Wetmore Avenue in downtown Everett that most people walk right past. The entrance is easy to miss — you round the corner near a large wooden staircase on the south side of the building that also houses a barbershop, push open a door that doesn’t announce itself, and find yourself in one of the most quietly excellent coffee rooms in the city.

    This is Nadine’s Coffee House. And if you’ve been complaining that Everett’s coffee scene has gotten too predictable, you haven’t found this one yet.

    Named for a Grandmother, Built for a Neighborhood

    Owner-barista Jake named the shop after his grandmother, Nadine Satterlund. That’s not a branding move — it’s an ethos. Nadine’s runs on a family-scale sense of hospitality: you’re not a transaction here, you’re someone Jake is making coffee for personally.

    The espresso program is built around Colibri Coffee Roasters out of Camano Island — a local roaster doing serious, thoughtful work that you’ll recognize if you’ve spent any time at STRGZR or Narrative. At Nadine’s, the rotational offerings mean the cup you get this week won’t be exactly the same as the one next month, which is either exciting or nerve-wracking depending on your relationship with consistency. We’re firmly in the excited camp.

    The signature campfire espresso drink has developed something of a quiet cult following among regulars. The cinnamon graham cracker coffee with smoked honey is exactly as good as it sounds, and better than it has any right to be. Jake is working a La Marzocco machine and clearly knows what he’s doing with it.

    The Room

    The interior is small, which is part of the appeal. Minimal vintage decor, cozy enough to feel intentional rather than cramped, with scripture on the walls that reads as personal rather than performative. It’s dog-friendly. It’s the kind of place where the barista remembers your order by your second visit.

    What it is not: a laptop-farm. The limited seating and intimate scale make it better suited for an hour of focused work or a slow catch-up with someone you actually want to talk to than for a four-hour Zoom marathon. There are better rooms in Everett for that (The Loft on Hewitt, Sobar on Colby). Nadine’s is for when you want the coffee to be the point.

    Hours and How to Find It

    The address is 2908 Wetmore Ave — but don’t show up expecting a street-level storefront. Walk the building, look for the wooden staircase on the south side, and the entrance is around the corner from that. Give yourself thirty seconds of exploration and you’ll find it.

    Hours run Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 8 AM to 3:30 PM. Saturday and Sunday from 9 AM to 3 PM. Closed Wednesday. The schedule is tight, which means Nadine’s is a morning-and-early-afternoon operation — not a destination for afternoon coffee runs after 4 PM.

    Phone: (425) 263-9090. Website: nadinescoffeehouse.com.

    Why We’re Telling You This Now

    Nadine’s has been open long enough to have earned its regulars. The Yelp reviews have trickled in — 89 reviews as of March 2026, strong ratings, consistent praise for the coffee and the atmosphere — but the shop still operates below the awareness threshold of most Everett coffee drinkers who haven’t specifically gone looking for it.

    Part of that is the location. An alley off Wetmore is not where people stumble. Part of it is that Jake isn’t doing aggressive social media — Nadine’s runs on word of mouth and the loyalty of the people who found it.

    That’s a fine way to run a coffee shop. It also means the room never gets overcrowded, parking is easy in the surrounding blocks, and the vibe stays exactly what it was when it opened.

    For Everett’s coffee landscape, Nadine’s occupies a specific and necessary niche: it’s the neighborhood spot that rewards the curious, not the one that shows up in every “best of” roundup. The campfire espresso is worth crossing town for. The fact that most people don’t know that yet is Everett’s loss — and, for now, the regulars’ gain.

    We’d tell you to keep it a secret, but the city deserves to know this one exists.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Where exactly is Nadine’s Coffee House in Everett?

    It’s at 2908 Wetmore Ave, but the entrance requires a little navigation — look for the wooden staircase on the south side of the building and the entrance is around the corner. It’s near a barbershop in the same building.

    What are Nadine’s Coffee House hours?

    Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday: 8 AM – 3:30 PM. Saturday and Sunday: 9 AM – 3 PM. Closed Wednesday.

    What coffee roaster does Nadine’s use?

    Colibri Coffee Roasters from Camano Island, WA, with rotational espresso offerings pulled on a La Marzocco machine.

    What should I order at Nadine’s?

    The campfire espresso drink is the signature, and the cinnamon graham cracker coffee with smoked honey is a standout. Both reflect Jake’s approach to building a menu that tastes intentional.

    Is Nadine’s Coffee House dog-friendly?

    Yes, it is.

    Why is Nadine’s Coffee House named that?

    Owner Jake named the shop after his grandmother, Nadine Satterlund.

  • Downtown Everett Bank of America Building Now For Lease

    Downtown Everett Bank of America Building Now For Lease

    What happened to the Bank of America in downtown Everett?
    Bank of America closed its branch at 1602 Hewitt Avenue in April 2026, ending more than 60 years at the same corner location. The 62,000-square-foot building — owned by Skotdal Real Estate — is now available for lease for the first time since 1965, with availability starting mid-May 2026.

    If you’ve driven down Hewitt Avenue lately, you’ve noticed something different at the corner of Hewitt and Colby. The Bank of America signs are gone. The drive-through lanes sit empty. And for the first time since 1965, the building at 1602–1604 Hewitt Avenue is looking for a new tenant.

    We’ve been watching this space for a while. The closure was quiet — no press release, no farewell event, no real announcement beyond a letter to longtime customers. One week it was open, the next week the signs came down and the LoopNet listing went up. But what happens next in that building matters for downtown Everett in a way that’s hard to overstate.

    What the Building Actually Is

    The property at 1602–1604 Hewitt Ave is a 62,000-square-foot building on one of the most visible corners in downtown Everett — Hewitt and Colby, at the heart of the Hewitt Avenue commercial corridor. Skotdal Real Estate, the Everett-based commercial property firm that has been one of downtown’s most active investors for decades, owns and is now actively marketing the building.

    The space coming available is approximately 12,000 square feet of the ground floor — the former bank branch and lobby. That footprint includes two things that are genuinely rare in downtown Everett: a three-lane drive-through and 92 covered parking spots. For any retail or service business that depends on vehicle access or parking, those features are nearly impossible to find this close to the core of downtown.

    The space features full-corner frontage with dual street exposure on both Hewitt and Colby, large windows, a sweeping interior staircase, a private elevator, and what Skotdal describes as abundant natural light. It’s a landmark-grade build-out that doesn’t require a tenant to start from scratch.

    Availability is listed as mid-May 2026.

    Why Bank of America Left — and Why It Matters

    Bank of America notified customers in writing beginning in November 2025 that the Hewitt location would close. The official company statement: “The financial center at 1602 Hewitt Avenue was one of the oldest and largest financial centers in our local network, and we have several other locations nearby that are more modern and aligned with how our clients bank today.”

    It’s the same story playing out in downtowns across the country. More than 6,000 commercial bank branches nationally have closed over the past five years as mobile banking erodes the foot-traffic case for urban branches. The lobby at Hewitt and Colby had been shrinking for years — from a full teller line to one or two staff, serving mostly customers who needed cashier’s checks, in-person account services, or one of the few downtown locations where you could cash a check without an account.

    But the closure stings a little more here because of what that corner has meant to Everett.

    The building’s history on that block goes back to 1892, when the First National Bank of Everett opened at or near that address. The current structure dates to 1965 — built for what eventually became Seafirst Bank, which was acquired by Bank of America in 1983 and rebranded in 1999. That means Bank of America, or its direct predecessors, occupied this corner for over 60 consecutive years.

    What Could Come Next

    Skotdal Real Estate has been one of the most consequential forces in downtown Everett’s commercial real estate story. Their portfolio includes marquee buildings along the Hewitt and Colby corridors, and they’ve been central to attracting the office and retail tenants that have given downtown its current momentum.

    The pitch for this space is straightforward: you get a flagship corner in a downtown that is actively transforming. The $10.6 million stadium design package approved by City Council in late April puts a 5,000-seat outdoor event center on track for a September 2026 construction start a few blocks away. The Everett Art Walk returns May 21. New restaurants on Hewitt — including R Harn Thai, which just opened — are drawing people back to the corridor.

    The drive-through and parking are the X factor. Most retail or service concepts that need both would not normally be able to place themselves at Hewitt and Colby. A credit union, a pharmacy, a coffee-and-banking hybrid, a medical or dental clinic with patient parking, a high-volume quick-service restaurant — all of these would normally rule out a downtown corner and look for a suburban pad site instead. Here, the existing infrastructure changes that calculus.

    The bigger-picture question is what this vacancy signals. Downtown Everett has been building momentum for several years, but it has also been honest about the challenges. Earlier this year the city documented a vacancy count along the commercial corridors that showed real gaps. The BofA closure adds to that count in one of the most visible spots possible. The answer to what comes next matters not just for Skotdal and the building’s future tenant — it matters for whether Hewitt Avenue’s commercial rebound stays on track.

    What’s Already in the Neighborhood

    The space doesn’t exist in isolation. Within a short walk:

    • The Everett Art Walk’s gallery circuit runs along this stretch of downtown, including multiple galleries that have opened or expanded in recent years
    • Narrative Coffee, STRGZR Coffee & Kitchen, and The Loft Coffee Bar anchor the coffee-and-remote-work scene on adjacent blocks
    • New restaurant openings on Hewitt (R Harn Thai, Luca Italian, The New Mexicans) have added foot traffic
    • The historic Everett Theatre at 2911 Colby is booking major acts through the summer

    For a retailer or service business evaluating downtown Everett, the current moment is both encouraging and uncertain. The direction is clearly positive — but the pace of infill matters, and a vacant flagship corner is not a neutral signal.

    The Practical Picture

    Nearest Bank of America branches for former customers: Evergreen Way (5019 Evergreen Way), Greentree Plaza (305 SE Everett Mall Way, Suite 31), Silver Lake (1803 112th St SE), and Marysville (415 State Ave). Each is roughly 10–16 minutes by car.

    The Skotdal listing for 1602–1604 Hewitt is active on LoopNet and directly at skotdal.com. The available footprint is described as ground-floor retail or office use, with the drive-through lanes and parking as potential differentiators for the right tenant.

    We’ll be watching. When Skotdal secures a tenant for this space, it will be one of the bigger commercial announcements downtown Everett has seen in years.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    When did Bank of America close its downtown Everett branch?
    Bank of America officially closed its branch at 1602 Hewitt Avenue in Everett in mid-April 2026. Customers were notified in writing beginning in November 2025.

    Who owns the Bank of America building in downtown Everett?
    Skotdal Real Estate, an Everett-based commercial property company, owns the building at 1602–1604 Hewitt Ave and is managing the lease-up of the vacated space.

    How big is the former Bank of America space available for lease?
    Approximately 12,000 square feet of ground-floor space is available, within a larger 62,000-square-foot building. The space includes a 3-lane drive-through and 92 covered parking spots.

    When is the downtown Everett Bank of America space available?
    Skotdal is listing availability as mid-May 2026. The building is actively being marketed on LoopNet and skotdal.com.

    What was at that corner before Bank of America?
    The current building dates to 1965 and was built for Seafirst Bank. Before that, the First National Bank of Everett — established in 1892 — operated at or near that address. Bank of America acquired Seafirst in 1983 and rebranded in 1999.

    What other Bank of America locations serve downtown Everett customers?
    The nearest locations are on Evergreen Way (~10 min), Greentree Plaza SE (~14 min), Silver Lake (~16 min), and Marysville (~14 min).

  • Everett CB 2604-24: Appointive Officer Compensation Changes

    Everett CB 2604-24: Appointive Officer Compensation Changes

    Featured snippet:

    Q: What is Council Bill 2604-24, and when does the Everett City Council vote on it?
    A: CB 2604-24 amends Chapter 2.74 of the Everett Municipal Code, which governs compensation and fringe benefits for the city’s appointive officers, classified nonrepresented employees, and councilmembers themselves. First reading is at the May 6, 2026 council meeting. Third and final reading is scheduled for May 20, 2026.

    Wednesday night at City Hall, the Everett City Council will take up the first reading of an ordinance most residents will never read but every resident pays for.

    Council Bill 2604-24 is on the May 6 agenda as a Proposed Action Item — a 1st reading of an ordinance amending Chapter 2.74 of the Everett Municipal Code, which is the section of city code that governs how Everett pays its appointed department heads, its classified nonrepresented employees, and its own city councilmembers. The third and final reading is scheduled for May 20, 2026, at the next regular council meeting after Wednesday’s vote.

    The ordinance itself is short on the agenda — one line on a single page of consent and action items. But the chapter it amends is the section of code that decides how much the city pays the people running its departments and what benefits they get for that work. For a city facing a projected $14 million 2027 general fund gap (covered earlier in this desk’s run log on April 21), how the appointed leadership is compensated is not a side question.

    This article breaks down what Chapter 2.74 actually does, what’s likely to be inside CB 2604-24, the calendar between Wednesday and May 20, and how residents who want to weigh in can do so before the third reading.

    What Changes for Residents

    Three things to know up front:

    The vote is not final on Wednesday. Wednesday is the 1st reading. The final vote is May 20. That gives residents two weeks to read the ordinance bill, watch the May 6 deliberation, and submit public comment before the council acts.

    This is not a salary-setting vote for elected councilmembers in isolation. Chapter 2.74 covers three categories: appointive officers (the people the mayor appoints to run departments), classified nonrepresented employees (city staff who are not covered by a union contract), and the city council itself. Any change to one article of the chapter typically gets discussed alongside the others.

    You can read the actual bill before the meeting. The full PDF of CB 2604-24 is posted to the city’s Agenda Center under the May 6, 2026 agenda packet. The link to the document — including any staff memo explaining what the changes do — is published on everettwa.gov/AgendaCenter at least 72 hours before the meeting under state public-meeting rules.

    What Chapter 2.74 Actually Covers

    The Everett Municipal Code organizes Chapter 2.74 into three articles, each covering a different category of city personnel:

    Article I — Appointive Officers. These are the department heads and senior staff appointed by the mayor — the people who actually run departments like Public Works, Parks, the Police Department’s civilian leadership, the Fire Department’s civilian leadership, and similar roles. Under existing code, the mayor sets the workweek for appointive officers as needed for “efficient functioning of city government.” Appointive officers who are exempt from the federal Fair Labor Standards Act do not get premium pay for overtime, callbacks, or holidays, and no appointive officer gets longevity premium pay.

    The chapter also defines insurance benefits for these officers: basic and major medical, vision, and dental coverage for the officer and eligible dependents, with the full-time officer required to contribute ten percent of the cost of medical coverage.

    Article II — Classified Nonrepresented Employees. These are city employees who are not in a union bargaining unit. Their compensation and benefits are set through this chapter rather than through collective bargaining.

    Article III — City Council. This article covers how Everett pays its own councilmembers and council president, including any expense reimbursements and benefits.

    Chapter 2.74 is distinct from Chapter 2.72, which handles general employee compensation, and Chapter 2.70, which sets the broader Performance Management and Compensation Plan. The salary ordinance for represented employees lives elsewhere in the code.

    What’s Likely Inside CB 2604-24

    The agenda title for CB 2604-24 reads: “Adopt an Ordinance amending Chapter 2.74 of the Everett Municipal Code, which pertains to appointive employee compensation and fringe benefits.”

    The agenda doesn’t say specifically which sections of the chapter are being amended. That’s standard format for first-reading agenda titles — the substance is in the bill PDF in the agenda packet, not in the headline. Residents who want to know exactly what changes the ordinance proposes need to download the bill itself from the May 6 agenda packet at everettwa.gov/AgendaCenter.

    What is typical for ordinances of this type — based on how Chapter 2.74 has been amended in prior years — is one or more of the following: an adjustment to the cost-of-living formula, a change to the fringe-benefit contribution percentages, an update to the language defining which positions are “appointive” versus “classified,” a clarification of FLSA-exempt status for specific roles, or a reorganization of how the three articles interact.

    Residents reading the bill should look for: which sections are added, which are deleted, which are modified, and whether the changes are prospective (forward-looking only) or retroactive to a prior pay period.

    The Calendar Between Wednesday and May 20

    Everett ordinances generally get three readings before adoption:

    • 1st Reading: Wednesday, May 6, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. — Council Chambers, 3002 Wetmore Avenue. The bill is introduced, staff may offer a brief explanation, and councilmembers can ask questions. There is typically no full debate at first reading; the bill is “read” and held over.
    • 2nd Reading: would normally be May 13, 2026 — at the regular Wednesday meeting that week. The bill receives further consideration. Amendments are most commonly offered at second reading.
    • 3rd & Final Reading: Wednesday, May 20, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. — the agenda title for CB 2604-24 specifically lists “(3rd & Final Reading 5/20/26)” — meaning the final vote, in current city practice, is consolidated into a single agenda item on the third meeting in the cycle.

    If amendments are added between first and final reading, those amendments themselves can extend the process. Residents who want to follow the bill should set a reminder for May 20.

    How to Weigh In Before May 20

    Everett’s council meetings include a Public Comment period at the start of every regular meeting. Residents who want to comment on CB 2604-24 have several paths:

    In person at the meeting. Public Comment runs near the start of every regular Wednesday meeting. Residents arrive at Council Chambers, 3002 Wetmore Avenue, before 6:30 p.m. and sign up at the door. The standard time limit is three minutes per speaker.

    By Zoom. Register at everettwa.gov/speakerform no later than 30 minutes before the meeting starts. The city’s notice requires that you identify the topic you wish to address.

    By email. Send written comments to Council@everettwa.gov. The city notes that emailed comments submitted at least 24 hours before the meeting are distributed to all councilmembers and appropriate staff. Comments sent later may not reach councilmembers before the vote.

    By mail. 2930 Wetmore Avenue, Suite 9A, Everett, WA 98201. Allow time for delivery if you go this route.

    Comments on non-agenda items may be asked to be submitted in writing if the comment does not address an issue of “broad public interest,” per the city’s published guidance. CB 2604-24 is on the agenda for Wednesday and again on May 20, so it qualifies as an agenda item for both meetings.

    Watching the Meeting

    Wednesday’s meeting will be broadcast live and recorded. Two ways to follow along:

    Live and archived video: YouTube.com/EverettCity. The full archive of past meetings is searchable from there.

    Agenda and bill PDFs: everettwa.gov/citycouncil and the AgendaCenter for the May 6, 2026 packet.

    If you cannot watch Wednesday but want to be informed before May 20, the meeting recording typically posts within 24 hours and the official minutes — including the roll-call vote on first reading and any amendments offered — are added to the May 6 agenda page on the city website within a week.

    Why This Matters Inside Everett’s Bigger Budget Picture

    Earlier in this desk’s run log (April 21, 2026) we covered Everett’s projected $14 million 2027 general fund gap and the four levers the city is weighing to close it: the regional fire RFA, Sno-Isle library regionalization, another levy lid lift, and possible annexation. Three of those four require voter approval.

    How the city pays its appointive officers and classified nonrepresented employees is not the largest line in the general fund, but it is one of the lines the city has direct discretion over without going to voters. Any ordinance amending Chapter 2.74 in 2026 is happening inside that budget context whether the bill mentions the gap or not. Residents reading CB 2604-24 should look for whether the ordinance is structured to add cost, hold cost flat, or save cost — and whether the staff memo that accompanies the bill addresses the 2027 budget connection.

    That answer is in the agenda packet, not in the headline.

    What to Do Next

    Before Wednesday:

    • Download CB 2604-24 from the May 6, 2026 agenda packet at everettwa.gov/AgendaCenter.
    • Read the staff memo (if attached) for the city’s explanation of what changes and why.
    • If you want to speak at Wednesday’s meeting in person, plan to arrive at 3002 Wetmore Avenue before 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. To speak via Zoom, register at everettwa.gov/speakerform by 6 p.m.

    Between May 6 and May 20:

    • Watch the May 6 first-reading deliberation on YouTube.com/EverettCity to see which councilmembers engage and what they ask.
    • Submit written comment to Council@everettwa.gov at least 24 hours before May 20 to ensure councilmembers receive it before the final vote.
    • Track whether any amendments are filed between readings — those typically appear on the agenda for the second reading the week before final.

    On May 20:

    • The 3rd and final reading is scheduled for the Wednesday, May 20 meeting at 6:30 p.m.
    • Public comment is again accepted before the vote.
    • The roll call shows where each councilmember landed.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    What does Chapter 2.74 of the Everett Municipal Code govern?

    Chapter 2.74 covers compensation and fringe benefits for the City of Everett’s appointive officers (department heads appointed by the mayor), classified nonrepresented employees (city staff not covered by union contracts), and the city council itself.

    When is the first reading of CB 2604-24?

    Wednesday, May 6, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. in Council Chambers, 3002 Wetmore Avenue.

    When is the final vote?

    Wednesday, May 20, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. The agenda item for May 6 specifically lists “(3rd & Final Reading 5/20/26).”

    Where can I read the actual ordinance bill?

    The PDF of CB 2604-24 is in the May 6, 2026 agenda packet at everettwa.gov/AgendaCenter, along with any staff memo explaining the changes.

    How do I submit public comment?

    By email to Council@everettwa.gov (at least 24 hours before the meeting to ensure councilmembers receive it), in person at Council Chambers, by Zoom (register at everettwa.gov/speakerform no later than 30 minutes before the meeting), or by mail to 2930 Wetmore Avenue, Suite 9A, Everett, WA 98201.

    Does this ordinance set salaries for elected city councilmembers?

    Chapter 2.74 includes Article III on City Council compensation, but the agenda title for CB 2604-24 specifically references “appointive employee compensation and fringe benefits” — the appointed-officer side of the chapter. Residents who want to know which articles the bill modifies need to read the bill PDF.

    Is this connected to Everett’s 2027 budget gap?

    Everett is projecting a roughly $14 million 2027 general fund gap. How the city pays its appointive officers and classified nonrepresented employees is one of the discretionary lines in the general fund. The ordinance does not have to mention the gap to be relevant to it; residents should look at the staff memo for whether the city addresses the connection.

    Where do I watch the meeting?

    Live and archived at YouTube.com/EverettCity. The May 6 meeting starts at 6:30 p.m.

  • Westmont Holly Neighborhood Guide: South Everett Living

    Westmont Holly Neighborhood Guide: South Everett Living

    Quick answer: Westmont and Holly are two adjacent south Everett neighborhoods that share one neighborhood association, the Westmont-Holly Neighborhood Association (WHNA). The City of Everett’s official neighborhood association directory lists them jointly because that’s how residents organized themselves — meeting together since the early 2000s on the first Monday of each month at Horizon Elementary at 222 W Casino Road. Westmont skews younger, denser, and more apartment-heavy. Holly skews older, more single-family, and slightly higher-income. Together they form one of the most diverse, most multilingual, and most under-the-radar parts of Everett.

    There are 21 neighborhoods on this desk’s rotation list, but if you ask the City of Everett, there are really 19 — because Westmont and Holly meet together, organize together, and run a single neighborhood association. The city’s official directory at everettwa.gov/334 lists “Westmont-Holly” as one entry, not two. Both everettwa.gov/571/Westmont and everettwa.gov/429/Holly redirect to the same Westmont-Holly page. That’s not a bureaucratic accident — that’s how the people who actually live there decided to do it.

    If you’ve driven Casino Road, Evergreen Way, or 100th Street SW lately, you’ve been in Westmont-Holly. The two neighborhoods together form the densest, most diverse part of south Everett — the corridor where the city’s apartment complexes, immigrant-owned restaurants, and oldest 1960s ramblers all sit side by side. This is where a real chunk of Everett actually lives, and it almost never gets profiled.

    Here’s what’s worth knowing about the joint neighborhood the city counts as one.

    The neighborhood association is the core of the story

    The Westmont-Holly Neighborhood Association meets the first Monday of every month at 6 p.m. at Horizon Elementary School (222 W. Casino Road), with occasional schedule shifts noted on the city’s calendar at everettwa.gov/Calendar.aspx. The association maintains its own site at westmont-holly.com, where bylaws, meeting minutes, emergency preparedness resources, and a links/resources page are published.

    This is one of the longer-running joint neighborhood associations in Everett. The city’s Council of Neighborhoods at everettwa.gov/338 — the body that coordinates between the 19 official neighborhood associations and city government — has carried Westmont-Holly as a single representative for years. The association is volunteer-led and currently looking for residents to help with newsletter posting, fliers, and event coordination, per their site.

    What that means in practice: if you live in Westmont, Holly, or anywhere in between, the place to plug in is the WHNA. Not two separate associations. One.

    Where exactly are these neighborhoods?

    Westmont sits in south Everett, roughly south of Madison and west of Evergreen Way, with the south-end portion bordering 100th Street SW and Airport Road. Holly sits adjacent — generally just east of Westmont, with much of the neighborhood north of 100th Street SW. The City of Everett maintains a neighborhood map at everettwa.gov/2255/Neighborhood-Maps that shows all 19 official neighborhood boundaries, including the joint Westmont-Holly footprint.

    For driving orientation: if you’re on Casino Road heading west from I-5, you cross into Westmont-Holly territory before you reach Highway 99 / Evergreen Way. Kasch Park (which we covered yesterday) sits right at the south edge of the neighborhood. The Mukilteo School District boundary cuts through here — the western and southern parts of the joint neighborhood are Mukilteo SD, the eastern parts are Everett Public Schools, and Horizon Elementary, where the association meets, is a Mukilteo SD school.

    Westmont: dense, young, multilingual, and renter-majority

    Westmont’s character is shaped by housing stock. The neighborhood is heavy on garden-style apartment complexes, four-plexes, and 1970s and 1980s multifamily buildings, with single-family homes and condos scattered through it. According to Homes.com and NeighborhoodScout data, roughly 80% of the resident population in the broader Westmont area rents.

    Median age is about 33 — younger than the city overall. Westmont is also one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse parts of Everett, with nearly half of households speaking a language other than English at home. The most commonly identified ancestry in the neighborhood is Mexican, at roughly 21% of residents, with significant Vietnamese, Filipino, and Russian/Ukrainian communities as well.

    Recent housing data from Homes.com puts the median sale price for Westmont homes at roughly $366,450 over the past 12 months — substantially below Everett’s overall median, reflecting the apartment-heavy housing mix. That price point makes Westmont one of the more accessible entry points into Everett homeownership for first-time buyers willing to consider condos and small single-family homes in a denser setting.

    The proximity to Paine Field and Boeing matters here. Westmont is roughly five miles south of downtown Everett and within easy commute distance of both Paine Field (the airport and Boeing’s commercial campus) and the Mukilteo ferry. For workers in aerospace and the trades — and there are a lot of them in this corridor — Westmont’s housing math has historically penciled out.

    Holly: older single-family stock and quietly stable

    Holly tells a different story than Westmont, even though they share the same association. Per Homes.com and Point2Homes data, Holly’s median sale price over the past 12 months is closer to $630,997 — up about 6% year-over-year — and the housing mix tilts more toward 1960s and 1970s single-family ramblers, condos, and townhouses. Detached homes are scattered throughout, and condos and townhouses cluster north of 100th Street SW.

    The income picture in Holly is closer to the regional average than Westmont’s, with average household income around $90,350 according to neighborhood-level estimates. White-collar workers make up roughly 70% of the working population. The renter share is lower than Westmont’s, but still substantial — most of the residential real estate skews renter-occupied, especially in the multifamily portion of the neighborhood north of 100th Street SW.

    Holly is more linguistically diverse than the Everett average but less so than Westmont. English is spoken by about 57% of households, with Spanish, Arabic, Vietnamese, and Tagalog all represented. The most commonly identified ancestry in Holly is Mexican at roughly 15% of residents.

    What it’s like to actually live here

    The everyday experience of Westmont-Holly is shaped by Casino Road and Evergreen Way. The corridor has the highest concentration of immigrant-owned restaurants in Everett — Vietnamese, Mexican, Salvadoran, Filipino, Cambodian, Russian, Ukrainian — and the food scene here is one of the genuine cultural assets of the city. We’ve covered Casino Road corridor work, Tabassum (the Uzbek food truck on Beverly Lane just west of the neighborhood), and the broader Casino Road corridor in earlier desk pieces.

    Kasch Park anchors the south end of the joint neighborhood with synthetic turf fields, a playground, and a popular community-event venue. Lions Park and Forest Park sit just to the north and east. The Interurban Trail runs along the eastern boundary, providing the same paved pedestrian/bike spine that connects Pinehurst-Beverly Park down toward Lynnwood.

    For families, the school question is real and worth understanding. Most of Westmont and parts of Holly are in Mukilteo School District (Horizon, Discovery, Mukilteo Elementary; Olympic View Middle; Mariner High). The eastern portions of Holly are in Everett Public Schools (Cascade High zone). Mukilteo’s 2026 bond — is directly relevant here because it funds capital projects at schools serving south Everett families.

    The transit picture is improving. Community Transit’s recent acquisition of the former Goodwill bins site at 11815 Highway 99 — sits just outside the joint neighborhood’s eastern edge. Casino Road is one of the most-used Community Transit corridors in the system. Sound Transit’s Everett Link extension, scheduled for 2041 service, will eventually bring light rail to the SW Everett station near Airport Road, with a station at I-5 and 112th SW just east of Westmont-Holly.

    Where the joint association fits in Everett’s bigger neighborhood story

    Westmont-Holly is part of a quietly shifting story about how south Everett organizes itself. For decades, the corridor was treated as a single undifferentiated chunk of “Casino Road” — usually framed in shorthand and not always favorably. The reality is that this part of Everett has 21 neighborhoods just like the historic core does, and the joint Westmont-Holly Neighborhood Association is one of the more durable examples of residents organizing themselves around the city’s official Council of Neighborhoods structure.

    The other south-Everett neighborhoods we’ve spotlighted — Twin Creeks, Cascade View, Boulevard Bluffs, Pinehurst-Beverly Park, Glacier View — each have their own associations and their own meeting cadences. Westmont-Holly’s choice to consolidate is itself a model: when two adjacent neighborhoods share schools, parks, transit corridors, and housing markets, doing the work together is more sustainable than splitting volunteer energy in half.

    If you live in either neighborhood and want to plug in, first Monday of the month, 6 p.m., Horizon Elementary, 222 W. Casino Road is the door. Bring a neighbor.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Why does the City of Everett list Westmont and Holly together as one neighborhood association?
    Westmont and Holly are two distinct neighborhoods, but they share a single neighborhood association — the Westmont-Holly Neighborhood Association (WHNA) — because residents organized themselves jointly. The City of Everett’s Council of Neighborhoods at everettwa.gov/338 recognizes WHNA as one of 19 official neighborhood associations, and both everettwa.gov/571/Westmont and everettwa.gov/429/Holly redirect to the same Westmont-Holly page.

    When does the Westmont-Holly Neighborhood Association meet?
    The Westmont-Holly Neighborhood Association meets on the first Monday of each month at 6 p.m. at Horizon Elementary School, 222 W. Casino Road, Everett, WA 98204. Schedule changes are posted on the city’s calendar at everettwa.gov/Calendar.aspx and on the WHNA site at westmont-holly.com.

    Where exactly are the boundaries between Westmont and Holly?
    The City of Everett’s official neighborhood map at everettwa.gov/2255/Neighborhood-Maps shows the precise boundaries. In rough terms, Westmont covers the western and southern portion of the joint neighborhood — south of Madison, west of Evergreen Way, and bordering 100th Street SW and Airport Road. Holly sits adjacent, generally to the east, with much of the neighborhood north of 100th Street SW.

    What school district serves Westmont-Holly?
    Both districts. The western and southern portions are served by Mukilteo School District (Horizon Elementary, Discovery Elementary, Olympic View Middle, Mariner High). The eastern portions of Holly are served by Everett Public Schools (Cascade High zone). Families considering a move should verify the specific school assignment for their address through the district lookup tools at mukilteoschools.org and everettsd.org.

    How does Westmont compare to Holly on housing prices?
    Westmont’s housing stock is heavily multifamily — apartments, condos, and four-plexes — and the median sale price over the past 12 months is roughly $366,450 per Homes.com. Holly has more single-family ramblers from the 1960s–1970s and a higher median sale price closer to $630,997, up about 6% year-over-year. The neighborhoods share a single association but have meaningfully different housing markets.

    What’s the cultural and linguistic profile of Westmont-Holly?
    Both neighborhoods are among the most ethnically and linguistically diverse parts of Everett. In Westmont, nearly half of households speak a language other than English at home; the most commonly identified ancestry is Mexican (about 21%), with significant Vietnamese, Filipino, and Russian/Ukrainian communities. In Holly, English is spoken by about 57% of households, with Spanish, Arabic, Vietnamese, and Tagalog all represented; the most commonly identified ancestry is Mexican (about 15%).

    What parks and community spaces serve the neighborhood?
    Kasch Park, Everett’s largest athletic complex, sits at the south edge of the joint neighborhood at 8811 Airport Road. Lions Park and Forest Park sit just to the north and east. The Interurban Trail runs along the eastern boundary. We’ve covered Kasch Park in detail at the Kasch Park local’s guide.

    How do I get involved in the Westmont-Holly Neighborhood Association?
    The easiest way is to attend a monthly meeting (first Monday, 6 p.m., Horizon Elementary). The association’s website at westmont-holly.com has the bylaws, meeting minutes, and a contact page. WHNA is currently looking for volunteers to help with newsletter posting and event coordination.