Architecture of the two buildings to front Avenue D.
Site application materials
SNOHOMISH — A developer is proposing more than 200 housing units on the former county public works yard at 13th Street and Avenue D.
One building would be a mixed-use building with commerce on the bottom facing Avenue D and three stories of 115 multifamily residences above it. The other would be a townhouse building fronting Bonneville with 106 attached townhomes.
Bothell-based developer West Ridge Land Corp. filed the site plan to the city in early December. They’ve been under contract to potentially buy the site from the county since July.
County project manager Randy Blair said last week that the county anticipates closing the sale in mid- to late 2025. One factor on this is the site plan being approved by the city, Blair said.
The city says it plans to begin its site plan review this week.
The county’s former public works yard is one of Snohomish’s largest developable spaces. The big, vacant lot along Avenue D has about 9 acres of developable land.
West Ridge’s proposed site layout is like two sections: Two buildings facing Avenue D, and a townhouse complex facing Bonneville.
Steve Cox, the president of West Ridge, said by email he was convinced to develop this space from having the belief city administration is supportive of redeveloping the site. He pointed out that the city convened a task force to shape the Midtown District specifically with the future development of the Avenue D yard in mind. The district’s plan looks to bring more development nearby.
Traffic could enter the Avenue D site from the 13th Street intersection, but the sole Avenue D exit would be near the driveway for the Avenue D Chevron station, south of the driveways for the plaza anchored by Safeway. The entry and exits for the Bonneville site would be two driveways off Bonneville. Internal roads would allow traffic to circulate within the whole complex.
A majority of the parking would be underground.
The facades are ultra-modern, like what is seen elsewhere in the Puget Sound.
A public plaza near 13th and Avenue D would be between the two buildings. The thought is to bring people into the plaza, with commerce and retail in those buildings.
The county is selling the land without requiring the buyer to build affordable housing, Blair said.
Nearby, in 2024, the nonprofit Snohomish Affordable Housing Group (SAHG) closed on purchasing a 0.79-acre chunk on the northernmost side of the county’s former public works yard which will contain affordable housing.
The public works yard site was the county’s road maintenance and shop facility from the 1930s until 2008 when the county relocated these operations to Cathcart. The site went through years of ground contamination cleanup work to become ready for sale. The longstanding plan has been to use the sale money to go toward redeveloping the county’s road maintenance site in Arlington.
