The next phase of the Millworks project at the Bellingham waterfront can move forward after Port of Bellingham commissioners approved design documents on Tuesday, Feb. 18.
With the commission’s vote Tuesday, they approved the design documents detailing what will be in the second phase of the project, including a local food campus on the ground floor, office and meeting spaces on the second floor, and five floors of housing. An event center and open-air plaza will be located on the third floor.
Commissioners lauded the efforts of the Whatcom Community Foundation and housing nonprofit Mercy Housing Northwest for the work done in the first phase of the Millworks project.
That included the construction of 83 units of affordable housing at the waterfront with most of the units already rented. There’s also a child care center operated by the Whatcom Family YMCA and residential gathering spaces that double as classrooms and meeting areas.
“It’s been a really nice success story,” Commissioner Michael Shepard said. “It’s gotten families at the waterfront living there, enjoying all the amenities that continue to come up and we’re really looking to the second phase to continue this build-out.”
Phase two would include around 109 units of workforce housing, which Brian Gouran, the port’s director of environmental and planning services, said would house those who don’t meet the standards for affordable housing because they make too much but cannot afford to buy a home — or who he called “the missing middle.”
Alexandrea Spaulding, director of special projects at WCF, told commissioners, “We’re making a commitment based on the intention of our project to subsidize and offer housing in that window.”
“Our goal is to make sure that we have enough jobs within walking distance of your facility that they can actually walk to work with our waterfront,” Commissioner Ken Bell said.
Currently, the space where the building will go is an empty gravel parking lot located at 110 W. Laurel St.
While phase one of the project costs $37 million, phase two is anticipated to cost northward of $140 million. Financing will come from a blend of senior debt, Opportunity Zone funding (which is a federal program), tax credit funding, public and private grants, loans, and philanthropic contributions, according to the design document.
WCF has 120 days to submit building permit applications to the City of Bellingham. Following permit approval, the port will sell the 1.14 acres of land for the project.
The earliest construction could begin is late 2025 with completion set for late 2027.
Annie Todd is CDN’s criminal justice/enterprise reporter; reach her at annietodd@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 130.
