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Tuesday, March 19, 2024
March 19, 2024

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Vancouver council OKs revised waterfront deal

New agreement addresses deadlines, repayment timeline

By , Columbian City Government Reporter
Published:

The Vancouver City Council on Monday unanimously approved revisions to the city’s 2009 agreement with a private developer to redevelop the Columbia River waterfront into a bustling commercial and residential area.

The agreement, which took seven months to hammer out, sets a two-year deadline for Columbia Waterfront LLC to begin construction in exchange for repaying millions of dollars owed to the city over a longer time frame. Columbia Waterfront LLC is a private investors’ group led by Gramor Development.

The 20-year term of the original development agreement for the project has been extended to 25 years because market conditions during the recession delayed construction. The agreement binds the 32-acre property with the overall project master plan, development goals, open space and street layout.

“This is a big project,” Councilor Larry Smith said. “I’m pleased with where this is headed. I’m very optimistic. … This has moved along well, better than expected.”

The amendments to the development agreement also encompass public bathrooms, the required amount of windows and doors on ground floors, public park maintenance, building environmental standards and parking.

The overall scope of the master plan remains unchanged, Community and Development Director Chad Eiken told the council Monday.

Councilor Jack Burkman called the agreement “very fair.”

Mayor Tim Leavitt said it was important to recognize this wasn’t the end of the city’s involvement.

“We’ll continue to be working on how to ensure this project comes to fruition in a very successful way for both of us,” he said.

Work on the $1.3 billion private-public redevelopment project is underway. The roads, curbing and utilities are in place, and over the next few weeks, workers will finish installing streetlights and traffic signals, pouring the rest of the sidewalks and planting landscaping.

Commercial buildings with restaurants are scheduled to start rising around March. Among the first structures to go up will be two waterfront buildings with restaurants, a 14-story apartment building with 150 units, a condominium building of up to 15 floors and more than 100 units, and a six-floor office building.

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Columbian City Government Reporter