As Bellingham prepares to redevelop 220 acres of waterfront property, a debate rages over whether to grow denser (and taller) or to spread the city outward.
ANVIL CORP. BUILDING Architect: Zervas Group Architects, Bellingham Developer: Anvil Corp., Bellingham Planned Completion: 2008 Cost: $13 million Because the engineering firm's new headquarters by the airport will be home to more than 200 new high-paying jobs, the city allowed sewer and water extensions for the 50,000- square-foot project, despite a long-running moratorium.
CORNERSTONE Architect: RMC Architects, Bellingham Developer: The Barkley Co., Bellingham Planned Completion: 2008 Cost: $16 million This 149,000-square-foot commercial-residential building will have a roof garden and mark the transition between a retail/mixed-use district and Barkley Village, a masterplanned, new urbanist residential area.
BELLINGHAM ART AND CHILDREN'S MUSEUM Architect: Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects, Seattle Developer: City of Bellingham Planned Completion: 2008 Cost: $11 million Containing two new museums and situated in the heart of downtown Bellingham, the 41,720-square-foot building is expected to receive a LEED Silver rating.
DEPOT MARKET SQUARE Architect: Stewart King Architects, Bellingham Developer: City of Bellingham (plus private funding) Completed: 2006 Cost: $2.5 million This 5,200-square-foot downtown market uses reclaimed steel from a historic Skagit River bridge in nearby Mount Vernon, Wash. The open-air market won a 2006 Citation Award from the AIA's Northwest Washington chapter.
WHATCOM EDUCATIONAL CREDIT UNION LOAN CENTER Architect: Zervas Group Architects, Bellingham Developer: Whatcom Educational Credit Union, Bellingham Completed: 2007 Cost: $3.2 million LEED Gold certification for the 9,000-square-foot building is pending and would make the center Whatcom County's first building to achieve the standard.
WADE KING STUDENT RECREATION CENTER Architects: Opsis Architecture, Portland, Ore. (design architect); BJSS Duarte Bryant, Seattle (architect of record) Developer: Western Washington University, Bellingham Completed: 2003 Cost: $18.3 million The 98,000-square-foot building is the first university rec center with a pool to receive LEED certification. In 2004, it earned a national merit award from Athletic Business magazine and won the Outstanding Sports Facilities Award from the National Intramural Recreation Sports Association.
