Will you chip in to support our nonprofit newsroom with a donation today?
Yes, I want to support My MLTnews!
The first phase of the giant Terrace Station development being built along I-5 in Mountlake Terrace will open later than its originally-planned Sept. 30 finish date as all construction at the site is now on hold.
“Unfortunately, with the governor’s latest orders last week, we are shut down,” said Brendan Lawrence, Senior Development Manager of Lake Union Partners, one of the developers of the 14.6-acre site in the Gateway neighborhood of Mountlake Terrace.
Crews are nearing completion of Phase I of the project, which consists of a six-story, 470,00-square-foot mixed-use building on the southwest corner of the site. But work on the building has halted as a result of Gov. Jay Inslee’s first “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” directive given on March 23 and then reiterated on March 25.
“The governor clarified that basically no construction was ‘essential’ aside from some very specific items,” Lawrence said. “And so we started on Thursday the 26th kind of clearing up (and) completing work that was of pressing concern to the building.”
Sierra Construction, the contractor for the Terrace Station project, had crews cap water and electrical outlets and then secure the site on March 26; now the only activity there is a couple workers checking the building daily for unexpected circumstances that might arise.
With no construction work occurring right now, Lawrence said the building’s completion will be delayed.
Lawrence was hoping that work crews would be back at the Terrace Station site on April 8 when Inslee’s initial “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order was set to expire. But after the governor extended that order to May 4 — thus keeping any progress at the new development at a standstill for another four weeks — Lawrence conceded that the Phase I building would not open by Sept. 30.
“There’s no chance of expecting to save that date,” he said.
Lawrence is hopeful that there will be no more extensions to the governor’s stay-home orders, as any further delays may compound efforts to get the project back on track.
“I’m hoping it’s only a 30-day delay going forward,” Lawrence explained. “There’s going to be bigger impacts to a longer delay in terms of longer restart time on the project, likely more impact to the sub-trades and getting people back to work will take longer.”
While disappointed that work has stopped, Lawrence understands its necessity. “It certainly is (frustrating), but there’s the other side of human health safety that we’ve got to consider too,” he said. “(It’s) difficult, obviously, in a construction environment where you’ve got either close quarters and/or consistant teamwork that’s needed close at hand … to maintain 6 feet of separation.”
Shutting down construction at the site is keeping up to 300 workers off the job.
“Typically we have anywhere from 75 to 250 to 300 people onsite, Lawrence said. “It’s a large building and there’s a lot of different trade activities that are going through that building. There can be a lot of labor onsite on any given day.”
Before the stoppage last week, the only active work at the Terrace Station site was on the Phase 1 building; the new Gateway Boulevard is all but completed (just needing a final paving once all other work at the site is finished) and all utilities are in the ground.
Phase 2 of the project, made up of two more mixed-use buildings, is currently in the permitting stage with the City of Mountlake Terrace.
“The city can hopefully try to continue those reviews and expedite those permits and things like that so that when this order’s lifted we’re not losing a bunch of time,” Lawrence said.
The Phase 1 building of Terrace Station is made up of 258 residential units, two floors of underground parking and 58,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor. Nobel Learning Communities and 24 Hour Fitness are reported to have signed pre-leases for the building’s commercial space.
Seattle firms Lake Union Partners and Rainier Pacific Properties are working jointly with Sierra Construction to develop the Terrace Station project. Assuming completion in January 2022, the finished complex will include three buildings with 630 residential units and 90,000 square feet of retail space.
— By Doug Petrowski
Real first and last names — as well as city of residence — are required for all commenters.
This is so we can verify your identity before approving your comment.
By commenting here you agree to abide by our Code of Conduct. Please read our code at the bottom of this page before commenting.