Bellingham Barkley District - Urban Village
Building an urban village from scratch is fraught with difficulties, but Stowe Talbot believes his company is on the right track with the Barkley District. The area is in the midst of a crucial step, as residents start moving into the first condominium units while the rest of the area is undergoing a construction boom. The flurry of activity includes three buildings under construction with work expected to begin on at least four other projects in coming months.
For Talbot, it has become a tricky situation of balancing market forces with the creation of an area that has the right mix of office, residential and retail.
“We weren’t experts in community planning when this was started, but we’ve learned quite a bit over the years,” said Talbot, vice president of the Barkley Co. “We’ve seen that it’s difficult for urban villages to succeed, and we want to buck that trend.”
The challenge in adding condos to the mix of office and retail businesses is not letting the residential be overwhelmed by other interests in the area.
“It’s easy to sell the property off to retail on a busy street, so we want to be careful,” Talbot said.
INFILLING
The current plan is to fill in the property between Barkley Village and the offices on Rimland Drive on the north side of the property.
The Drake Building, offering condos and retail, is almost completed. Peoples Bank is building a 20,000-square-foot branch and administrative offices. Nearby, the Laurel Building, a mixed-use office and retail building, is under construction. Across the street on the corner of Newmarket Street and Barkley Boulevard will be the Cornerstone Building, offering retail space and 70 condominium units.
Once the infilling around Newmarket Street is complete, the Barkley Co. will focus on nearby lots, possibly adding another office building just north of the Cornerstone site but also adding residential to the east. There are no plans for development on the trails and pond east of the Haggen store.
“Our overall goal is to make an area where people get out of their cars and walk around,” Talbot said. “That’s why we’re being patient with the residential. If we turn the entire area over to retail, it becomes a place that people only drive to and shop.”
RESIDENTIAL MARKET
While introducing residential at this point fits within the overall area plan, it comes at a time when the overall real estate market is slowing down.
Talbot said he’s been pleased with the results, given the current housing climate. According to the company Web site, six of the 36 units at The Drake are taken. The building just had its grand opening celebration for the public earlier this month.
“I think it’s gone well under the circumstances,” Talbot said. “We are building to our schedule. This is an area that is going through a 30 to 40 year build out, so we can’t worry about the ups and downs each year brings in residential real estate.”
One lesson Talbot said they’ve learned with their first foray into residential is adding variety. The Drake building offers just studio or one-bedroom units. Their next residential project, the Cornerstone, will offer more rooms. As they ponder other residential projects, they’ll also be considering options such as apartments and maybe even a few single-family homes.
VARIETY
Sticking to a planned layout is attracting different businesses to the area. Linda Rudy, office manager at the dental office of Ron Moreno, said the staff and the clients are excited about the plan to move into a new two story building near Heath Tecna next summer.
“We feel lucky to be able to move to the Barkley area and have a new building,” Rudy said. “It’s a great central location, and the Talbot company has been great. They seem to give more than they take when it comes to working with a business that’s moving to the area.”
Andy Schmidt, an orthodontist who is new to the area, agreed with Rudy. He’s working in a temporary space now until he can occupy the second floor of the new building that the Moreno dental practice is moving into.
“It’s exciting to be a new practice that is moving into a growing area that already has a wellestablished professional core,” Schmidt said.
THE EXTRAS
Along with the introduction of residential units and the addition of office and retail businesses, the Barkley area is also adding public amenities.
The Barkley Co. is working out the final kinks for a branch library to go into The Drake Building. If all goes as planned, the library would be open at the beginning of the year with a selection of books as well as a drop-off location. The space could also be used as a community meeting area after hours, said Jeff Kochman, president of Barkley Co.
“A library was at the top of a list of desired public uses for that space,” said Kochman. “We also hope to have a cafe or bakery take over an adjacent space to create some walking traffic for that area.”
Also in the works for public amenities are trails and more parks, possibly a dog park.
“We’re concentrating on filling in the pieces we think are still missing,” Talbot said.
One area that has been drawing a fair amount of interest is southwest of the Barkley District, just west of the Haggen store. This undeveloped property will be one of the last to be developed and so far is the least planned out. Talbot thinks at this point it will eventually become residential. It’s a little tricky, however, because of stormwater issues.
“It’s a great piece of property that will allow us to consider a variety of options, but we’re in no hurry to develop it,” Talbot said.
Size: About 250 acres mostly owned by the Talbot family, roughly stretching from the Woburn Street Haggen store north to the Heath Tecna building, west to St. Paul Street and east going up Brandywine Way. via Herald
Buildings under construction:
- The Drake building: Most is completed, with tenant improvement work being done in the retail spaces. Golf Savings Bank and a branch library will be moving in. The Barkley Co. is looking for a cafe for one of the spaces.
- Peoples Bank branch and administrative building: Construction is under way at the corner of Woburn Street and Barkley Boulevard for a 20,000- square-foot building that will accommodate about 90 employees. It will be home to the bank’s administrative offices, currently located in Lynden. The building, designed by RMC Architects, is expected to be certified in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program. It’s expected to be completed in July. Peoples also has a branch in the Haggen store.
- The Laurel Building: A mixed-use retail and office building on the northwest corner of Newmarket Street and Barkley Boulevard. The hope is to land a national brand restaurant, said Jeff Kochman, president of Barkley Co. The building is expected to be completed by next spring.
- The West Com Properties building: Near Heath Tecna, the building will be home to West Com Properties and will have about 3,600-square-feet of available office space. The building is scheduled to be completed by December.
Building soon to be under construction:
- The Cornerstone: Retail on the ground floor and about 70 condominium units, on the northeast corner of Newmarket Street and Barkley Boulevard. Construction is expected to begin next year.
- Dental office: A two-story building with Ron Moreno DDS on the first floor and Schmidt Orthodontist on the second floor, south of the Heath Tecna building and north of Barkley Boulevard. Construction by Faber Brothers is expected to begin in January and be completed by next summer.
- DEA office building: The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency will put up a two-story building at 1855 Barkley Boulevard, near Heath Tecna. The first floor will have parking and some office space; the second will have offices. The DEA is moving to Bellingham from its Blaine facility, which is being torn down as part of the new port of entry project, said Rhett Fonseca, public affairs officer for the agency. The DEA expects to be in the new building by April.
- Chiropractic office: Adich Clinic has plans to build a facility south of Heath Tecna within a year.
Jerry Campbell - Muljat Group - Bellingham, WA 98225 - Bellingham Real Estate
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