12/28/05
Michael DeMan

The initial description says one story retail and then all residential above that. Will there be any commercial space at all?

It seems that so many developers are currently focused on residential and I wonder if we're not going to see saturation in the market in a few more years.

Also, the "Village Center" model for sustainable growth in Bellingham envisions a mix of retail, commercial and residential to create vibrant communities and also reduce where possible traffic and other infrastructure loads.

Although downtown has a good amount of commercial space available already, most of it is older buildings and typically are lacking in one or more ammeneties that newer office buildings can provide.

Thanks,

Mike DeMan

Mike,

Thanks for your comments.  We appreciate the feedback.

When we were first coming up with the concept of Bay View Tower, our initial plans included four floors of commercial space.  However, we discovered that Bellingham's commercial market is somewhat saturated at the moment.  In addition, we took into consideration Vancouver's experience - i.e., their initial infill plans substantially overestimated the amount of commercial space needed vis a vis downtown residential space (Gordon Price discussed this issue during his recent lecture in Bellingham).   As a result, we abandoned our initial plan to include above-ground commercial space within Bay View Tower.

That being said, Bay View Tower will include two commercial / retail units at the ground level.  We intend to finish the ground-level units so that they can be used either for retail or as commercial office space.

We agree that the "Village Center" model for Bellingham involves a mix of residential, commercial, and retail, all within neighborhood-scale walking distance.  A vibrant downtown core requires a complete spectrum of uses and amenities, the utilization of which should not require getting in a car and driving to points distant.  However, that doesn't necessarily mean every use need be included within each building structure in the downtown core.   For example, the Daylight Building - right next door to the Bay View Tower site - is largely comprised of retail and commercial space.  The Baron Telecommunications Building and Benchmark Buildings are as well (located directly behind the Bay View Tower site, on Railroad).  These buildings, while older, have been remodeled and updated quite nicely.

We also agree with you that much of the commercial space within Bellingham is located within older buildings.  However, market analysis shows that these kinds of older buildings -- which have character and personality not found in a typically modern, sterile office environment -- are actually sought after as office space, particularly by creative professionals.   Keeping these older buildings as viable commercial and retail spaces will also ensure that Bellingham retains its historical character as redevelopment in the downtown core progresses.

Furthermore, the rapid development of web-based and wireless services (such as file sharing, ubiquitous email, remote printing, wi-max, etc.) means that hard-wired modern amenities are becoming less and less important in the office workspace.  That being said, if demand arises for more modern office space within a downtown Bellingham office tower, it is safe to predict that a developer will not be far behind with a proposal along the lines you suggest.

Since its inception, Bay View Tower has been about creating a building consistent with what Bellingham's residents have said they want in their downtown, as reflected in the City's Comprehensive Plan.  Accordingly, we again thank you for your commentary and feedback.  We are holding a community meeting to provide information about Bay View Tower on December 29, at 7:00 p.m., in the basement of the Bellingham Public Library.  We hope you'll have time to attend, and provide any other feedback you might have.

- Bay View Tower

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