Bellingham embarking on waterfront redevelopment

Planning agreements are under way and developers are being sought for the first development area within more than 200 acres of brownfield waterfront in Bellingham called the Waterfront District.

This redevelopment site has been years in the making due to complex partnerships and site-wide infrastructure and cleanup planning. The good news is that partnerships are stronger than ever among the Port of Bellingham, city of Bellingham and the state Department of Ecology, who have been working collaboratively to set the table for cleanup and redevelopment.

By the end of the year, the port will submit comprehensive planning and zoning documents to the city to launch the formal review and adoption schedule for the Waterfront District master plan. Because the city has been a close partner in the development of all of the documents, the review process should be more streamlined than land-use planning that involves a private developer.