Work has begin to do the site preparation for a condominium development on 4th avenue. Developer Sam Boulos says the 4th Avenue Condos will not be your average condominiums. “They will be very nice, inside and outside,” Boulos said during a phone interview.
Boulos said plans are for 29 residential units in the form of 2- and 3-story duplexes and triplexes in the multi-building development. The property is located between the US Post Office and Ace Hardware in the 5700 block of 4th Avenue.
According to the developer’s website, the triplexes will be 3 stories and provide 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms in 1500 square feet of living space. The duplexes will be 2 stories with 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms in 1100 square feet. There will be a garage for all units.
Boulos is probably best known for developing the area east of I-5 between W Smith Road and Slater Road known as Pacific Industrial Park. It has become home to many light-industrial, service and retail businesses with more slated to be added in the near future.
At what point is enough development in Ferndale? Traffic is getting so congested it’s difficult to get across town between 3 and 6 and town is a 2 mile trip! If this were low income or affordable housing, that would be one thing because it’s a much needed resource, but this project doesn’t sound like that at all and will just add to the already congested streets of Ferndale without much benefit except to the developer.
Development will stop when Bellingham gets its act together and begins taking its fair share of population growth. Historically, Bellingham absorbed nearly 60% of Whatcom County growth – until enactment of Growth Management. Then Bellingham’s share dropped to the mid-30%, a number that remains to this day! The relief valve is Ferndale and Blaine with some being absorbed by Lynden and Everson/Nooksack.
Affordability is also an imprecise term – affordable to whom? The Growth Management Act requires that every jurisdiction in the County plan for housing that is affordable “for all economic segments.” We do not get to determine who builds for what income group, we can only ensure that our local development regulations do not impede construction of homes that are attainable by all income levels. Bellingham is “affordable” to low-income and high income persons. The relief valve, again, is Ferndale, Blaine, Lynden . . . you get the picture.
Population growth in Urban Growth Areas (UGAs)
Based upon building permits for 2017 – 2018 shows Ferndale with 181.
While Bellingham UGA growth for the same period – 1425
Do the math.
Source – Whatcom County Planning and Development Services
Population Growth Monitoring Report Nov. 1. 2018.
Dave, those are the figures for the Urban Growth Areas, not the municipalities. Learn to read a chart.
After a few years of this our downtown will be like Belltown and Pioneer Square in Seattle; tents and needles will follow…
Yes, and owners will have a lovely view of the poor, old, dilapidated post office, its parking lot and the Ace Hardware parking lot.
Good grief, why does everything have to turn into virtue signaling, SJW posturing and other alyasar nonsense?
“If this were low income or affordable housing, that would be one thing because it’s a much needed resource (ACCORDING TO LORI T, SELF APPOINTED EXPERT), but this project doesn’t sound like that at all and will just add to the already congested streets of Ferndale without much benefit except to the developer.”
Look people, the developer owns the land and he has the right and no doubt the COF permits to build his complex. He doesn’t have to get permission from you, AOC, Bernie, Pocahontas or any other professional troublemakers. He takes the risk, he reaps the reward or goes bust trying. And guess what, people will buy his homes without your permission and if they don’t like the view, they’ll go elsewhere.
Deal with it. Get a life. Stop sticking your proboscis where it doesn’t belong.
Lori T,
The development will yield property tax revenue for COF. People that live in the development will spend money locally. The development will yield local jobs for construction workers, realtors, groundskeepers and repair experts. The people that live there will no doubt work for a living and not be on the public dole.
So how can you say there’s little benefit except to the developer? Please explain.
For once, Ryan, I agree. Ferndale needs more development, not less, to build the tax base. But I also agree with Lori T’s sentiment. Development means change to the community and therefore we all have a stake in it. I disagree, but sympathize and am glad to hear her take.
I doubt that Ferndale is growing because Bellingham is retarding development. My wife and I moved into Ferndale because we like the town and know it well, not because there were not alternatives in Bellingham and other areas of the county. Bellingham is a little too much of a university and retirement town for my taste. Lynden has a vibrant culture, but it’s not mine. I like the mix of industries, businesses, and growing families that make up this area. I think Ferndale have a better selection of restaurants, shopping, and a more strollable downtown. But that seems to be improve every week. The Thornton road overpass will be a big improvement. Between the railroad and the river, traffic flow though Ferndale is a series of bottlenecks, but without the river and the railroad, the town would not be what it is, so we have to deal with it.
I remain tired of social justice warriors that have nothing better to do than to signal their virtue, but don’t back up their social demand with their own funds. Heck no, better to score SJW points and then try to hand the bill to someone else.
And why do SJW’s think that people that clean tables or serve coffee are entitled to a “living wage”, subsidized housing, free education, free this, free that? Sorry, they should have to work to better themselves if they want to get out of their career rut.
Sure, some people need a hand and should get public help. However, many people game the system at taxpayer expense and taxpayer funded bureaucrats do nothing about it.
WRONG: taxpayer gets fleeced
RIGHT: cut off funds to con artists, make them pay back all the illicit benefits collected, incarcerate them and CUT TAXES NOW!