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Cloudy early with peeks of sunshine expected late. High 67F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph..
Cloudy early with some clearing expected late. Low 51F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.
Workers of DeKoster Excavating Inc. do ground work on the River Walk project site below downtown Lynden on Monday. (Cal Bratt for the Tribune)
Workers of DeKoster Excavating Inc. do ground work on the River Walk project site below downtown Lynden on Monday. (Cal Bratt for the Tribune)
LYNDEN -- Preparation action has been visible for months to turn the vision for a River Walk Homes project below downtown Lynden into reality.
River Walk is a multi-phase condo development, to be 73 units at full buildout, that has received approval for its design concepts and is now awaiting building permit sign-off for the first eight units, said Heidi Gudde, planning and community development director for the City of Lynden.
Developer Riverview Partners LLC, led by Brian Davidson and Shane Bajema, has been in the process of putting in ground infrastructure on the 5.8-acre site between Judson Alley and Riverview Road.
On Monday, workers of subcontractor DeKoster Excavating Inc. continued doing "everything underground," including water, sewer, stormwater, electrical, lights and more, they said.
Bajema reported that he sees July bringing sidewalks and roads and then maybe first vertical construction can be evident in August.
The design package for the development shows a variety of compact floor plans of units generally 24 feet wide by up to 50 feet long, and of building styles of two or three floors. Minimal garages are below living space. Layout is to take fullest advantage of views southward toward the Nooksack River and farmland.
Promotion for the River Walk neighborhood says it will encompass two types of communities. To the east will be 43 homes "geared toward young, ambitious upwardly mobile professionals including first-time home buyers, investors and second home transient buyers." To the west will be 36 homes for 55-and-older active adults. The goal is to "emphasize community, pedestrian connectivity and impeccable views."
Gudde noted that since this development is in Lynden's South Historic Business District, it is evaluated against City Council-approved goals for the area. "The primary objective here has always been to create higher-density pedestrian-friendly housing whose residents will support and be benefited by downtown businesses," she wrote.
Although internal open spaces are for residents only, there will be public pedestrian easements allowing walkers and bikers to go through the site. Vehicle access will be off Riverview only.
As to the site's susceptibility to flooding, Gudde said Lynden did a significant amount of coordination with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and is reviewing the overall site plan and each building permit with flood elevations in mind.
"As buildings are started, each will be required to submit an elevation certificate from the project's surveyor so that staff can verify that they are both meeting the starting elevations and not exceeding the building's heights described in the approved permit set," Gudde wrote.
Native peat soil of many feet in depth was removed from the site and then replaced with more stable construction soils. However, that process had not been completed when last November's flooding reached above Riverview Road and onto the project site, Gudde said. Also, all units are designed so that living spaces are well above the flood elevation line, she said.
Bajema said the goal, as house construction starts, will be to "have a variety of the designs around the property." Local company DJ & DJ Contracting will be the builder of all of River Walk.
Bajema said he wants "really high character, not oversized homes" that together form an attractive neighborhood that is a credible "gateway community" approaching Lynden from the south on Hannegan Road. River Walk should bring "a character to the downtown that energizes some of the businesses as well," he said.