The lines are drawn in the sand at Point Wells
Sunday, November 21, 2010
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| Map courtesy City of Shoreline |
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| Map courtesy City of Shoreline |
| Looking south from the road to Point Wells |
| Imagine the tanks and cranes replaced by 6 to 12 story buildings |
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| Photo courtesy Brightwater |
Frustrated residents of Shoreline and Woodway told the developer of a proposed mixed-use project at Point Wells that a dense residential development of condominiums in towers up to 17 stories high would overwhelm their roads and put public safety at risk.
About 200 community members attended an open house Thursday night sponsored by Blue Square Real Estate Point Wells, which has proposed dismantling and cleaning up the fuel-transfer operations at the site and building upscale condos, shops and restaurants on the 61 acres jutting into Puget Sound.
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| Detail of photo from Brightwater, showing road from Point Wells to Richmond Beach Road |
Some of the 80 oil tanks at the 61-acre Point Wells asphalt facility and oil-tank farm are almost 100 years old. The largest holds 5.5 million gallons of oil. A maze of pipes crisscrosses the property, a conduit for oil delivered weekly in rail tankers and transferred to vessels that refuel cruise ships on Seattle's waterfront.
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| Courtesy City of Shoreline |
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| Looking north to Point Wells |
"Point Wells is a rare location, with a three-quarter mile stretch of beach and vistas of Puget Sound and the Olympic mountains. We envision a community that will dramatically enhance the site far beyond its current use and limitations," said Biran.
"Our team recognizes this is a location with unique characteristics," said Stein. "Our goal is to employ innovative development ideas and by protecting and restoring natural systems, conserving habitat and embracing nature, to bring a vision for the future in the transformation of Point Wells."
“A key factor in selecting Perkins+Will is the firm’s emphasis on designing environmentally sustainable projects,” said Paramount Petroleum Environmental Manager Mark Wells. “Because we know this is a very special site, our vision is to transform Point Wells into a showcase for transit oriented, sustainable redevelopment.”
“This is an extremely exciting project for us,” said Kay Kornovich, Perkins+Will’s managing principal in Seattle. “Point Wells has the potential to be a premier example of how to best redevelop a long-time industrial site in an environmentally sustainable manner. It’s obviously one of the most beautiful locations in the region. And the mandate we’ve been given is to be creative and innovative in designing a project that recognizes its unique location and characteristics, while maintaining a sharp focus on sustainability and public access as well as maintaining as much open space as possible. Our firm is committed to making Point Wells the ‘next generation’ example of a fully sustainable community.”
“Sustainable design is more than a process of reducing environmental impact,” said Peter Busby, AIA, Perkins+Will design principal and an acknowledged leader in North America’s sustainable design movement. “Sustainability is an essential part of everything we do. It is a holistic approach that incorporates environmental concerns into the design process from the start. Our philosophy is to design projects that not only contribute to human well-being, but also enhance the future of our planet.”
Read more...“We look forward to the process of meeting with governmental leaders and our neighbors in surrounding communities. We’ve got the right team in place to provide innovative design concepts for the redevelopment of Point Wells in a way that we can all be proud of,” said Wells.
By Caycee Holt
SaveRichmondBeach.org
Futurewise, Pilchuk Audubon and Save Richmond Beach sent comment letters this month to the Snohomish County Council reminding them that Point Wells is at risk for catastrophic loss of life and property in the event of an earthquake. As indicated in the Washington State Department of Natural Resources hazard map Point Wells is rated at the highest liquefaction risk rating.
In addition, SaveRichmondBeach.org released the latest schedule of critical events related to the urban center land-use designation and zoning regulations involving Point Wells. They continue to encourage residents of Shoreline to get involved since the impacts of this Snohomish County urban center will be felt primarily in Shoreline.
Futurewise and Pilchuk Audubon comment letter
SaveRichmondBeach.org comment letter (14MB - includes enormous hazard map from the Washington State Department of Natural Resources)
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