Shoreline Water District Eases Way For Development in Ridgecrest And Proposed Apartments In North City

Ron Ricker, Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of Shoreline Water District, has announced the signing of a new development agreement for a construction project in the Shoreline area.

The project will be at the old Bingo Hall at the intersection of NE 165th Street and 5th Avenue NE, where long time landowner, Development Services of America (DSA) has just signed a 10-year lease with Veolia Transportation.  The District and DSA are also beginning design and construction of five new water system improvement projects which will benefit the entire Ridgecrest area.  Estimated date of occupancy is July 1, 2012.

Access, a transportation company, will be moving on the existing Bingo Hall building, said Diane Pottinge, Shoreline Water District manager.

A second water system improvement agreement for another development is expected to be signed next week.  The project, located at the old YMCA lot at 1220 NE 175th Street, will become home to a new 165-unit apartment complex developed by the Inland Group.  The project consists of one, two and three bedroom rental units.  According to the developer, there is an under supply of quality affordable apartments for families in the area. 

“We appreciate the efforts of Shoreline Water District in helping make the project a reality,” Darin Davidson, President, Inland Group. Shoreline Water District and the Inland Group will begin design and construction on several water system improvements later this year.  Building construction will begin mid-June 2012, with an estimated completion date of late summer 2013.  The projects will benefit North City and the surrounding area.

Before a building permit can be issued for a development, the Planning and Fire Departments require a water utility to verify whether adequate water is available.  If it is not, then system improvements are identified and must agree to be completed by the developer prior to issuing a building permit, which can result in lengthy delays.

During preparation of their 2012 Water System Plan Update, Shoreline Water District had already conducted extensive long range planning to identify and schedule water system improvement projects that would be required in order to allow every parcel of land in their service area to be developed to its “highest and best use” in both the Ridgecrest and North City areas. 

“In order to make sure that adequate water pressure and volume would be available for the Fire Department in the event of a fire, we spent time carefully calibrating our hydraulic model long in advance of these projects,” explained Ricker. “Then we field verified the results of the computer model to verify how much water would be available anywhere in our system under a wide range of operating scenarios.”

The district says as a result of their proactive planning, it was ready when the developers approached them with their proposed projects. 

“Both developers will share in the cost of these water system improvement projects with the District, which is yet another win-win for our ratepayers,” said Ricker.

Shoreline Water District provides water service to residents of Shoreline located east of I-5 and residents of Lake Forest Park in the western part of the city. 

A copy of a presentation about the District’s Water System Plan Update is posted on the district's Web site.  The District, which is about to begin its 82nd year of operation, welcomes development and encourages developers to contact our office before planning any future building projects.  One hundred percent of the revenue collected as part of a development project goes back into improving our water system.