Construction Resurgence Accelerates as Final Juanita Village Work Begins

Two tower cranes will soon be sweeping the sky within a couple hundreds yards of each other as a resurgence of construction in Kirkland accelerates, with the final building phase of Juanita Village now underway.

Compass Construction broke ground recently for MM Properties of Houston on what the city of Kirkland calls Juanita Village Phase II. The property at 11801 97th Lane NE, between Spud’s restaurant and Starbucks, was the last empty parcel at Juanita Village, an award-winning mixed retail/residential development begun in the early 2000s.

The new development will be similar to others in the village, a mixed-use retail/residential complex with three buildings, all with two levels of parking and two with four floors above, the third with five. It will include 196 residential units and offer about 7,500 square feet of commercial space.

Just across the main drag in Juanita, 98th Avenue, Weidner Investments of Juanita is well underway with another mixed retail/residential structure, the four-story Waterbrook/Ondine project, with 102 residential units and 4,139 square feet of retail/office space. A tower crane is already at work there.

Tom Jensen, plans examiner supervisor for the Kirkland Building Department, said the two projects represent something of a construction resurgence in Kirkland, along with a marked increase over the last several months in applications for single-family residential construction.

“We’re going to have two tower cranes in sight of each other, so it sounds like a resurgence to me,” he said. “I think it reflects that Kirkland is a desirable location to live, and the permits coming in that we’re reviewing for single-family residential construction are up too.”

Jensen said that in 2011 the city processed 106 permits for single-family residential construction, compared to 60 in 2010. That remains well below the pre-2008 levels of 200-250 per year. But the pace remains relatively strong, with the city receiving 22 applications in the first several weeks of this year.

Mayor Joan McBride echoed Jensen’s sentiments about Kirkland being in a good position for economic recovery.

“This is big news, its great news,” she said. “When people look around for places to site their business and places to live, they’re going to look at Kirkland. I used to live in Juanita, and it’s been apparent to me it is a great area to live, work and recreate. It’s got great services, good bus service and Juanita Beach right there. It’s a place we’ve intended to get activated.”

See the plot map for the Juanita Village Phase II development in the attached PDF file. To review details of the two Juanita developments, go to www.kirklandpermits.net and search for permit numbers BLD06-01106 (Juanita Village Phase II) and BLD07-00996 (Waterbook/Ondine project).