Windermere eyeing Bakerview.(Windermere Real Estate)(Brief Article)

Bellingham Business Journal June 1, 2001 Windermere Real Estate has begun the permit process to construct a new 10,000-square-foot office building on West Bakerview Road.

The real estate company is currently at 4164 Meridian St., and the new site is planned for the corner of W. Bakerview Road and Eliza Avenue. Preliminary plans have been submitted to the city, said City Planner Brian Smart.

“The plans are just at the beginning stages,” Smart said.

Bill Henshaw, an associate broker in the commercial department at Windermere, said although the company is working on drawings for the site, there are no final plans yet.

“We’re working off very preliminary plans,” Henshaw said. “It’s too early to tell on a price for the project, and we’ll know more once we clear some hurdles with the city.” He said the building will probably be a single story, with a look and feel that is typical of most Windermere office buildings. go to website windermere real estate

“It will probably have a Cape Cod look and be pretty low profile,” Henshaw said.

Windermere is one of several companies that have expressed interest in the West Bakerview Road area in recent months. A 7,000-square-foot day-care facility is being constructed near the Northwest Avenue intersection, by Michael and Terri Watters; the Millennia Condominium project near Bellis Fair mall is currently under construction, and Fred Meyer is going through the public-hearing process to build a 171,000-square-foot store near Interstate 5. site windermere real estate

Commercial real estate agent Ron Bennett said there has also been interest from several national retailers to build on land near VoiceStream and Carpet Exchange, but no signed contracts have materialized yet.

“Interest in the area has picked up recently. Developers and real estate buyers tend to become more serious when they think a local economy is about ready for an upswing,” Bennett said.