The Waterfront, Downtown, Midtown, Uptown thread (Vancouver, Kirkland: real estate, condominium, house)

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

Hopefully they will have very convenient and free parking and public transit access / shuttles to uptown.

Too bad they are not allowing the existing Vancouver Farmers Market the opportunity to relocate to the new space.

Farmers markets are temporary 1-day a week affairs. This is a permanent 7-day a week marketplace. I'm not sure how you do what you propose. It wouldn't be the same venders anyway. Unless you are just proposing to leave the pier bare and then use it for a once-a-week farmers market.

The current one at Esther Short Park downtown seems nice enough and has a good location with plenty of parking. Moving it to the waterfront would probably make parking worse.

[StealthRabbit]

Actually the proposed space and utilization would be ideal for co-op space and transition of current Market vendors to. FT business. (Those interested in pursuing such). Fresh produce (as pictured) will create a challenge for anyone not a commercial grocer, but nearly ideal for what Gateway Produce was doing (liquidation of fresh / culls/ from warehouses and grocers ). Also a good opportunity for co-op growers as we did with Mobile Farmer's Market where it collected goods from growers and traveled to a different small town each day, and growers could stay home and grow, rather than packing up and manning a booth everyday.

Great opportunities for those non-conventional in thought and delivery.

Likely it will morph to the trendy / trust fund babies who will dabble but never excel or be profitable / sustainable business.

[Jane917]

Several years ago the city of Wenatchee completed a privately funded (mostly) venture to restore an old abandoned factory building along the riverfront into a dream adventure much like the new Vancouver space going where the old Red Lion stood. Pybus Market is a semi-open air market that has restaurants, gifts, wine tasting, bars, meat market, flower stalls, , produce stalls, olive oil/vinegar stall....etc. Vendors have the opportunity to lease a small space. It has been wildly successful, and the riverfront around the Market has since brought many more businesses, such as hotels, restaurants, etc. Farmers' Market, when in season, is held in the parking lot. Pybus is within walking distance from downtown businesses and has been a winning concept for all. Performers have the opportunity to be on stage. Cooking classes are offered in the community kitchen. A space is set aside for fine arts. I visualize the new market in Vancouver as serving the same need on a larger basis. There is nothing trendy/trust fund-ish about Pybus Market. The vendor are not businesses who would open a larger brick and mortar store. It is not a commercial grocer, but small family farms that have a daily opportunity to sell their produce. It is a place where local dance studios can put on short programs. Count me in as a supporter of the new market on the waterfront.

[cyberous]

texasdiver, I was blown away at how progressive the Grandville Market was the first time I visited back in the 90's. It was my first experience to sorting my own recycles that has become very commonplace today. I've been fortunate enough to travel quite extensively and my favorite place to experience the local culture are the public markets. My favorite place to visit is Settle is Pikes Place so either of these or any combination would make me very happy.


Jane917, https://pybuspublicmarket.org/ looks amazing! I wish I had known about this when I took the 5 hour drive up Wenatchee a few weeks ago, I would have defiantly stopped. Side note, you should do a similar post for Ridgefield. Some very good friends/ex-neighbors are looking for property (land 2-20 acres) and I have been showing them locations along the I-5 corridor and we keep coming back to Ridgefield. Low and behold they love the area I think they are convincing us to also buy land/build. As you know, nothing is realistic at this point in time with practically no inventory. Looks like a lot is happening, such as the hotel at the casino and schools, shopping. Any word on an RV park at the casino? I would love to hear from a local. Timeframe is the next two years, I think housing will continue to soar with no inventory, and record low interest rates for another year or two.

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

Actually the proposed space and utilization would be ideal for co-op space and transition of current Market vendors to. FT business. (Those interested in pursuing such). Fresh produce (as pictured) will create a challenge for anyone not a commercial grocer, but nearly ideal for what Gateway Produce was doing (liquidation of fresh / culls/ from warehouses and grocers ). Also a good opportunity for co-op growers as we did with Mobile Farmer's Market where it collected goods from growers and traveled to a different small town each day, and growers could stay home and grow, rather than packing up and manning a booth everyday.

Great opportunities for those non-conventional in thought and delivery.

Likely it will morph to the trendy / trust fund babies who will dabble but never excel or be profitable / sustainable business.

Do you know that what you are suggesting isn't happening? I honestly have no idea where the Port is with respect to planning for how this space will be managed and operated. But I doubt they will open it up to large corporate entities and turn it into something that looks like the food court at the mall.

There are plenty of examples of successfully run markets around the region such as the Pybus market in Wenatchee mentioned above as well as the Granville and Pike Place markets. I'm sure the city and port can figure out how to maintain both weekly seasonal farmer's markets and a year-round 365 days a year permanent marketplace.

[Jane917]

Originally Posted by cyberous

Jane917, https://pybuspublicmarket.org/ looks amazing! I wish I had known about this when I took the 5 hour drive up Wenatchee a few weeks ago, I would have defiantly stopped. Side note, you should do a similar post for Ridgefield. Some very good friends/ex-neighbors are looking for property (land 2-20 acres) and I have been showing them locations along the I-5 corridor and we keep coming back to Ridgefield. Low and behold they love the area I think they are convincing us to also buy land/build. As you know, nothing is realistic at this point in time with practically no inventory. Looks like a lot is happening, such as the hotel at the casino and schools, shopping. Any word on an RV park at the casino? I would love to hear from a local. Timeframe is the next two years, I think housing will continue to soar with no inventory, and record low interest rates for another year or two.

Cyberous, I am sorry you missed Pybus when you were in Wenatchee. Were you looking at Wenatchee as a place to settle? It has a lot to offer, and some days I long to move back, but my husband brings me back to my senses. We had some terrible smoky summers and some very cold snowy winters. We moved there from MT, and thought we were done with all that. It was family that brought us to the Portland area, and we love Ridgefield. Although housing inventory is low, there are so many new developments being built that it is hard to believe people cannot find housing available. However, it would be hard to find a home under 400K, I think. I really think the days of buying land and building are over here. The land available over 5 acres is going to developers. There seems to be quite a bit of land opening up east of I5.

The casino has a large unpaved lot area that allows RVs. There are no hookups, and I do not know if that area is planned to become an RV park. I have to admit I have only been in the casino once since it opened, so I am not very knowledgable about the area. We drive by once a month to take our dog to La Center for grooming, and I have noticed some large parcels of land up for sale.

For me, the most exciting thing happening in Ridgefield is the opening soon of the new library. I love our library, and the new building is finally almost finished. We also have a new overpass soon to be finished that goes over the railroad tracks downtown to the marina, eliminating crossing the railroad tracks and waiting for trains to pass.

[cyberous]

Originally Posted by Jane917

Cyberous, I am sorry you missed Pybus when you were in Wenatchee. Were you looking at Wenatchee as a place to settle? It has a lot to offer, and some days I long to move back, but my husband brings me back to my senses. We had some terrible smoky summers and some very cold snowy winters. We moved there from MT, and thought we were done with all that. It was family that brought us to the Portland area, and we love Ridgefield. Although housing inventory is low, there are so many new developments being built that it is hard to believe people cannot find housing available. However, it would be hard to find a home under 400K, I think. I really think the days of buying land and building are over here. The land available over 5 acres is going to developers. There seems to be quite a bit of land opening up east of I5.

The casino has a large unpaved lot area that allows RVs. There are no hookups, and I do not know if that area is planned to become an RV park. I have to admit I have only been in the casino once since it opened, so I am not very knowledgable about the area. We drive by once a month to take our dog to La Center for grooming, and I have noticed some large parcels of land up for sale.

For me, the most exciting thing happening in Ridgefield is the opening soon of the new library. I love our library, and the new building is finally almost finished. We also have a new overpass soon to be finished that goes over the railroad tracks downtown to the marina, eliminating crossing the railroad tracks and waiting for trains to pass.

Thanks for the feedback Jane917! No, it was just a day trip to Wanatchee. The area looks beautiful but a little too remote for me. We are looking for 2+ acres possibly mixed use commercial. Ridgefield would be ideal but La Center/East of I-5 would also work but in no hurry.

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by cyberous

Thanks for the feedback Jane917! No, it was just a day trip to Wanatchee. The area looks beautiful but a little too remote for me. We are looking for 2+ acres possibly mixed use commercial. Ridgefield would be ideal but La Center/East of I-5 would also work but in no hurry.

This would not be the year to try a custom build on your own lot. Even the big builders can't find enough subs and the subs can't find enough skilled labor. Not to mention skyrocketing timber prices and shortages of many home components. Unless you have an infinite timeline and don't care what things cost.

[cyberous]

Originally Posted by texasdiver

This would not be the year to try a custom build on your own lot. Even the big builders can't find enough subs and the subs can't find enough skilled labor. Not to mention skyrocketing timber prices and shortages of many home components. Unless you have an infinite timeline and don't care what things cost.

I agree 100%, we have a few ideas we are bouncing around. They are more on the commercial side. I would not try to build a house right now.

[Telesurfer]

The high timber prices pertain specifically to dimensional lumber, and depending on the type of residential house you're building, this can be an increase of $10-35k in the overall price. That may or may not be a sum of indifference for some.

Why are subs and skilled labor so hard to find right now? What else is seemingly collapsing the build market? I have a couple friends who are in the middle of house builds in Camas and Washougal and have been undeterred.