Another $8.6 million will come from Campaign from the Arts, a private fundraising group drumming up financial backing for the museum and theater projects. The city has agreed to provide “gap financing” to get the construction going and to be repaid by the private contributions.

The Whatcom Museum Society, which operates the museum jointly with the city of Bellingham, has also pledged $1 million for furniture and equipment.

Will they be able to raise enough money?

Campaign for the Arts has raised about $4.6 million so far, said Ken Culver, president of the board of directors.

“Many of our prospective donors, as well as some of our existing donors, had put provisos on their gift, which was the gift was contingent on construction,” Culver said. The award of the construction bid “allows us to go back and talk to people who said, ‘Come back and talk to me when you know a little more.’”

Now that dirt is ready to fly, Culver said, the fundraising campaign will probably go more public this fall.

Why is a new museum needed?

The museum’s current buildings, including the 1892 Old City Hall and the ARCO Exhibits Building, don’t have heating, ventilation and humidity control system that provide safekeeping for artwork, said Les Reardanz, the museum’s interim operations manager. That means many traveling exhibits won’t stop in Bellingham, he said.

“People want to see records of how your humidity’s been,” Reardanz said.

The current museum also is short on classroom and storage space, and the Children’s Museum is often crowded, according to the museum’s 2004 facility planning report.

What will happen to the old buildings?

The Old City Hall Building will be devoted to history exhibits, said Jeff McClure, president of the Museum Society.

The society hasn’t decided what to do with the buildings that now house the Children’s museum and the ARCO building, McClure said. They might be sold, he said, or rented to provide an income to help run the expanded museum.

The Syre Education Center will continue to house photo archives and offices, Reardanz said.

What will the new museum be like?

The building’s most prominent feature will be a tall, curving, translucent, glass wall that will wrap around the entry courtyard. The “light catcher” will illuminate the inside of the building during the day and let light pass through at night. It can also be used to reflect images such as artwork and movies.

Inside, the first floor of the museum will be about one-third children’s museum, on-third art gallery and one-third common area. The children’s museum and part of the art gallery will have a 20-foot ceiling that could allow for multilevel exhibits. There will also be more art gallery space on the second floor.

“We want to be able to drive a 10-by 10 by 10-(foot) sized cube through this structure to make it more accessible for art,” said Decker, public facilities district manager.

How much more space will they have?

The Children’s Museum now has about 4,000 square feet, and the Arco Exhibits Building has about 6,000, McClure said. The new museum, including two stories and a basement, will have 41,000 square feet.

Will the museum have enough art to pull in the new building?

Yes, Reardanz said. The Whatcom Museum of History & art has about 2,500 works of art in its collection and also belongs to Washington Arts Consortium, which includes works of art from other galleries throughout the state.

Can a children’s museum and an art gallery really coexist in the same building?

Museum officials believe they can, thanks to sound proofing in the children’s museum. They also hope to take advantage of the proximity.

“If somebody comes there for one purpose, to come to the children’s museum or participate in an educational program,” McClure said, “you could literally fall into the art gallery and have an experience you wouldn’t have had if you had to go outside to another building.”

How will additional operating costs be covered?

Part of the Campaign for the Arts’ pledge including a $3 million endowment, which at 5 percent annual interest could generate about $150,000 a year, Reardanz said. Renting out the Museum Society’s buildings could generate more income.

How was the architect selected?

Olson Sunberg Kundig Allen Architects of Seattle was selected in 2005 in a juried design competition.

What happens next?

A groundbreaking ceremony and the beginning of construction is planned for August.

Reach Mary Lane Gallagher at 715-2285 or mary.gallagher@bellinghamherald.com.

Nearly 200 residential units, plus new restaurants and retail are planned or under way in Fairhaven.

By: JON SILVER
Journal Staff Reporter

Bellingham’s historic Fairhaven neighborhood is seeing some historic growth.

A construction boom is establishing the quaint bayside shopping and restaurant district as a residential neighborhood, too.

Chuck Robinson ticked off a slew of projects springing up around Fairhaven that will add nearly 200 residential units, plus new restaurants and retail space.

Robinson’s own store, Village Books, moved into a new building at 1200 11^th St., and Robinson will live upstairs.

The 13,000-square-foot New Village Books building, which he and his wife, Dee, developed, also houses the 1,000-square-foot Book Fare café, five underground parking stalls and two condominiums.

Robinson and his wife live in the smaller of the two units. The larger 2,300-square-foot unit also has an owner.

The $2.1 million, three-story building was designed by Bellingham architect Christensen Design Management to blend with the surrounding neighborhood.

“There is a design review process that requires that the scale and materials are in keeping with those in the neighborhood,” Robinson said.

The brick-clad building features a two-story rounded corner that displays a large hanging glass sculpture designed for the space by Pilchuck School glass artist Christopher Morrison.

Ebenal General Special Projects of Bellingham was the general contractor and now owns the building. Other consultants include structural engineer Geiger Engineers, civil engineer Pacific Survey and Engineering, and mechanical engineer Bowman Metal Works.

Robinson’s book store sprawls into a neighboring building, which formerly housed the entire store. The addition increases his space a third. The total sales space is around 10,000 square feet.

The project was five years in the making. Though the Robinsons believed the neighborhood would eventually see more infill, “what really informed our decision (to build) was that our store was just getting so crowded,” he said.

The recent boomtown environment is just frosting on the cake.

“It certainly helps,” Robinson said.

Among other recent projects in Fairhaven are:

• Harris Square, a three-building development at 10^th Street and Harris Avenue with 100 condos and apartments
• Fairhaven Square, a four-story building at 1224 Harris St. with 22 condos and commercial space
• Fairhaven Gardens, at 11^th Street and Mill Avenue, which will hold about 30 condos and commercial space
• A six-building project called 12^th Street Village that will add another 28 condos and 20,000 square feet of commercial space.

What’s fueling all the growth?

“When you appear in 10 national magazines as the best town in the country to retire to,” Robinson said, you can expect some company.

Dave Ebenal: Fairhaven’s new building mogul

Recent frenzied pace from developer and builder doesn’t look to slow anytime soon

By Vanessa Blackburn

Dave Ebenal has Fairhaven on his mind.

In recent months, he’s become a force to be reckoned with in the district as he focuses his 10-year-old construction business, Ebenal General, more and more on mixed-use development. Ebenal said that he’s been excited in the past year to slowly switch his focus from public projects to private development.

“The projects in Fairhaven are my main focus right now, and so far it’s been fabulous,” he said.

His confidence in Fairhaven has been boosted in recent months by the success of Fairhaven Square, which converted a long-abandoned, unsightly and possibly dangerous steel structure on the corner of Harris Avenue and 13^th Street into a mixed-use building with high-end condos, a new restaurant and retail shops that are quickly filling up.

Regardless of the difficulties in completing the project, and the multi-million-dollar expense, Ebenal said he’s proud of how it turned out.

“It was a tough project, but it went well, and I’m happy with it,” he said. “It took longer than I thought it would, and there were a lot of things that needed to be done to improve the building that no one had foreseen. But it’s certainly an improvement for Fairhaven.”

And that was just the beginning. Since then, he’s been buying more property and working on nearly every current development in the area. Here’s a rundown on what he’s working on next.

Waldron Building, 1300 12^th Street

“I’m not sure what I’m stepping into here,” Ebenal said of the old building that has been standing, mostly empty, since it was build 100 years ago.

Ebenal is purchasing the building from longtime Fairhaven developer Ken Imus, and he said there is still much to be worked out on the project. His plans are beginning to form, however, and he envisions a building similar to others being developed in Fairhaven – mixed use with residential, retail and commercial tenants.

“I’m hoping to maintain the character of the building while improving it,” he said. “We want to reuse the existing lumber as well and do as much as we can to keep the character of the building.”

Part of the Waldron sale from Imus includes the purchase of the parking lot behind the building, which he said will likely be developed into a mixed-use building with underground parking. The parking element in Fairhaven has become an increasingly large issue as more development brings more shoppers as well as more residents into the district – and Ebenal said he’s fully aware of this in constructing his buildings.

“We know that there’s a parking problem in Fairhaven, so we’re trying to provide more than the minimum because we know that this is going to be a bigger and bigger issue,” he said.

He said he’s been talking with Phyllis McKee, the owner of Finnegan’s Alley on Harris Street, about possibly including a cobblestone walkway that joins the two buildings. Ebenal said he hopes construction will begin on the Waldron Building by this fall.

Fairhaven Garden, 1140 Finnegan Way, Fairhaven

“It’s going to be a fabulous project,” Ebenal said of Fairhaven Garden, on the corner of Finnegan Way and Mill Avenue.

Ebenal is particularly excited about this building because he’s starting to use more and more “green” construction – and this building is somewhat of an experiment. So far the plans include two stories of underground parking, recycled materials whenever possible, energy-saving construction and a green roof, which will have grass and possibly other permanent plants.

“It gives people open space and is also good for storm water,” he said. “I think it will be mostly grass, but I’m still researching it myself.”

He said incorporating these features adds “considerable cost to the developer,” but the value it adds to the building makes it worth the extra costs. He said he’s received a lot of interest for the 28 to 30 residential units that will go into the building, and the positive feedback he’s received makes him confident that the project will be a success.

“You have to weigh the costs and the value you’re receiving for everything you do, but I’m getting a lot of interest and we’re trying to go green as much as is economically feasible,” he said.

Fairhaven Heights, 13th Avenue and Mill Street

Fairhaven Heights will be a three-story, mixed residential/commercial building at 1400 Mill Street, on the corner of 13^th and Mill streets in Fairhaven. The building will have a parking garage and four high-end residential condominiums that include outside decks with water views, granite counter tops, maple cabinets and hardwood floors. The building’s ground floor will have three commercial units that total about 3,000 square feet. Although he hasn’t found any commercial tenants yet, Ebenal said the building will likely begin construction in June.

Both the new and the old Village Books buildings, Fairhaven

In the past few months, Ebenal has also purchased the existing Village Books and Colophon Café building, the Paper Dreams building next door, and the site where he’s building a new building for Village Books – all along the 1200 block of 11^th Street between Harris and Mill avenues. He bought the existing bookstore with another Fairhaven developer, Mike Bradburn. Bradburn is also currently building the mixed-use development 12^th Street Village at the corner of 12^th Street and Old Fairhaven Parkway. They purchased the existing Village Books and Colophon Café building in late March for $1.25 million.

Fairhaven Square, 1224 Harris St., Fairhaven

Besides the success of the new Coppa Restaurant, Fairhaven Square continues to be a success on several levels. The new building on the corner of 13^th Street and Harris Avenue has landed its second and third commercial tenants – Bohemian Bliss, a home décor and gift shop, and Inside Out Chiropractic.

Kay Mott, owner of Bohemian Bliss, will open her shop in Suite 106, next to the Coppa Restaurant, on April 17. Mott will be selling purses, blown glassware, jewelry, art and crafts from around the world, including Hungary and India.  Chiropractor Chad Booth will be opening up his chiropractic office in Fairhaven Square during the first week in May. His business, Inside Out, will be located in suite 107.

Wayne Weed, vice president of operations at the Ebenal General, as well as Dave’s uncle-in-law, said that he’s been very pleased with how well Fairhaven Square has turned out. He said the high-end condominiums were a success for the building, as well – not only did they all sell before the building opened, but they had back up offers in case any sales fell through.

“What’s exciting about it is it’s something that we are seeing happening in Bellingham anyway, where you have a private project that’s providing upper and mid-range housing,” he said. “There’s a good mix of people in that building, from educators to people who work in the service industry, and it’s exciting to have that in one building.”

The Bellingham Hearing Examiner has granted a height variance to a condominium project that would add about 29 residences, eight stores and six offices to Fairhaven.

The site, which faces Mill Avenue, slopes steeply down from Finnegan Way to 11^th Street. The roof of the new building would step down, giving the appearance of a series of three-story buildings along Mill Avenue.

The variance essentially allows the heights of the segments to be treated as though they were separate buildings, while maintaining the advantage of a single building that maximizes the number of indoor parking spaces.

The builder, Ebenal General Construction of Bellingham, is required to explore reasonable design alternatives that would reduce the building height of each segment by about three feet and another by two feet.

The city’s method for measuring a building’s heigh averages the elevation above all the sidewalk it faces. The proposed building, which faces three sidewalks, averages 48 feet tall – 13 feet taller than the 35 feet allowed without the variance.

The variance requires a five-foot setback from the northern property line, to provide a pedestrian and maintenance corridor next to a Craftsman-style building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, that was constructed in 1909 for the Kulshan Club.

Several design elements that would have extended above the roof must be reduced to minimize view obstruction from a small building on Finnegan Way owned by Barbara and Coenraad Zielstra.

To mitigate the impacts of the structure on the Zielstra and Kulshan buildings, the hearing examiner suggested, but didn’t require, eliminating or moving two studio residences in order to open up a view and light corridor just west of the Zielstras’ building.

Copies of the decision are available from the office of the Bellingham Hearing Examiner, City Hall, 210 Lottie St. Details: 752-1149.

BY AUBREY COHEN - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

Developer Dave Ebenal has unveiled ambitious plans for the never-completed Waldron Block, at 12^th Street and McKenzie Avenue, in Fairhaven.

Ebenal has an agreement to buy the four-story brick building and the adjoining gravel lot from longtime Fairhaven developer Ken Imus. He plans to refurbish the Waldron building for stores and luxury condominiums, and erect two more buildings with stores and condos on the gravel lot.

Ebenal, 34, is the largest participant in a Fairhaven building boom that includes more than 200 homes built, under construction or in planning, in the past year.

He’s not the only player in Fairhaven developmet.

The biggest new project – Harris Square – is being developed by a partnership that includes Canadian developer Andre Molnar, local appraiser Troy Muljat and builder Exxel Pacific.

Now under construction at 10^th Street and Harris Avenue, Harris Square will have about 63 apartments, 36 condos and 20,000 square feet of retail space in three five-story buildings and should be done in the summer of 2005, said architect Fred Wagner.