Condos to give Stanwood new look

STANWOOD — As the baby-boom generation continues to age, many will be faced with the question of where to spend their golden years.

Developer Sol Baron is betting $14 million that about 54 of them, probably couples, will want to live in a mixed-used development he is building in Stanwood.

"It'll change forever the landscape of the Stanwood area," Baron said.

He should know. His company, the Lindstrom Development Group, which is named after an old road that ran near property on the eastern edge of this city, already has radically changed the character of this small city.

Lindstrom Development built the 55-acre Stanwood-Camano Village on Highway 532 in the 1990s, bringing a Haggen market, movie theaters, a sports club and a high-tech business.

Then the economy changed. Plans for more office space suddenly didn't look like such a good idea.

"We were looking at our demographics and asking what kind of market we can develop," said Baron, describing a tactical change made two years ago.

The result is to take shape on a site near the Haggen supermarket and the movie complex, a development known as the Village Commons.

The project will be the first of its kind in North Snohomish County and unlike any other buildings in Stanwood. It'll extend four stories and be built around a courtyard. The development will have about 24 units per acre, a density never before found in that part of the county.

The concept is essentially what was envisioned in the 1990 state Growth Management Act, creating places where people can live, shop and perhaps work without a dependency on automobiles, thus avoiding the need for expensive transportation systems or highways.

"It is a pretty exciting project, particularly for a small town," said Stephanie Cleveland, Stanwood's community-development director.

"It's been embraced by the local community. I wasn't sure how people would react. Ironically, what I heard from the Planning Commission was this is what we'd wanted all along."

Prices for individual units within the development will range from $162,500 to $324,500. Square-footage of the units will range from 895 to 1,518. The complex will include 54 condos, 16,000 square feet of retail and office space, and an 82-car garage.

Of 18 condo units on the top floor, deposits have been made on 12, said Anne Taylor of Windermere Camano Island Realty, which is marketing the units.

Groundbreaking is expected to take place in March, with completion anticipated next year.

From their research, Baron and Jim Robertson, Lindstrom's vice president, determined that their typical buyer probably will be a retired or nearing-retirement couple. Most will come from an urban area such as Seattle, with higher taxes and high traffic.

"That's why a lot of people moved up here originally," Robertson said. "They wanted to get away from that."

Costs also are a key part of the venture, with Baron figuring the units can be built for $178 a square foot because of lower land and development expenses in the Stanwood area, compared with $200 to $300 a square foot for similar properties in much of the Seattle area.

Depending on the project's success, Baron said, there are plans for two other courtyard-style developments in the same area.

"I think we'll do more of these, but you have to do one before you do more," he said. "With growth management, this is what it's all about."

Peyton Whitely: 206-464-2259 or pwhitely@seattletimes.com