The City of Auburn will get a $3 million Public Works and Economic Development grant for the promenade project on South Division Street and the City Hall Plaza on West Main.
The money from the Economic Development Administration (EDA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce will pay for badly needed infrastructure improvements such as water and sewer systems to support the City’s downtown redevelopment plans.
“It means the City gets the money and can go in and start drawing down now,” said Auburn Mayor Pete Lewis. “We’ve gone through six or seven stages on this, but this is the last. This is final approval.”
Work could begin any time.
“We’ll start as soon as you see a few more dry days,” Lewis said. “The City Plaza project will actually start first, and they will start digging out in front of City Hall because part of the infrastructure is settling. We’ve got this project that’s been approved for four years, and now we’re going to go forward.”
Auburn’s downtown development plan first suggested a pedestrian thoroughfare or promenade in 2001, starting at the edge of City Hall Plaza – central open space – extending south along the west side of South Division Street and ending at Third Street Southeast. To prepare the way for retail businesses and restaurants to take root along the promenade, city planners realized they would have to do a lot of underground work, widen the sidewalk on the western side of the street, lay down new pavement, add street grates, potted plants and install new lighting.
The grant represents 38 percent of the total estimated project cost of $7.8 million. Auburn’s local matching share is $5 million, and it will use part of state local revitalization funds to make up the difference. These funds are derived from the sales tax that state is collecting for the City. The City gets a portion of that back to a maximum of $250,000 a year for 25 years or $6.2 million.
The promenade predates developer Spencer Alpert’s Auburn Junction proposal by seven years, but could be incorporated into it.
Auburn Junction calls for a green, mixed-use, urban village spread out over 27 parcels south of City Hall with underground parking and walkways, an “upscale commercial and residential dominated project,” featuring ground-floor retail and restaurant facilities incorporating open space.
Its main features would be:
• Condominium housing – from smaller studios and one-bedroom units to units for families
• Lifestyle retail and entertainment – includes higher-profile restaurants, speciality retailers, and possibly a theater complex
• Flexible commercial space – commercial uses of office-flex space, lodging, educational settings and/or work-live potential on the ground floor and upper stories.
It calls for village green promenades to the north and northeast connecting to Main Street and medical center and a green trail extending southeast to Safeway and south and west to the Sound Transit station.
