The Marysville City Council unanimously passed a historic resolution that solidifies the city’s long-term vision to attract family-wage jobs to the Cascade Industrial Center. The action took place at the May 10 City Council meeting following a public hearing.
The resolution authorizes Mayor Jon Nehring to execute a development agreement with NP Arlington Industrial MIC, LLC (NorthPoint Development) including a conceptual site plan for more than 3 million square feet of industrial building space in Marysville. NorthPoint has acquired about 426 acres for its Cascade Business Park; about 329 of those acres are located in the city of Marysville, with the balance in Arlington.
“NorthPoint’s multi-million dollar investment in our city’s Cascade Industrial Center is a significant step forward toward achieving our vision of attracting local family-wage job opportunities for our residents,” Mayor Jon Nehring said.
NorthPoint estimates its long-term capital investment in the Cascade Business Park at $400 million. When fully built out, it expects the business park will attract an estimated 3,980-4,857 jobs depending on the mix of businesses locating there.
The conceptual site plan includes six buildings within Marysville located east of 51st Avenue NE and west of the BNSF railroad spur, just south of the Marysville-Arlington city boundary. A seventh NorthPoint industrial building in Marysville was separately approved and is not part of the development agreement.
The plan will relocate Edgecomb Creek to mitigate and restore stream habitat and build a public trail within the creek buffer. It also calls for improvement of public streets and infrastructure in the area. This work is expected to take several years to complete.
"We are very pleased to receive this significant approval and we are grateful to Marysville leadership and staff who participated in creating this important development agreement which will govern the development of the Cascade Business Park,” said Thane Smith, Director of Development, Western United States for NorthPoint. “This is a very important step in making a successful employment center.
“The historic regional and local planning by Marysville, Arlington and Snohomish County paved the way for this project to come to fruition at this critical time. We are excited to be contributing members of this community."
The NorthPoint site plan also includes two large industrial buildings to the north in Arlington.
Land in the Smokey Point area that was formerly zoned for agricultural was targeted for commercial industrial development since the 1990s as city officials responded to requirements of the state Growth Management Act.
“Realizing the city’s vision for jobs creation and industrial development is a remarkable feat that has taken over 30 years,” said Gloria Hirashima, Chief Administrative Officer.
Years ago, there was a dispute between the cities of Marysville and Arlington over the land, leading to an eventual resolution on which parts would be allocated to each city’s growth management boundary. Over the past decade the cities have worked in partnership to establish the Cascade Industrial Center, receive regional recognition and state-approved tax incentives, and market the land to prospective manufacturing and industrial businesses.