The current phase of construction on the land just to the east of the gardens, at the dead end of Cordata Parkway, began this past August and is expected to continue for a few more weeks. Caitac USA owns and runs commercial properties throughout Bellingham, including the north end of Cordata Parkway. The road, currently a dead end, points northward toward the construction site and an open plain of grass behind the other developments at the end of Cordata Parkway. Caitac allowed a section of this land to be used for the garden when it began five years ago.
“We had the most beautiful quiet spot until they [started to] develop that area,” said Bell, coordinator of the community garden. Now, she is unsure whether the garden will keep its spot two years down the road. Caitac’s property has been approved for development since 2005, says the Bellingham Planning and Community Development Department. The area in question has remained an open, grassy field since then, and is now a portion of a plot slated to become a new subdivision with 428 planned residential units. A Planning and Community Development employee noted the project’s progress, saying infrastructure for a phase of the development is currently underway.
A construction permit concerning stormwater was filed through the Washington Department of Ecology, with a required public notice given this July. The owner of Larabee Springs, Inc., a planned development owned by Caitac, filed the permit. The area listed on the permit was the north end of Cordata Parkway. Construction commenced August 15 and expected to continue through October of next year, according to the permit.
Cordata has been one of the fastest-growing residential areas in Bellingham. Until 2010, Cordata was delineated under the Guide Meridian/Cordata Neighborhood. Geographical proximity and major roadways keep the two neighborhoods connected despite their diverging interests. The increasingly developed Cordata attracts new properties and developments, with several senior living communities built recently. Alice Bell lives in El Dorado Condominiums, along with Beverly Jacobs, co-president of the Cordata Neighborhood Association (CNA). Cordata Community Gardens is governed under CNA.
Caitac started in Whatcom County by running an apparel manufacturing facility for ten years, ending in the year 2000. The company now owns and manages properties throughout Bellingham. Properties it owns in North Bellingham include the North Bellingham Golf Course, the Meridian Holiday Inn Express location, and Pacific Meridian Plaza, home to two restaurants and a gym. Caitac also owns a commercial building on Stuart Road, which houses the Washington State Department of Transportation and Madrona Medical Administration.
Other community gardens in Bellingham are run by the City, not community members directly. Cordata Neighborhood Association is the first neighborhood association to run a community garden on its own.
Surrounded by a wire fence in the middle of the grassy field, the garden consists of 50 raised beds. Each year, community members are able to join at a cost of $40 for the next season. This fee “covers water, use of tools, and everything,” said Bell.
The relationship between the developers and the garden has meant members are kept informed of the construction process. The contractor has worked with gardeners to update them on the progress. Bell said, “they accidentally cut the water line” to the gardens once, but soon “got it going again.” The garden is mostly closed for the winter, and she says they’ll start again in the spring.
Bell expects the construction to cease “in the short window before the weather turns.”
“It used to be this pristine place,” she said, “but no more.”
No comments:
Post a Comment