Groundbreaking Celebrates the Start of Affordable Housing Along the Bellingham Waterfront

May 7-13 is Affordable Housing Week, championed by the Housing Development Consortium to highlight the role affordable housing plays in stabilizing our communities. See a recent affordable housing story below and more of Aspect’s Affordable Housing work here.

Staff from Aspect’s Bellingham and Seattle offices were on hand for the ceremonial groundbreaking of the first phase of the Millworks development, which will bring affordable housing to the Bellingham waterfront.

Banners at the construction site announcing both Phases of the Millworks redevelopment

Millworks is a partnership between the Port of Bellingham, Whatcom Community Foundation, and Mercy Housing Northwest (Mercy). Phase 1 of Mercy’s development includes 83 units of workforce and family rental housing plus a YMCA early learning center. The development should be ready to welcome residents next year.

Mercy Housing Northwest’s project manager Ellen Lohe (left) emceed the groundbreaking event, and Port Commissioner Michael Shepard (right) delivered remarks.

The Millworks development sits on 2.3 acres at the corner of the larger 67-acre Georgia-Pacific West cleanup site. Once home to a pulp and tissue mill, the site has undergone massive cleanup and redevelopment over the last decade, including the City of Bellingham’s popular Waypoint Park. Aspect’s environmental, geotechnical, and stormwater teams have worked extensively within the former mill’s footprint.

The building’s foundation is in place with framing starting, only 4 months after cleanup completion. Photo courtesy of Mercy Housing NW.

For the Millworks project, Aspect completed a pre-design investigation, developed a cleanup action plan, oversaw a formal public comment period, authored the engineering design report, executed an excavation compliance monitoring plan, reviewed construction plans/specs, and provided bid support. We provided oversight on the soil removal project, which also accomplished the substantial grading and site prep needed to start work on the new building. All of this occurred within a highly expedited 12-month schedule to meet Mercy’s funding requirements.

Principal Hydrogeologist Steve Germiat, who attended the groundbreaking ceremony, managed Aspect’s project team, which includes Adam Griffin, Jane Gregg, Matt Eddy, Nikolai Carroll, and Baxter Call. They worked in close coordination with the Port, RMC Architects, and the rest of the Mercy team, as well as the Washington State Department of Ecology, to reach this key milestone.

Whatcom Community Foundation’s planned Phase 2 development will include more affordable housing units and a local food campus featuring a commercial kitchen for use by food trucks and nonprofits like Meals on Wheels. Phase 2 construction is expected to begin in 2025.

Spotlight on Former Orchard Land Cleanup in Central Washington for New Housing

In Washington state’s agricultural hubs – Wenatchee, Yakima, and Chelan – former orchard land is being redeveloped to meet housing demands. Aspect has worked on several projects that are safely turning these brownfield sites into new housing for residents.  

As the Washington State Department of Ecology recently detailed, former orchard lands have a history of pesticide use, and the type of pesticides used has changed over time. Orchards that were active between 1900 and 1950 generally used lead arsenate, which left residual concentrations of both lead and arsenic in near-surface soil at concentrations above Ecology’s cleanup levels.

Example of former orchard land in East Wenatchee, where new housing now sits.

Snapshot of Former Orchard Land and Cleanup Process

Ecology has classified these former orchards with potential lead arsenate contamination and included them in their publically available ‘Dirt Alert’ program (based on historical aerial photo interpretation and other methods). As shown in the image below, orchard lands are generally concentrated in the Columbia, Yakima, Okanogan, and Wenatchee river basins throughout central Washington.

Using Ecology’s publicly available Dirt Alert mapping, see land (yellow on map) that Ecology delineated as orchard during the lead arsenic era: 1900-1950

Project Spotlight: Cleanup and 20 New Residential Homes near Chelan, WA

Aspect recently supported Chelan County to cleanly ‘cap’ the soil at a former orchard residential redevelopment in Manson near Lake Chelan for 20 new homes so it would protect human health and the environment. Chelan County Natural Resources Department used an Ecology grant to evaluate the costs associated with implementation of a Model Remedy (that is, a clean cap remedy) for this ‘trial implementation’. Aspect supported Chelan County by:

• Sourcing and analytically testing clean soil cap sources

• Sourcing and calculating soil amendment (compost) requirements for lawn support

• Construction sequence and contractor coordination

• Cost tracking

The trial found that the cost of implementing the clean soil cap model remedy amounted to approximately $5,000 per parcel.

Model Remedies Cleanup for Agricultural Owners and Developers

Model Remedies can guide property owners, developers, and consultants to clean up these lead arsenate properties efficiently and protect the community. Contamination is often limited to just the topsoil layer, thus reducing the complexity of cleanup. There are a few routes to cleanup:

• Excavation and off-Site disposal is a conventional clean-up method that in most cases is too costly for a residential redevelopment.

• Capping is a model remedy in which the contaminated soil remains on site and is “capped” with asphalt, building foundations, and delineated landscaping beds and is generally the most cost-effective model remedy.

• Mixing is a solution where the soil column is mixed until contaminant concentrations throughout the soil layer are all below cleanup levels. A mixing model remedy could be applicable when contamination is limited to a very shallow depth.

Capping is the most commonly used cleanup method in the Model Remedy process. Capping keeps residential communities safe by providing a physical barrier (such as asphalt or colored demarcation fabric beneath the topsoil) between residents and the contaminated soil. Lead arsenate is generally contained within the near-surface soil, so there is no exposure risk related to drinking water or using groundwater. Also, because metals do not vaporize, there is not a threat of vapor intrusion into structures.

Contact Aspect’s Breeyn Greer and Adam Griffin for more information about the cleanup process for orchard redevelopment.

From Spokane Railyards to Vital Urban Core: Building the University District

In the past decade alone, the Spokane region has grown by 44,000+ people. The 2nd biggest city in Washington state is seeing an influx of residents and affordable housing is key to meet this need. As one piece to support the growth, “The District” is a 300-unit multifamily development planned for construction in 2021 and adds vital housing and connects Spokane communities.

The future ‘District on the River’ project.

Cleaning up a Waterfront Railyard Property

The District project — led by Sagamore Spokane LLC, located in Spokane’s University District — adds 300 units adjacent to the Spokane River. Cleanup actions will be completed prior to redevelopment of this former manufactured gas plant property and railyard area.. Aspect and teaming partners from Perkins Coie, DCI Engineers, Witherspoon Kelley,, and ALSC Architects developed a cleanup approach for the contaminated site allowing for building construction.

A Prospective Purchaser Consent Decree was entered by Sagamore Spokane LLC with the Washington State Department of Ecology for the agreed upon cleanup approach. Aspect and Perkins Coie were instrumental in working with Ecology and the Attorney General’s office to facilitate a pathway for Sagamore to invest in this brownfield redevelopment project.

Adding 300 Units to a New and Walkable University District

The cleanup actions are integrated with the development and will allow for the beneficial reuse of this notable vacant property contaminated by historical manufactured gas plant (MGP) operations. Completion of the cleanup actions will improve protection of human health and the environment, allowing this 300-unit, four-building residential apartment complex, known as the ‘District on the River’, to be completed.

With its prime location near the Spokane River, Ben Burr Trail, Hamilton Street bridge and close by amenities, this is anticipated to be a sought-after livable and walkable area.

What if You Can’t Dig Your Way Out of a Brownfield Cleanup?

Brownfield site cleanups are difficult for construction teams, redevelopment plans, and the community. It’s even harder when you can’t dig and haul the contaminated soil and there’s impacts to groundwater. Aspect’s Adam Griffin and Doug Hillman discuss successful strategies for complicated cleanup sites in this Daily Journal of Commerce article.

Inspecting the Vapor Intrusion Mitigation System at Art Brass Plating in Seattle

Leadership Training in the Built Environment: One Engineer’s Perspective

The built environment (i.e., the man-made environments we live and work in) is developed by interdisciplinary teams of planners, architects, engineers, permitting and construction experts, and other professions. Given the complexity of building in today’s urban world, setting aside time outside of project delivery to connect—and learn from—each other is challenging. The Urban Land Institute (ULI) is the world’s oldest and largest network of real estate and land use professionals and with over 1,000 member organizations. ULI’s Northwest chapter is a thriving network of 1,000 professional members and facilitates connection and professional development opportunities in the region.

Aspect’s Associate Engineer Adam Griffin recently completed ULI’s six-month Center for Leadership (CfL) program with a cohort of 36 fellow professionals. Adam shares some thoughts on this program and the value of trying something different to grow professionally.

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Adam (center left, middle row in solid blue shirt) and his Center for Leadership Cohort

 What was the program like?

My cohort was the 5th of the CfL program, which consisted of 6 sessions culminating in a team deliverable and presentation to the Puget Sound Regional Council. The regional ULI staff have refined a program that weaves leadership development into the region’s built environment vision, projects, and challenges. The leadership element is founded on your DiSC® profile[1] in the first session and evolves to sessions and projects where teams are designed based on leadership profiles. Session themes ranged from “Urban/Rural Divide: Finding Common Ground” to “Resilience in the Age of Disruption” and were hosted at some of the region’s coolest spaces (i.e., the Amazon sphere)—my favorite spot was Taylor’s Shellfish Farms on West Samish Bay on a bluebird day!

What did you learn?

A lot! Awareness of my Steady leadership profile (from my DiSC® assessment)—tendencies, strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for growth—and how to apply this awareness to my own professional growth. This program was a departure in how I’ve historically used my professional development time and I learned that when you step outside of your comfort zone, growth and learning are inevitable. I re-learned that relationships are the best investment of professional time. I also learned about the vision and ambition of our region, and what a tremendous opportunity we currently have to shape it.

[1] DiSC is a non-judgmental communication tool that stands for Dominance, Influence, Conscientiousness, and Steadiness. It’s similar to a Myer Briggs approach but focused on describing someone’s communications style—including priorities, motivators, and stress triggers.

Encouraging Young Scientists

For the second year, Aspect’s Senior Remediation Engineer, Adam Griffin, spoke to the AP Environmental Science class at Franklin Pierce High school in Tacoma. Adam told the students about the variety of ways he applies science and engineering every day in his professional life and said, “I left energized and encouraged by the next generation’s awareness.” Many of these students have already been accepted into college and are pursuing science and engineering fields. Way to go Adam and best wishes to the Franklin Pierce students!