A 6.6-acre tract on the busy Northeast 136th Avenue corridor has sold for $3.75 million to Arlington-based Vine Street Investors, which plans to develop a two-story building to house the Vancouver offices of the state Department of Social and Health Services.
Haagen Properties LLC, owned by Vancouver developer Dale Haagen, was the seller of the site on the corner of Northeast Ninth Street and 136th. Vine Street earlier this year proposed the office development, which will house between 350 and 360 employees and bring five separate DSHS agencies closer together, according to the state. Most of the workers now report to offices at 5411 E. Mill Plain Blvd..
The Fircrest Neighborhood Association at first questioned the 136th Avenue project’s affect on Northeast Ninth Street, expected to take on approximately 2,000 more vehicle trips per day for a total 7,000 daily trips as a result of the development. The group withdrew its complaint after discovering Ninth Street is considered a minor arterial capable of handling up to 12,000 trips per day, said Michael Arneson, Fircrest traffic and safety chair.
