Construction has begun on an extension of three downtown Vancouver streets to the Columbia River waterfront, a project the city considers a major milestone in its top development priority.
Last week, crews moved closer to finishing their work installing underground utilities along the waterfront before starting their extension of Columbia, Grant and Esther streets to connect with a soon-to-be extended Columbia Way. The project is one of the first infrastructure developments underway as the city continues to refurbish Vancouver’s industrial waterfront into an upscale, mixed commercial-residential hot spot with shops, restaurants, a hotel and a 10-acre park.
The construction site stretches between Grant and Columbia streets on the south side of the BNSF Railway tracks. In all, the cost of revamping the former 30-acre Boise Cascade mill site into a vibrant new destination has been pegged at $1.3 billion.
To make room for the new section of Columbia Way, construction crews will demolish the Centennial Center at the Red Lion Hotel Vancouver at the Quay during the next two weeks. Tearing down the building will allow the new portion of the street to run straight along the waterfront.
The Red Lion and other businesses in the areas east and west of the construction site are set to stay open during construction.
As plans continue to unfold for a new 10-story hotel along the waterfront, the property remains home to Vancouver’s most important economic project, said Chad Eiken, the city’s director of community and economic development.
“The commencement of construction of Columbia Way through the waterfront and Quay properties is another huge milestone that will ultimately lead to a vital expansion of Vancouver’s downtown for employment, shopping, restaurants, residences and a new waterfront park,” Eiken said in an email to The Columbian. “We will have many more milestones to reach, but everything is on track and moving in the right direction.”
The total cost of construction and engineering for the Columbia Way project is about $4.7 million. State and federal grants cover $4 million of that bill, while Columbia Waterfront LLC — one of the partners in the project — is kicking in the rest of the money.
In the first phase, crews have worked on installing deep water, sewer and stormwater lines on the land where each of the streets will be extended.
Crews should finish installing the underground utilities in the next two weeks, said Loretta Callahan, a spokeswoman for the city’s public works department. After that, they’ll begin building the new roadways and sidewalks and erecting streetlights and traffic signals at the new intersections.
The final pieces of the project will include landscaping and other aesthetic design elements along Columbia Way. Callahan expects the street project to be substantially complete come summer or early fall.
