This mixed-use affordable housing project on its way to Bellingham waterfront

Rachel Showalter
·2 min read
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Waterfront land in Bellingham traditionally used by local indigenous communities and later used for industrial practices like milling will soon be the site of a mixed-use housing project.

The Millworks Project, spearheaded by the Whatcom Community Foundation, will break ground on Phase I before the end of 2022.

The project site is bordered by Cornwall Avenue, Laurel Street and the waterfront rail line.

The goal of the project is to create more affordable housing, affordable childcare and access to job and property ownership opportunities, according to Whatcom Community Foundation President and CEO Mauri Ingram.

Phase I will include a four-story apartment complex with 83 units of permanently affordable rental housing, owned and operated by Mercy Housing Northwest.

It will also feature a six-classroom early learning center operated by Whatcom Family YMCA to support about 100 kids in early childhood education.

A site map of the Millworks project is included in a November 2022 presentation about the development of the former Georgia-Pacific tissue mill on the waterfront in Bellingham.
A site map of the Millworks project is included in a November 2022 presentation about the development of the former Georgia-Pacific tissue mill on the waterfront in Bellingham.

Phase I is estimated to cost $37 million, with residential move-in planned for 2024. It’s largely funded through low-income housing tax credit financing.

Phase II will include a five-story apartment complex with 80 units. These units will also be affordable and residents have the opportunity for ownership, Ingram told The Bellingham Herald in a telephone interview.

Ceramic tile tanks remaining from the Georgia-Pacific tissue mill stand next to the Port of Bellingham’s pump track on the waterfront in Bellingham.
Ceramic tile tanks remaining from the Georgia-Pacific tissue mill stand next to the Port of Bellingham’s pump track on the waterfront in Bellingham.

“We really want (residents to have) a mix of incomes because we know that’s when communities are healthiest — when we are all mixed up together and interacting,” Ingram said.

Phase II will also feature a two-story local food production campus, a rooftop event space and a rooftop terrace.

“That mixed-use is part of what really creates a sense of place… All of these things will be complementary and mutually reinforcing,” Ingram said.

A map showing proposed buildings in the Millworks project is included in a November 2022 presentation about the development of the former Georgia-Pacific tissue mill on the waterfront in Bellingham.
A map showing proposed buildings in the Millworks project is included in a November 2022 presentation about the development of the former Georgia-Pacific tissue mill on the waterfront in Bellingham.

The site will have car parking and bike parking with an emphasis on reducing reliance on single-occupancy vehicles and encouraging alternate modes of transportation among residents, according to Ingram.

The entire project is expected to be completed no later than 2027.

The former Georgia-Pacific tissue mill site was cleared of the mill in this aerial photo from Thursday, Sept. 19, 2013, on the waterfront in Bellingham.
The former Georgia-Pacific tissue mill site was cleared of the mill in this aerial photo from Thursday, Sept. 19, 2013, on the waterfront in Bellingham.