MUKILTEO TOWN CENTER

The City of Mukilteo and the owners of this 5-acre lot were looking to bring new life to this primarily underused, in-between area with a design that offered new retail, hotel, office, and apartment uses. Their main goals included activating the site and its neighboring businesses, ensuring full retail visibility and accessibility, and mitigating the impact of the nearby state highway and small commercial airport. Our solution anchors the site with a core of four parcels joined in a crisscrossing layout. Each parcel has its own mixed-use building that allows for retail, a hotel, and well-appointed apartments with live-work units. The pedestrian promenade through the quad invokes a neighborhood feel and invites shoppers into businesses of all four parcels; it is also linked to underground and on-street parking. Direct access to the site was impossible from the busy highway, so we added a loop road to provide several alternative entrances to the interior. This loop also connects residents and the local community to a multi-use frontage trail adjacent to the highway. Heavily landscaped, this trail does double-duty as an all-important buffer to alleviate highway and airport noise. Retail units enjoy high visibility at the intersection of the Speedway and State Route 526, as well as ample natural light and ventilation. The project showcases northwest contemporary stylings and materials, and is customized to meet City height requirements while achieving the varied uses desired by the property owner.