The Downtown Opportunity
The Opportunity is Now
“Downtown Mount Vernon is the vibrant heart of Skagit County. It is a place where people come to live, work, and play, enjoying the riverfront promenade, boutique shopping, fine dining, and entertainment of all sorts. Its public spaces are enlivened by a farmer’s market and live music. People come for its fairs, festivals, and riverfront setting. They come back for its small town character and the ease with which they can park their car and walk wherever they want to go. Downtown Mount Vernon is thriving because it is where people want to be.”
That is the vision for Downtown Mount Vernon and the City is well on its way to making it happen.
The Opportunity
The future is now! The City of Mount Vernon has adopted a Master Plan for the Waterfront and Historic Downtown Area that provides guidelines for development over the next 20 years and presents an economic development opportunity in Downtown Mount Vernon.
The Downtown and Waterfront Master Plan is designed to build on and enhance existing retail activity along First Street, and create a vibrant, attractive, and safe waterfront and downtown, with enhanced public access to the shoreline and river, new and improved public amenities, and mixed-use redevelopment that will generate new jobs and create housing that preserves the character of downtown Mount Vernon.
Click here to read the Plan.
Location. Location. Location
 Mount Vernon is located along the I-5 corridor, 60 miles north of Seattle and 80 miles south of Vancouver British Columbia. Mount Vernon is unique as it is one of the only cities west of the Mississippi and north of San Francisco that within a 100 mile radius can draw from an estimated 6 million people.
Mount Vernon’s historic downtown is bounded to the east by Interstate 5, to the west the Skagit River, to the north Lion’s Park and to the south by Section Street. Mount Vernon is minutes away from the beautiful San Juan Islands to the west and the North Cascade Mountain Range and Mt. Baker to the east. Mount Vernon is the County seat and has a strong presence of government employees within the downtown core. The City’s regional transit center, built in 2004 is a gateway project located at the front door step to downtown Mount Vernon along I-5. Skagit Multi-Modal Station offers rail, bus, commuter and taxi service to the region.
The Skagit River, which is the only river that can boast salmon runs for five different species of salmon naturally, runs through downtown Mount Vernon offering a spectacular scenic amenity within downtown. Principle economic activities include government, healthcare, retail and tourism.
The Master Plan takes advantage of Downtown’s assets and will achieve the following goals:
- Provide permanent certified flood protection for downtown to make investing in downtown Mount Vernon economically viable.
- Develop a pedestrian-oriented downtown where people are encouraged to circulate on foot.
- Encourage a mixture of land uses, including public open space, shoreline recreational, cultural, and institutional uses integrated with revenue producing uses that may include office, retail, restaurant, hotel, entertainment, and residential uses.
- Accommodate an overall increase in residential density to provide a greater level of around-the-clock activity, support existing businesses, and improve the general economic vitality of downtown.
- Provide sufficient and conveniently located parking without compromising the overall pedestrian-friendly environment.
- Accommodate vehicular circulation while providing pedestrian-friendly streets.
- Preserve and build upon the existing historic character of downtown.
- Provide more open space and public amenities downtown.
- Encourage multi-modal transportation by developing improved connections across the river, to regional trails, and to Skagit Station.
- Encourage the use of sustainable design principles in both public and private developments.
Market Demand
The Master Plan presents an overview of the economic development opportunity in Downtown Mount Vernon.
Downtown Revitalization has begun
 The City is undertaking a major flood protection project that will result in 100-year flood protection for downtown Mount Vernon. In addition to the flood control measure, the City has designed and will construct a 25 foot wide, ½ mile long riverfront walk and public park along the Skagit River.
The flood protection measure is designed to protect the downtown area from flooding and remove the downtown from the FEMA 100-year flood plain designation. The flood protection measure is designed with removable sections that will be used only during flood events, therefore views and access to the river will not be encumbered.
The first phase of the Mount Vernon Flood Protection and Riverfront Trail is now under construction.
The project includes a flood wall incorporated into the existing levee system north of the Division Street Bridge up to Lions Park and a 12-16 foot wide river trail with pedestrian furnishings.
Completion date is September 2010.
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Downtown Development News:
Mount Vernon Gets Green Light from FEMA Opening the Door for Potential Redevelopment of Historic Downtown
Mount Vernon Downtown and Waterfront Master Plan (PDF)
For further information or development information:
Jana Hanson, Director
City of Mount Vernon Community & Economic Development Department
PO Box 809 / 910 Cleveland Avenue
Mount Vernon, WA 98273-0809
Phone: (360) 336-6214
Fax: (360) 336-6283
Janah@MountVernonWA.gov |
