Jan. 04–WENATCHEE — A Bellingham-based development company is proposing to build a 57-room boutique hotel and spa along the city’s waterfront next to Pybus Public Market.
The Chrysalis Inn and Spa would be built on the former Wenatchee Public Works site at 25 N. Worthen St.
“If it gets built, it will be a huge addition to our waterfront,” Mayor Frank Kuntz said Friday. “It will be a hotel with a restaurant and spa, all on one of the finest pieces of Columbia River waterfront we have.”
“If we could have gone out and chosen a project for this property, this is what we would have picked,” he added.
While preliminary applications have been filed with the city, and an environmental review has been initiated, the developer has not yet committed to building the hotel, said Steve King, the city’s director of community and economic development. The city and applicant must still work out a number of issues, including addressing oil contamination on the site and agreeing on a sale price for the land, which is owned by the city.
The city had initially asked $1.9 million for the entire three-acre waterfront site.
Architect Ed Abbott of Mercer Island submitted a preliminary building application to the city on Dec. 20, which was accepted as complete by the city on Dec. 26. The owner is listed in the documents as Michael Keenan, who also owns the Chyrsalis Inn and Spa in Bellingham.
Keenan could not be reached for comment.
According to the application documents, the company is planning to build a three-story, 57-room hotel, along with a restaurant, dining room bar, spa, meeting/conference room, pool, fitness center and outdoor terrace.
The company hopes to begin construction in April.
But the city still needs to resolve some environment concerns with the state Department of Ecology before it can sell the property and issue building permits, said Steve King, the city’s director of community and economic development.
The city will meet with Ecology officials next week to go over the results of environmental testing that was done at the site in November. Several locations were found to have light oil contamination stemming from past public works operations.
“Our goal is the have a resolution to this shortly so the company can start building in the spring,” King said.
The city has already addressed environmental concerns related to an old dump that sites underneath a portion of the property.
The city plans to retain ownership for the acre that sits over of the dump and sell the other two acres to the hotel developer. The city would then issue a permit or easement for the hotel to use the city-owned land.
The project would fill much of the space between the RiverWalk Crossing pedestrian bridge an entrance to Riverfront Park off Worthen Street.
Since the land is the only city property up for development along the waterfront — and it’s development is important to the overall revitalization of the riverfront — Kuntz said, “We need to make sure we get this right.”
That involves getting a good price for the land and finding a good business to go on it. Kuntz said the potential developers of the hotel would be a good fit for the city.
“This will be good for the community, good for the waterfront, and good for our sales tax base,” he said. “We’re excited to see this move forward.”
Reach Michelle McNiel at 509-664-7152 or mcniel@wenatcheeworld.com. Follow her on Twitter at @MichelMcNielWW.
