New Housing Inventory is Coming to Covington!
Hawk Property Annexation, Ashton Property dirt-work well underway, and new housing inventory is coming! The Covington City Council has approved the issuance of a Notice of Intent to Annex 80 acres of the 212 acre Hawk property located east of the City limits along State Highway 18.
The 80 acres of the property are located within Covington’s Potential Annexation Areas and have been designated for construction of new homes, commercial businesses – such as restaurants – along with a small recreational pond and walking trails. Meanwhile, in Downtown Covington the clearing and grading “dirt work” to prepare the Ashton Property for development is almost complete, and foundations are being poured. The Ashton project will include 354 residential housing units over-top retail and office space on the ground floor, and underground parking.
In approving the Notice of Intent to Annex the Hawk property into the City limits, the Covington City Council set certain conditions related to (1) Zoning and Surveys, (2) Studies demonstrating consistency with the City’s adopted Comprehensive Plan, and (3) Assumption (of a pro-rata share) of the City’s debt. A year ago the City approved a “sub-area plan” for the Hawk Property located southeast of Hwy 18 near the 256th street exit. The property consists of the Lakeside Industries gravel mine, the former site of an asphalt batch plant, and a highway interchange. The former gravel mine pits – now filled with water – will provide water amenities for residents and businesses when the project is built.
Meanwhile, in Downtown Covington, the Spokane-based Inland Group has nearly completed the dirt work to clear and grade its seven acre parcel located south of Rite Aid and north of Covington Elementary in the heart of the area the City wants to develop as a new city center core for Covington.
A major portion of the centerpiece of a new downtown for the City will also involve redevelopment of the Covington Elementary School site adjacent to Inland Group property. The city has a “right of first offer” to buy the Elementary school site from the Kent School District, but the District is not expected to be interested in selling until a new elementary school is built. The District would likely have to pass a bond measure for that to happen. The City has selected the Panattoni Development Company as its partner to assist the city with both the design and financing for re-development of the existing Covington Elementary school site once it is purchased by the City.