Photo The city is moving forward on a project intended to revitalize Vancouver’s waterfront with a new mixed-use development and boardwalk on the east side of the Interstate 5 Bridge. Kirkland Development has worked with the city and the National Park Service on its plan to develop 217 housing units, 115,500 square feet of commercial space, 370 underground parking spaces and a public boardwalk at 101 and 111 S.E. Columbia Way, currently home to Who Song & Larry’s Cantina. During an April 17 workshop, city council members reviewed an update to the Renaissance Boardwalk Master Plan and generally showed their support for the project, but urged city staff to move quickly on the project. City staff will return to the council this summer for its approval on an updated master plan. “I’m supportive of this project, I want to see it go forward, and I want to see it go forward on an aggressive timeline,” Councilor Erik Paulsen said. “My intent is to ensure that the project gets done, and that it gets done in the least disruptive way possible.”

Development will restore former boardwalk The city council approved the development in January 2022, but must approve the master plan for the developers to move forward. Keith Jones, a city senior planner, presented renderings of the project, which would include first-floor restaurants with outdoor patios, several stories of mixed-use commercial space, and more than 200 housing units. Jones said that the development would meet LEED green-building requirements and have 100 electric vehicle spaces. The development is one building, though it appears to be five separate buildings due to variable heights, according to the development agreement. The project will replace the dilapidated fishing pier currently at the site. The developers must obtain a shoreline substantial development permit, though construction will not occur in the Columbia River, Jones pointed out. The project will also convert two nearby fields within the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site into construction staging areas, which will later become city-operated parking lots.

The city limits floor spaces to 12,000 feet on stories between 75 and 100 feet, which include the top two stories of the development. The developers requested an exception to build a 27,000-square-foot eighth floor. If the city council does not approve this exception, the total number of units would drop from 217 to 200, Jones said. Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle requested another workshop before the council votes to approve the master plan in June, pointing out that the renderings inaccurately suggest in-water construction. Following council approval, the developers would need to obtain a permit from the Department of Ecology, then engineering and building permits. In 2021, developers were seeking to work out a deal with Who Song & Larry’s to potentially create a new space for the Mexican restaurant, according to Randy Sharpe, president and CEO of Xperience Restaurant Group, owner of the restaurant.