Sunday, June 24, 2007
BY CAMI JONER, Columbian staff writer
Observers say a $200 million project rising on the east side of Battle Ground could counterbalance newer development to the west and draw visitors to the city's older downtown core.
But whether the 108-acre Battle Ground Center will become the city's first successful mixed-use community remains to be seen, as marketers from Vancouver-based The Management Group work to fill retail space in the development's central Battle Ground Village. The European-style project's first two buildings are scheduled to open this summer and developers from The Gold Medal Group then expect to start work on six additional buildings, a new public library and 40 "live-work" townhouse units.
"It's starting to generate some interest," said Carmen Villarma, president and owner of The Management Group, which will manage and lease buildings inside the commercial area. The project is being developed by The Gold Medal Group, owned by Villarma's husband, Dennis Pavlina. It has invested $10 million so far.
Villarma said six retail tenants are poised to lease space in the center, but she would only disclose the one signed agreement, with interior design store DH Interiors.
"We're focusing on cafes and boutiques, like specialty foods and apparel," Villarma said.
Other components of the large cone-shaped Battle Ground Center master plan include:
- The $35 million Sixth Street Station, which will anchor a northern tract with 169 single-family duplexes and homes.
- The southern Battle Ground Corporate Center with ready-to-build pads for 13 commercial or light industrial projects.
- The urban trail that will stretch through the development and could become part of a countywide system.
The blend of uses follows a trend Battle Ground hopes to achieve citywide, said Dennis Osborn, city manager.
"Our goal is to become a place where you can live, work, shop and play," Osborn said. "This (development) does that within its own boundaries and provides another anchor for the east end of town."
The project might also benefit a cluster of larger retailers, including Fred Meyer and Albertsons, on the city's west end near the intersection of Main Street and state Highway 503, Osborn said.
North County attraction
If the project attracts patrons from the north and east communities of Amboy, Yacolt and Hockinson, "It creates synergy for the whole area," Osborn said.
That could be a boost for the city's "Old Town" sector about six blocks north of the project, said Dan Mueller, president of the Old Town Battle Ground Association and co-owner of the Paper Moon specialty shop at 602 E. Main St.
He said merchants there recognize they could end up competing with the newer development.
"But it will bring more traffic to the area," Mueller said.
Library space
The project's centerpiece, a 13,000-square-foot Battle Ground Community Library is set to break ground in October and is also expected to attract regional patrons.
The Fort Vancouver Regional Library District and the Gold Medal Group are co-developing the new library to replace Battle Ground's existing library, built in 1959, at 12 W. Main St. The old site is too small to serve its 400 to 800 daily visitors, said Jackie Spurlock, Battle Ground's librarian.
"The library will give the retail center an economic advantage and it will help boost our audience as well," Spurlock said.
Community living
Villarma said her company will soon begin pre-selling condominiums in the project's live-work townhouses, set for construction starting this fall, with ground-floor retail or office space and living quarters upstairs.
"You can live on the top floor and have a jewelry store or art gallery below" in the 2,200-square-foot units, Villarma said.
New Tradition Homes has already sold between 40 and 50 houses in the first 105-unit phase of the $35 million Sixth Street Station, which broke ground last year.
The Vancouver company plans to start on the project's second phase this year, said David Commeree, director of product development. Despite a recent decline in Clark County home sales, Commeree said buyers are attracted by the prospect of nearby retail amenities.
"It's a walkable community," Commeree said.
Pedestrian power
Combining work environments with living and recreational space reflects today's changing society, said Kelly Punteney, the project's urban trail designer.
His project could become part of the proposed Chelatchie Rail Trail, an urban system for walking, jogging and biking that would connect Battle Ground to Vancouver along a 35-mile rail line owned by Clark County.
"People are willing to walk (a maximum) of 2.5 miles and they'll bike even farther," Punteney said, adding that the trend is driven in part by rising fuel costs and a movement to preserve the urban environment.
"Developers who recognize this can capitalize on it by designing for the changes," Punteney said.
Battle Ground residents seem ready to welcome a unique project to the city's east side instead of the town's newer west side, said Jane Higgins, president of library fundraising group Friends of Battle Ground Library.
"It was unexpected that anyone would build on the east side of town. But the development has captured the public's imagination now," Higgins said. "We can see that it's not another strip mall and I think everyone is looking forward to it."
Lots of space will be the main feature of Battle Ground's new $3.5 million library, set to open in 2009.
"Space to read and study, room to meet and converse," said Jackie Spurlock, librarian of the Battle Ground Community Library, now headquartered at 12 W. Main St.
Set to break ground in October, the new 13,000-square-foot facility is planned as the focal point of Battle Ground Village retail center, on the east side of Grace Avenue. Library designs include study spaces, a public meeting room, banks of computers, a fireplace surrounded by comfortable seating and enough room for about 75,000 books.
"Right now, we have around 45,000 books" in a 3,600-square-foot facility, Spurlock said.
Battle Ground's 16,300 residents have long outgrown the current site, which opened in 1959. With 24 chairs, the crowded facility doesn't allow room for its 400 to 800 daily visitors to linger. That luxury will be afforded to patrons of the new library, Spurlock said.
"It will be a community cultural center, with plenty of room to get together and read," she said.
Separate literature areas for children, teens and adults will make the library more user-friendly. There will be a self-checkout counter and a special area for English as a second language and citizenship materials. The library space will host weekly conversation groups in English, Spurlock said.
Future expansion
Three different sources are paying for the new library, including the Fort Vancouver Regional Library District; Battle Ground Village developer, The Gold Medal Group; and Friends of Battle Ground Community Library.
The friends of the library group has raised more than $400,000 toward the project, with another $400,000 to go.
They will continue fundraising efforts after the library opens in 2009. Battle Ground's continued growth will soon create a need for more library space, said Jane Higgins, the group's president.
"The population will warrant the need for a 25,000 square foot library," Higgins said.
Her group and the library district have already purchased the additional space from Battle Ground Village developer Dennis Pavilna of The Gold Medal Group.
"We are committed to having as big a library on that site as we can," Higgins said.
Ambitious residential, commercial center aimed at helping city become destination spot
BATTLE GROUND CENTER
- What: Mixed-use retail, commercial and public project.
- Location: A 108-acre parcel in Battle Ground, southeast of the city center.
- Commercial developer: The Gold Medal Group, Vancouver.
- Residential developer: New Tradition Homes, Vancouver.
- Scope: Sixth Street Station, a 169-unit tract of single-family homes; Battle Ground Village, a retail complex with a new public library and 40 "live-work" townhouses; a southern corporate area for up to 13 commercial businesses; all connected by a quarter-mile-long urban trail.
- Investment: $200 million.
- Timing: Retail and single-family home projects under way, with library, townhouses and more commercial construction set to start in the fall.
Cami Joner covers real estate.
She can be reached at 360-759-8018 or via e-mail at
