Mukilteo's Waterfront Is Being Shopped Twice, and Only One Search Has a Date

On October 5, the Mukilteo City Council voted 6–1 to rezone Lot 5 from Open Space to Waterfront Mixed Use. Lot 5 is the city-owned gravel park with benches between the ferry holding lanes and the water. The new zoning would allow a developer to build and run retail shops, restaurants or cafes there. The vote didn't pick a developer, approve a building or close the park.

Next door, the Port of Everett spent the first half of 2026 assembling land of its own. It took back a former federal parcel east of the Silver Cloud Hotel and agreed to buy the property under Ivar's Mukilteo Landing. Two public owners are now looking for development partners on adjoining pieces of the same shoreline. The city's search has a published calendar and, so far, one applicant. The Port's search has more land but no public call for developers that we could find.

So the next real change on Front Street this fall will be the city's choice of a development team, set for November 13. Lease negotiations wouldn't start until December.

What the October 5 vote did, in the council's own words

The rezone was part of a comprehensive plan update, and city planning director Andrew Galuska described it narrowly at the meeting. As The Everett Herald reported, he said "any of those future decisions about leasing the property, what the specific development would look like, those will all still be in the council's hands." He also noted the council could still decide to develop the land as a park.

Council member Bob Champion cast the only no vote. He told the council he had received emails from residents asking to keep the zoning as it was, and he said, "The snail's pace of government is slow, and I kind of think we're jumping the gun." Council member Don Doran voted yes and said, "We can absolutely have this property look exactly the way this community wants it to look, whether that's with a commercial establishment or a park."

That range of outcomes is built into the zoning. In the Herald's September 23 preview, city staff explained that open space remains a permitted use under either zone. They also said a 20-foot strip between the lot and the shoreline would be held back for the planned promenade, and that shoreline access requirements would apply to anything built. The rezone covers the gravel. It doesn't cover the edge of the water.

The vote also sits on a choice the council made earlier in the year. In March, according to the Herald, the council let staff explore leasing Lot 5 and rejected a motion to declare the land surplus for a possible sale. Any business that ends up there would be on city land under a lease. The city would still own it.

Who holds which piece of Front Street

The waterfront looks like one long stretch on a walk from the ferry to Lighthouse Park, but the ground underneath is divided. The Port of Everett describes a 26-acre planning area between Lighthouse Park and Edgewater Beach with ten different owners. The parcels in play this year sit right next to each other:

Lot 5's size depends on which document you read. The city's solicitation and later coverage say 1.19 acres, the Herald rounds to 1.2, and 2023 coverage said 1.25.

The Ivar's row is the one most people will ask about. In its February 25 release, the Port said the agreement includes a long-term lease with Ivar's, "which has been, and will continue to be, a staple of the Mukilteo waterfront for decades to come." The Port first expected to close in July. An April amendment from the Port commission moved the closing date to August 1, and we found no public record confirming the sale has closed. For now, the accurate wording is that the Port agreed to buy the property.

The interim park on Lot 5 is newer than it looks. The Herald reported in October 2023 that the gravel, benches and tables were paid for with about $52,500 in federal ARPA money, and that the site could only be reached by a pedestrian path. The 2016 Downtown Waterfront Master Plan had also identified the land as a park, which explains why some residents spoke up for keeping it that way.

The city's search has a calendar and one applicant

Mukilteo is choosing a partner for Lot 5 in two stages, for a ground lease of up to 80 years. These are the dates on the city's bid page:

1. July 29, 2026. Request for qualifications released.
2. September 9, 2026. Qualifications due.
3. October 28, 2026. Full proposals due, per the city's estimated schedule.
4. November 13, 2026. Team selection.
5. December 2026. Lease and development negotiations begin.

By the September deadline, one firm had applied. Seattle Red, citing the Puget Sound Business Journal, reported that more than two dozen real estate professionals toured the site in August. Kirkland-based MainStreet Property Group was the only one to submit qualifications. The outlet said concerns about parking, financing and development approvals narrowed the field. According to Seattle Red, MainStreet's qualifications submission said it was looking at a multifamily, mixed-use project with below-grade parking. The submission also cited the company's experience with contaminated property and said MainStreet wants to pursue changes to the rules that currently limit housing on the site. That is an early concept, not a proposal. The full proposals due October 28 are where specifics would come next. The same report says MainStreet has built more than 3,700 multifamily units across 25 projects in Seattle and on the Eastside, and that Mukilteo would be its first Snohomish County project.

That below-grade parking idea answers a real limit on the site. The closest commercial parking on this stretch is the Port's interim lot on the old holding lanes, and the space between Lot 5 and the water is reserved for the promenade.

The Port's search has the land and no posted call

The Port said in February that it would "begin a formal process to seek a development partner for its Mukilteo properties this spring," with the Seattle firm NBBJ. NBBJ also helped lead the 2022 community visioning effort the Port ran with the city. As of mid-October, the Port's news archive and commission materials we reviewed showed no published request for developers, no list of respondents and no selection. The February 25 release is still the newest Mukilteo item in the Port's news list.

The two processes are designed to fit together. When it launched the Lot 5 search on July 29, the city described the Port as pursuing a "parallel development solicitation" and said the two agencies were working so their programs complement each other. The Urbanist quoted a councilmember saying the city needed to be "lockstep with the Port." The disagreement in its coverage was among residents over the rezone, not between the two agencies.

The difference in pace matters for how the stretch will look. The Port has described a pedestrian-oriented Front Street with restaurants, retail, small-scale housing and a promenade. Back in March, the Herald noted that the city-owned parcels sat outside the Port's redevelopment plans at the time. If the city signs a lease on Lot 5 before the Port picks its partner, the smaller, city-owned piece could be committed first, ahead of the larger Port parcels around it.

The stretch as it works this fall

None of this changes a walk to the ferry this month. Here's what is operating now and what's on the calendar:

• Ivar's Mukilteo Landing, 710 Front St. Open Sunday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. The waterfront deck is seasonal.
• Diamond Knot Brewery & Alehouse. Its Mukilteo menu was updated October 5 and includes its Oktoberfest beer.
• Silver Cloud Hotel–Mukilteo Waterfront. It bills itself as Mukilteo's only waterfront hotel, next to the ferry.
• Port interim lot, 707 Front St. 99 visitor and commuter spaces across from Ivar's, with hourly, overnight and monthly parking.
• Ferry and train. The Washington State Ferries terminal is at 910 First St. Sound Transit's Mukilteo Station, the N Line stop, is at 920 First St., about 800 feet away.
• Mukilteo Lighthouse. Open to visitors on weekends and some holidays, 1 to 4 p.m., from April through September, so it's closed for the season now. The city says the floating docks at the Lighthouse Park boat launch go in May 15 and come out after September 30.
• SR 525 paving. WSDOT scheduled repaving, ADA sidewalk work and bicycle safety improvements from just north of Paine Field Boulevard to the ferry terminal. Work started July 28 and is expected to finish by December if the weather cooperates. Expect overnight lane restrictions, alternating traffic and pedestrian detours on city streets.
• Up the hill at Rosehill Community Center, 304 Lincoln Ave. Boo Bash runs October 25 from 2 to 5 p.m., with free trick-or-treating, kids' activities, vendors and food trucks. The city's Diwali Festival of Lights follows on Thursday, November 5, from 6 to 8 p.m.

The next dates on the waterfront itself are proposals due to the city on October 28 and a team selection set for November 13. After that, any lease terms and designs for Lot 5 go back to the full council before anything changes on the gravel.

If you own a home near Front Street or on the bluff above it, what eventually goes on these parcels will shape the neighborhood you already live in. Pilchard Properties is following the Lot 5 selection and the Port's next steps, and we're glad to talk through what they could mean for your street. When you'd like a starting point, get your instant home valuation and we'll keep you updated as the November decision gets closer.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.