Paper mill section of old Georgia Pacific almost gone

Creating a blank slate, but some of the brick building of the old pulp mill are being preserved, for now at least.

City of Bellingham and port district are arguing some over the next steps for redevelopment.

The general picture isn't much of a problem. Mixed use waterfront neighborhood with quite a bit of park space, bike paths and more or less "sustainable" development.

The problem is more in the specifics. Which direction will the streets go? How dense will the development be?

Well, I don't think we can plan those specifics yet, so maybe there's little point having the arguments. We don't know what's going to be built there yet.

Planning too far into the details creates jobs for consultant firms and planners.

Even deciding the density now is a guess.

A few months ago, there were 3 density plans pictured in the Bellingham Herald. One was lower density smaller buildings. One was mid density and the third was highest density.

Renderings presented what it might look like from various viewpoints around the city looking out over the waterfront.

I notice a lot of people complained about how blocky and drab the buildings looked.

Yes, the "buildings" were just boxes. Boxes to try and figure out how much territory "X amount of floor space" might fill. Still, no one knows what these buildings might be, look like, or be used for. No wonder they looked like drab gray boxes.

Meanwhile, it's been interesting to watch them dismantle and recycle most of the paper mill.

Recycled paper, recycled paper mill.

Some people still think it's quite a waste to build a mill and then tear it down.

The sidewalk along Chestnut Street as it crosses the railroad tracks down to Roeder Avenue is a good place to look out over what's happening down there.

Now that the tearing down of the paper mill is almost done, activity may be subdued for a while.