Future development of Bellingham

In March 2005, Kiplinger's Personal Finance named Bellingham one of the top retirement cities in the nation. The purchase price of homes has risen, but rent has remained relatively stable. Many of the condominiums recently built as a result of the demand for affordable housing have subsequently become rental units.

Bellingham has seen a resurgence of real estate development as house prices climb, caused in part by new residents moving into the community. In order to accommodate this growth, new properties have sprung up all over the city, including the Downtown, Fairhaven, Happy Valley, Cordata, and Barkley neighborhoods. The city has reiterated its commitment to developing a wide range of housing options for all income categories, while retaining the integrity of existing communities. Annexation of surrounding farmland and county wilderness has been kept to a minimum due to public concern for environmental preservation, but several controversies have risen over the city's decisions to counteract the loss of land by allowing taller buildings in the city core, major new development on previously undeveloped land, and a lack of parks and open spaces in some of the more recently developed areas.

Waterfront development

Bellingham's long-term urban planning includes the creation of a waterfront development in the current location of the Georgia Pacific downtown facility. The 137-acre waterfront acquired by the Port of Bellingham in early 2005 provides the foundation for a 20-year redevelopment plan, with land use proposals ranging from a waterfront extension of Western Washington University to permanent public ownership of the site to the creation of a park in the ASB (Aerated Stabilization Basin) to help increase property values, increase the allure of the site for businesses, and fully remediate the entire site. The public is largely paying for the remediation of this old "brown field," and many feel that the public, ergo, should be the permanent beneficiaries of that investment through public ownership. The Port of Bellingham has proposed building a new marina on the ASB. The new marina would generate revenue to cover expenses of the costs of the cleanup and renovation of the waterfront. The proposed marina has vocal resistence from those who believe that proposed site of the marina (G.P. lagoon) should be used for a community park or other use.

The official plan from the City of Bellingham includes "a new city neighborhood with homes, shops, offices and light industry, as well as parks and promenades, a healthy shoreline habitat along Bellingham Bay...." Despite the expense and scope of this project, it has received a relatively high level of support throughout the community. Some concern has been expressed by residents over the loss of viable industrial land in the city, however residential and commercial use of the area is seen to prevent further urban sprawl on undeveloped land at the edges of the city. Though the plan is still being developed, demolition of the GP site has begun.