PROJECT AUBURN

In April, 2008, Mr. Alpert’s firm won a Request for Proposals advertised by the city of Auburn, Washington and was selected for exclusive negotiations for redevelopment of a substantial part of Auburn’s downtown which successfully resulted in a formal Master Plan Development Agreement that received unanimous City Council support. Today, this project has evolved into Project Auburn, aimed at enhancing the ongoing redevelopment of Auburn’s historic, transit-oriented downtown into a new “urban village”- a green, mixed use, urban-style, commercial and residential dominated project featuring ground floor retail and restaurant facilities and incorporating open spaces. Ideally situated in the heart of downtown Auburn between the Sound Transit Station, Auburn’s City Hall, and Safeway Grocery Store, just one block from Auburn Regional Medical Center, Project Auburn’s mission is to promote and encourage a positive lifestyle experience for residents, guests, and retail visitors alike by targeting and enhancing key properties for further redevelopment.

In addition to a Master Plan Development Agreement, the city formally adopted the Alpert-proposed Project Auburn Design Guidelines that began the redevelopment process by requiring all development within Auburn’s downtown urban core to achieve at least LEED Silver certification and strive to meet the objectives of the Living Building Challenge – the first municipality to require such a high level of “green” standards.

This endeavor culminated in Ceradimm’s successful participation in the sale of two of the three city-owned blocks in Auburn’s downtown to a major Seattle-based developer. As a result, a substantial number of residents have returned to add life to the former downscale environment. Several new developments are either completed or underway, and Ceradimm’s contract with the city having expired at year-end 2015, we switched over to the private side of the equation we helped drive by means of a unique public-private partnership.