Business View Civil and Municipal l January 2023

146 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 12 our American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to create a job retraining program, we set aside $600,000 for those grants. Those colleges are participating in that program so that together we can help Edmonds Residents and Businesses who are interested in retraining and exploring different careers,” says Nelson. Edmonds College also has a maker space as part of its Engineering and Technology department which Tatum believes is favorable for the community. “It’s an investment in the maker culture, the creative culture. It’s a great opportunity for people to come in and learn and expand their maker goals, and learn or hone skills in prototyping, computer aided design, and so many other manufacturing techniques.” Although many of the housing options in the city are single-family homes, the recent rezoning of an area around the Highway 99 corridor has opened up land for higher-density housing, including several apartment buildings. Informally known as Uptown, this neighborhood will have excellent transit options, with planned connections to Lynnwood and Mountlake Terrace, as well as proximity to the many retail and service industry jobs along the route. The Highway 99 project has been a priority for Mayor Nelson, who describes, “It’s probably our most underserved, most underutilized, most diverse part of our city, and yet, it’s also used by so many. 40,000 vehicles a day travel through there, it is a state route. We have a revitalization plan in place, it’s going to cost probably about $180 plus million. We’ve already got $40 million committed, and we received $22.5 million this year from the state legislature.” Moving into phase two of the project, a center median is being added, which will be planted to add aesthetic appeal, along with the addition of signage to welcome people into the community. Future plans for this area include widened sidewalks and other road improvements, with a focus on attracting new development. “We anticipate much more of that, more housing, more sense of community. We actually opened up a satellite office, a neighborhood City Hall, up on Highway 99, to offer a variety of services, with the idea that instead of you having to come to the government, the government can come to you. It’s been a great success,” Nelson asserts. This project will continue to be a focus for the community in the coming years, accomplished with the same forward-thinking approach that Edmonds brings to every project. “We are taking this time to look at Highway 99, and not just invest in it from a dollar and construction standpoint, but investment in the way the Edmonds does, which is investing in the community, and in the connections with the community, and improving and continuing to build on this idea of connections to the broader community. This part of Highway 99 is as vibrant as everything else that you see here in Edmonds,” expresses Tatum. The mayor adds, “We’re planting the seeds, and so my hope is that when we plant the right seeds in the right places, and the right public-private partnerships, in three to five years we’re seeing that growing and sprouting to something wonderful.” PREFERRED VENDOR/PARTNER n Bridge Animal Referral Center (BARC) www.barcseattle.com n Wibu-Systems USA Inc. www.wibuusa.com Wibu-Systems USA is a technology supplier of an award-winning software protection, licensing, and security platform for Independent Software Vendors and embedded system developers. The North American headquarters of the German- based company is located in Edmonds, WA where co-founder, president and CEO, Marcellus Buchheit, resides with his family.