FOLLOWUP: Concrete walled industrial building to replace historic Furney’s
By Jack Mayne
Furney’s Nursery – which recently announced that it will be closing by the end May – will be replaced by an $80 million production facility on Pacific Ridge that the Des Moines City Council approved April 13.
The 70-year old Furney’s has a “deep and storied history in the Pacific Northwest” when Everett and Edith moved the nursery to Des Moines to start an orchard stand by the side of old Pacific Highway.
“It is with heavy hearts that we must announce that Furney’s Nursery will be closing its doors at the end of May,” they said in a statement. “This includes both the wholesale and retail divisions. We are saddened to have come to the end of an era, but we will look back at our 70+ years of business with great pride!”
The development for the North Des Moines commercial area will include a production facility of some kind. A tenant in the Panattoni Development’s building has not been announced. The development includes the under construction regional Federal Aviation Administration offices.
“The project will include two tilt up concrete buildings,” said an architect with Craft Architects, that will orient the building so that blank walls, storage areas on “more unsightly areas will be oriented away adjacent properties and more inward.” Offices will face 24th Avenue South and Pacific Highway.
Bart Brynestad, a Panattoni partner, told the Council that the current Phase 4 of the development “is where we want to invest another $80 million in 512,000 square feet.”
He said the company still does not know how many jobs will be created by this development.
I honestly do not see an improvement where a locally owned, family operated garden store will be replaced with an ugly concrete warehouse.
While I would like to have the nursery stay as it is a business generating sales tax. I can only hope that what moves in can generate the tax base the same as Furneys was or better. The jobs numbers may increase too depending on what is brought in.
What I want to know is what is the City Council doing to bring in a food establishment to that area with the influx of workers, especially when the FAA building opens. Did they reach out to Dicks’s Burgers as they were asking for cities to contact them for future development.
Thanks.