New apartments are planned for La Conner in a perhaps unlikely place. C.J. Ebert of Harbor Mountain Development plans to build two three-unit apartment buildings at the base of Snapdragon Hill on Park Street following administrative approval of setback variances and conditional use permits by the Town of La Conner.

Titled Snapdragon Flats, the development calls for twin buildings, each with three one-bedroom loft apartments of 800-900 square feet over individual garages. The south building will border the Campbell’s garden shed at the base of the scarp.

The north building will be built into the slope near Hill Street. A substantial amount of rock will be removed and reused to construct a gabion wall at the base of the scarp for the south building.

The site plan shows excavation as high as 30 feet above street level. “I will have to take up some of that rock. It is an excavation. That will be kind of cool,” he believes. Gabion walls are wire cage structures filled with salvaged rock. “It is required geotechnical protection for this site” Eber explained. Any rock fall will be contained by the gabion walls.

The setback variance addresses the geotechnical requirements for building on this irregular shaped and sloped lot platted in 1890. Without the approval of a variance, virtually nothing could be built there.

Ebert is meeting the modern challenge of parking codes, noting “the important thing is all the required parking is on site, in the garages, plus five stalls” of angled car parking between the buildings. The garages will be wired with 220-volt outlets for electric vehicle charging.

It is too early in the process to have building designs, he said. Nothing moves forward until the town approves the permits. Landscapers have been removing dead material, brush, small trees and debris from the scarp the last two weeks, using a portable lift. When the weather warms, the plan is to hydro seed the scarp with native wildflowers.

“I am excited about this project. I am going to build it and own it and I am going to keep it. I don’t know rental prices yet because I don’t have my budget total in order.” He then suggested a moderate or medium rental price, saying “these are not high-end condos. I have to be able to rent them.”

The most optimistic schedule is for a spring 2023 completion and move in. Probable target dates are, starting with land use approval in March; architectural design through May and finishing in July, followed by utility work and rock excavation with actual construction to start in September, with roofs on by the start of fall rains.

Ebert has retained Carletti Architects of Mount Vernon in conjunction with Tim Hossner of RHO Architects in Seattle. BYK Construction of Sedro Woolley is planned as the builder. Carletti understands multi-family design, he said and Carletti has a good working relationship with BYK.

The Town of La Conner determined that significant environmental impacts are unlikely to result from the project and expects to issue a mitigated determination of non-significance on this proposal. Comments can be submitted through March 2, 2022. Comments should be as specific as possible. The application and can be reviewed at Town Hall. Contact Michael Davolio, 360-466-3125, [email protected]. A legal notice was published in the Feb. 16 Weekly News.

Ebert bought Snapdragon Hill, off Whatcom Street and above Park Street, from brothers David and Michael Bird’s family in the fall of 2019. He developed seven existing lots and sold them to BYK Construction, in June 2021 he said. Snapdragon Flats is a totally separate project.

Ebert, resides in the La Conner area and is the president of the board of directors of the Museum of Northwest Art. He has been a Snohomish County developer of historic and waterfront projects primarily in Everett.