By Meghan Hall
For the past seven years, the City of Covington, Wash., has been diligently planning for a new urban village that will guide its future growth. With a major property transaction now on the books, Covington’s new urban village is one step closer to becoming a reality. At the end of last week, Bellevue-based LakePointe Covington Inc. closed on a $28 million deal to buy more than 190 acres slated for redevelopment. The seller of the land is Hawk Family Properties, according to public documents.
LakePointe—also known as Oakpointe Communities—is the master developer for the site, which long operated as the Lakeside Gravel Mine. LakePointe originally entered into a development agreement with the City in 2017, and has agreed to guide the redevelopment process of the mine. Public documents indicate a mixed-use, “upscale” lifestyle center is slated for the site. The project will include over 850,000 square feet of retail space, complete with a state-of-the-art movie theater and more than 50 restaurants, as well as 1,700 new residences. 90,000 square feet of office is also planned for the project.
“LakePointe is the destination experience that provides Covington visitors and locals with a unique environment in which a vibrant mix of restaurants, entertainment, shopping, and activities are enough to make an entire day out of a visit,” states Oakpointe’s website. “For locals, it also provides a much-needed social hub for the community.”
The development is also centered around a 20-acre lake and is about 40 minutes from both downtown Seattle and downtown Bellevue. Mid-October, Oakpointe kicked off construction on the first phase of the project—known as The Covington Connector—which will include 2.6 miles of road improvements and extensions. Timing for the remaining phases of the project and buildout are unclear.
Oakpointe was originally formed in 2001. Initially known as YarrowBay, the real estate brand has grown into an independently managed and integrated real estate development firm, according to its website. Currently, the firm owns, manages or controls 9,000 for-sale and for-rent residential units and 2 million square feet of commercial building space. The majority of its development are located in master planned communities in Southeast King County, such as LakePointe in Covington.
