Christensen House to be demolished to make room for New Development

According to a City of North Bend press release, starting September 14th, Mainvue WA, LLC will begin construction of a new, small residential home plat in North Bend. The 12-lot Kanim Grove plat site is located along the east side of Maloney Grove Ave SE across from SE 10th Street.

The ‘Christensen House’ currently located on the site will, unfortunately, be demolished prior to site work beginning.  A city SEPA (State Environmental Policy Act) condition did require the landowner or developer to put forth great effort to save the craftsman style home by documenting its historical significance and finding a party to move it to a new location. 

The level survey and research efforts found that the Olaf and Susie E. Christensen house was likely constructed circa 1918-1926 and was potentially eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). It was found to have a “connection to agricultural activities in the Snoqualmie Valley during the first half of the twentieth century.”

Christensen House

The house, built in the arts and crafts style, was constructed by the Christensen’s and “features the form and characteristics typical of the Craftsman Bungalow dwelling type which is uncommon in North Bend.”  It also meets the minimum criteria for listing at 94 years old and possesses integrity of location, design, materials, workmanship, feeling and association.  

The developer met the historical significance documentation requirements, but regrettably, the party who was to move the home regrettably backed out due to costs and other unforeseen complications. 

Since the home is not able to be saved, the SEPA condition requires the developer to contribute $25,000 to the city’s preservation mitigation fund or downtown façade grant program.  That contribution will now occur. The city will determine at a future time how the funds will be used.

The property owner did salvage parts of the historic home last year, as that was part of the purchase and sale agreement of the property.

Work hours for the new Kanim Grove home development will be between 7:00am – 7:00pm Monday through Friday, with possible work on Saturdays between 9:00am – 5:00pm. Construction equipment will only be able to access the project from Maloney Grove.

Area of Construction

For additional information, please contact Public Works Project Manager Doug van Gelder at 425-888-7664 or email dvangelder@northbendwa.gov .

Christensen House

Comments are closed.

Comments

  • So saddened to hear of another piece of north Bend’s history for yet another development. Like there needed to be anymore Houses crammed there. My suggestion to the city is they use that 25,000 to upgrade or move the museum to larger quarters so that what history is left can be maintained.

    1. To the North Bend Mayor, City Council and Planning Commission,
      My name is Michael Healea, the Son of Obe “Max” Healea, former Mayor of North Bend. My father was always a fan and champion of “Progress”. He was quite pleased when the Factory outlet stores were built near the South Fork of the Snoqualmie. North Bend was struggling to find its image since Dixie Lee Ray and the illusive Spotted Owl killed Weyerhaeusers logging operations in the Snoqualmie valley. My father was heavily involved in constructing the train depot building, which was an identical structure to the old depot in Lester, WA. For a couple of years North Bend had “Western Days” celebrations in Town, finally changing it to “Alpine Days“, complete with a parade and Fireworks, which were generously donated to the town by George Wyrsch, Sr. We were known as a “bedroom community”. We had great restaurants like the Mar-T Cafe(Twin Peaks RR restaurant)with damn good Cherry Pie) the Little Chalet, Gateway Cafe, Homestead, Tift Haus, XXX , Hang Chow, and the Busy B Cafe and the lone survivor, Scott’s Dairy freeze, and the best bakery in the state, George/Jean Macris‘ “George’s Bakery”! My folks lived In the Silver Creek neighborhood on Merritt Ave NE. EJ Roberts Park. Mr Sayah would show films on Saturday night in the park! What a magical time for the kids of this town. Eventually in 1976 all the I-90 traffic coming directly through town was rerouted to the South Fork interchange, exit 31! A television Antenna was perched atop Rattle Snake Ridge. Weyerhaeuser even sent loggers up to cut a “V” shape below the antenna to remove any obstacles blocking the signal. My friends and I loved JP Patches, and my folks always tuned into Don McCuen’s Exploration Northwest. These will always be the “Good old days, because now, North Bend has lost its quirky old small town feeling, the feeling that David Lynch focused on with his product, Twin Peaks . Purchasing old historic North Bend homes, and the large tracks of land, bulldozing, and throwing up apartments and “Cottages “, have the DEVELOPERS lined their pockets? The New North Bend feels overcrowded, like rats in a small cage. The much loved small town is gone. Most here, don’t know their neighbors. It’s sad that North Bends quirky charm has been sold. Sincerely, Michael Healea and Brenda Williams-Healea

    2. To d North Bend Mayor, City Council and Planning Commission,
      My name is Michael Healea, the Son of Obe “Max” Healea, former Mayor of North Bend. My father was always a fan and champion of “Progress”. He was quite pleased when the Factory outlet stores were built near the South Fork of the Snoqualmie. North Bend was struggling to find its image since Dixie Lee Ray and the illusive Spotted Owl killed Weyerhaeusers logging operations in the Snoqualmie valley. My father was heavily involved in constructing the train depot building, which was an identical structure to the old depot in Lester, WA. For a couple of years North Bend had “Western Days” celebrations in Town, finally changing it to “Alpine Days“, complete with a parade and Fireworks, which were generously donated to the town by George Wyrsch, Sr. We were known as a “bedroom community”. We had great restaurants like the Mar-T Cafe(Twin Peaks RR restaurant)with damn good Cherry Pie) the Little Chalet, Gateway Cafe, Homestead, Tift Haus, XXX , Hang Chow, and the Busy B Cafe and the lone survivor, Scott’s Dairy freeze, and the best bakery in the state, George/Jean Macris‘ “George’s Bakery”! My folks lived In the Silver Creek neighborhood on Merritt Ave NE. EJ Roberts Park. Mr Sayah would show films on Saturday night in the park! What a magical time for the kids of this town. Eventually in 1976 all the I-90 traffic coming directly through town was rerouted to the South Fork interchange, exit 31! A television Antenna was perched atop Rattle Snake Ridge. Weyerhaeuser even sent loggers up to cut a “V” shape below the antenna to remove any obstacles blocking the signal. My friends and I loved JP Patches, and my folks always tuned into Don McCuen’s Exploration Northwest. These will always be the “Good old days, because now, North Bend has lost its quirky old small town feeling, the feeling that David Lynch focused on with his product, Twin Peaks . Purchasing old historic North Bend homes, and the large tracks of land, bulldozing, and throwing up apartments and “Cottages “, have the DEVELOPERS lined their pockets? The New North Bend feels overcrowded, like rats in a small cage. The much loved small town is gone. Most here, don’t know their neighbors. It’s sad that North Bends quirky charm has been sold. Sincerely, Michael Healea and Brenda Williams-Healea

  • No real shock there. This whole valley is going to be full of overpriced cheaply built cookie cutter homes soon enough that the masses of idiots will drop 700+ for. The city is excited as that’s a lot of tax revenue and we can give ourselves a raise citing the increased cost of living in the area as a reason. Place is going to pot quicker and quicker every year.

  • History be preserved ? The city doesn’t care about that they want the money. They want to move more new people in and the locals that have been there forever out. These are unethical money driven low level peons that want to get a piece of the pie. North bend and fall city are going to blow up faster than Snoqualmie. They didn’t say if the land owner got a fair amount for his land. Most likely he or she didn’t get half of what they should have. Watch all these houses with decent lots are gunna start disappearing at a fast rate so they can build new apartment complexes and town homes so more people can be brought in. The place we love and grew up won’t be quiet and nice how it was growing up…. Just look at the poor Snoqualmie river these useless out of town floaters just litter everywhere without a care and no one is doing a thing about it, it’s disgusting… The whole valley will be the same within five years.

  • Shame for the wildlife and the environment to be destroyed by money not by care and compassion..
    We all want what nature left us. Builders do not realize how much they hurt our reason for being here same as nature. They have no choice..

  • Really sad to see this whole area being swallowed up by greed. Everybody’s out to make a buck and apparently there doesn’t seem to be any stopping it.

    Wish Amazon and Microsoft never existed. They’ve destroyed the heart and soul and lives of the Washington I knew and loved.

    Disgusting this property was sold to developers and that beautiful and probably much loved home just destroyed. No heart. No soul. Just pure greed.

    Fricking rat race here anymore.

  • Don’t Blame the Developers or the Builders. Its not their fault. It’s the City’s fault. Without the City limits expansion and zoning changes, this type of developing could never happen. Its the City’s control in how they zone each area and in doing so, it effects the value of each affected Land Owner. So when the owners sold this property with the new zoning in affect, it increased their value by a big amount. The new buyers being inspired by the City’s Zoning are capitalizing yes for the almighty Dollar but the City is what started that snowball, Not the Developer or the Builders that come in later. The City, over and above the new yearly tax dollars will receive far in excess of $50,000 in fees for EACH NEW HOUSE for permit and mitigation fees. They are the BIG MONEY WINNERS . With out city limit expansion and zoning changes, none of this would ever happen as unincorporated King County this type of developing densities. Check out the proposed development to the south of former Cascade Golf Course and you will see the difference and County permit and mitigation fees are less than half of what North Bend charges. It is the City that is scrambling to fill its coffers to cover mistakes of the past. (Just my Opinion) Thanks for letting me vent.

  • Discover more from Living Snoqualmie

    Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

    Continue reading