The Downtown Everett Association has hired an urban design firm to create a long-term plan for downtown Everett. The effort comes as light rail, a $120 million events center and waterfront redevelopment converge on the city's core.

The nonprofit, known as the DEA, tapped Perkins Eastman, an architecture and planning firm with a Seattle office, to lead what it calls a Downtown Vision and Action Plan. Susan McLaughlin, Principal-in-Charge of Perkins Eastman's Seattle office, will head the consultant team, the Everett Post first reported. The Everett Post has disclosed that it is a financial supporter of the DEA.

"Our downtown is at a pivotal moment," Scott Hulme, the DEA's business development manager, told the Everett Post.

Hulme pointed to three converging projects driving the effort: Sound Transit's planned light rail extension into the city, the proposed $120 million Everett Outdoor Events Center and new destination options along the waterfront.

What the plan covers

The Vision and Action Plan will focus on urban design, public spaces, economic vitality and community connections, according to the DEA. The finished document would guide the city, local agencies, businesses and community organizations as they shape downtown's future.

The first public visioning workshop is scheduled for Nov. 12. Public input will continue through February, with a final report expected by mid-2027.

Public Life Study already underway

Before the workshop, the DEA and Perkins Eastman are conducting a Public Life Study to measure how people use downtown streets, sidewalks and gathering places. Volunteer observers will count pedestrians and classify activities at two locations on Tuesday, Oct. 13, from noon to 1 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 17, from 3 to 4 p.m.

The study aims to provide what the DEA describes as a data-driven snapshot of what is working downtown and what can be improved.

Big-ticket projects in the pipeline

The Outdoor Events Center, projected at $120 million after an earlier $82 million estimate, would include 5,000 seats and host the Everett AquaSox and professional United Soccer League teams. The city hopes to finish it by the end of 2027, the Everett Herald reported in July. The city's "Everett Forward" proposal projects the center would draw nearly 400,000 visitors annually and generate about $85 million a year in business revenues, according to MyEverettNews.

Sound Transit's preferred downtown light rail stop would sit along McDougall Avenue or Broadway, closer to the city's core, the Herald reported in September. The agency plans to reach downtown Everett by 2041.

The timeline is ambitious. Residents who want to volunteer for the Public Life Study can sign up on the DEA's website. Details on the Nov. 12 workshop, including time and location, had not been posted as of Friday, Oct. 2.