EVERETT, Wash. — Ryan Weber moved to Everett's Delta neighborhood to start his family of four seven years ago for one reason.
"This was the place I could afford to live and purchase a home," said Weber, a finance worker at a local bank. "It is a historically lower income, working-class neighborhood."
Weber is seeing his neighborhood change for the better.
The city has been tearing down old public housing projects, replacing them with nicer affordable housing.
Now comes a project with the Everett Housing Authority to bring four apartment towers of up to 15 stories each to the neighborhood.
The development would span 16 acres with 1,500 units of affordable housing, along with retail, child care and open spaces.
At 15 stories, the towers would be the tallest buildings in the city - taller than anything downtown - even taller than Providence Hospital presides over the city's north end.
"I've heard a mix of excitement and fear used to describe it," Weber said.
Neighbors said redevelopment is good, but they worry about the impact of all those people on their streets and schools.
Weber said it isn't safe to walk in parts of Delta because of a lack of sidewalks.
Streets are already busy with commuters, and city statistics show the development would bring an additional 7,550 vehicle trips per day.
"I do worry about growth without having the kind of infrastructure and services in place to support that growth," Weber said.
On a deeper level, neighbors believe the city should use this opportunity to address what they see as decades of neglect.
Weber would like to see a commitment from the city to build sidewalks.
Weber said land is available to build a library rent-free, but the city has not yet committed.
And there are concerns the city could develop nearby Wiggums Hollow Park.
Weber pointed out there is a juvenile detention center in the neighborhood but no teen center.
All opportunities, he believes, to make his neighborhood a community.
"We need something to steer young people toward positive pathways to the future," Weber said. "This is a time to address the shortcomings that we have here."
The city said it needs to add 38,000 housing units over the next 20 years and density is the way to do it.
City officials see the Delta development as a "prototype" for housing in the future.
"This is the further evolution of the city," said Jason Morrow, Everett Housing Authority chief real estate officer.
Morrow said the development is still very early in the process and community concerns will be taken into consideration.
"We see all of this as a moving conversation for solutions in these spaces," Morrow said.
Morrow believes creating a neighborhood "core," like the one proposed, will act as a catalyst, helping bring people together, and creating the community so many in Delta crave.
"The Housing Authority has been in Delta for eight years," Morrow said. "We have been not only a neighbor but a longstanding contributor to civic life in creating these socially engaged civic spaces that focus on community, that focus on neighbors, that focus on diversity."
The proposal would be built in four to six phases over the next 10 years.
Phase one is expected to break ground next spring and should be complete by 2027.