Kenmore hasn't been a city for all that long. It incorporated in 1998, differentiating itself from neighbors Kirkland and Bothell and setting its own course on the north end of Lake Washington. In the time since, it's carved out a clear identity: direct access to the regional Burke-Gilman Trail corridor, the sweeping views at Log Boom Park, and the unmistakable sound of float planes taking off from Kenmore Air. That combination has always been the city's differentiator.

Now Kenmore may be on the edge of its next chapter, a bigger role in the broader Lake Washington waterfront story. That's the Lakepointe site. I want to walk through what it actually is, and just as important, what its current status is, because there's a real difference between "this IS happening" and "this COULD happen," and I think you deserve the REAL REAL version.

Kenmore's Story So Far

Kenmore has long been the more affordable neighbor to Kirkland and Bothell, and I've written about that dynamic in my comprehensive Kenmore Real Estate Guide. Good access, good trail connections, real proximity to the lake, at a price point that's historically undercut its neighbors. Lakepointe is the piece of the puzzle that, if it ever comes together, has the potential to shift that positioning. Whether and when that happens is the question.

What Kenmore's Lakepointe Development Actually Is

Lakepointe sits at the northern mouth of the Sammamish River, right where it flows into Lake Washington. Depending on which parcels are included, it's described across city and county sources as anywhere from roughly 40 to 52 acres. It's been an industrial site for decades, most recently used in part for concrete and materials storage, and it sits on the Washington State Department of Ecology list of sites with documented contamination concerns tied to its former use as a landfill. So far, no red flags, right?

The vision, and it genuinely is still a vision at this stage, includes a mix of shoreline parkland, walking trails, and the kind of mixed-use development, residential, retail, and gathering space, that could complement seasonal events like the local Bothell-Kenmore Farmers Markets and give the community a true waterfront destination to match its lake access. It's an exciting picture. It's also one Kenmore has been trying to make real since 1989, nine years before the city even existed.

The Real Real Current Status

Here's what I would say about this to anyone getting excited based on a headline. Lakepointe has been closer to happening before, and it still hasn't happened yet. A deal with Weidner Apartment Homes collapsed in 2018. A subsequent effort involving Vector Development and Onward Investors was reported in 2022 and does not appear to have resulted in a signed agreement either. This is a site with a real history of momentum that has washed up (so to speak).

Figures per the City of Kenmore official Lakepointe project page. The public park funding above is real and committed. The larger private mixed-use development remains under negotiation with no signed agreement as of this writing. Confirm current status directly at kenmorewa.gov before making any decisions based on this project.

What is genuinely different this time, and worth paying attention to, is the public side of the equation. King County voters approved a new parks levy in August 2025 through the King County Parks Division that specifically allocates funding toward a Lakepointe Regional Park, on top of an already-approved $7.5 million Conservation Futures grant for shoreline acquisition and a $500,000 grant from the EPA Brownfields Program for environmental testing. That's real, committed public money moving toward the park and shoreline restoration piece of the vision, even while the larger private development remains a negotiation, not an agreement.

What This Could Mean for Property Values

This is my humble opinion, and I want to be clear that's what it is, an opinion based on watching comparable waterfront redevelopment patterns elsewhere in the Puget Sound region, not a cited statistic about Lakepointe itself, because there isn't one yet. Waterfront park investment and adjacent mixed-use development, when it actually gets built, tends to lift demand for homes within walking distance of it over a multi-year horizon. That's the pattern I'd expect here too, if and when the private development piece follows the public park piece.

What that means practically: if you're buying in Kenmore right now with a long hold horizon, Lakepointe is a genuine, if uncertain, upside scenario worth knowing about. If you're expecting it to move your specific home's value in the next year or two, I'd encourage you to recalibrate that expectation against the site's storied history.