Trilium's hope for Cherry Point was to celebrate its natural assets - the land, the water and the view - while creating long-term economic opportunities.
Trillium undertook significant planning exercises aimed at attracting Nike, which was considering Cherry Point for a campus.
After almost 20 years with its eye on the property, Trillium acquired 1,200 acres of land with nearly three miles of deep-water coastline at Cherry Point in 1995, as part of a land exchange with Burlington Northern.
In preparing for its development, Trillium obtained the largest single road vacation ever done in Washington State, and arranged a land trade (as well as easements) with the Whatcom Land Trust to allow for the creation of a 55-acre shoreline park.
Trillium looked at several ways to build a community that would offer a breadth of employment and education opportunities, spectacular recreation and a range of housing choices for a mix of incomes in a walkable, bike-friendly environment.
However, county officials opted not to down-zone the property from its heavy impact industrial use. The land was sold to the neighboring refinery in 2007.
