Starbucks signs lease to open a location in Blaine

Mike Hill (holding his phone) shows plans of ‘Skye Hill Station’ to members of the Blaine Economic Development Advisory Committee during a tour of the building on March 6. He confirmed that representatives with Starbucks signed a lease for the space this week. Photo by Stefanie Donahue

It’s official – representatives with Starbucks have signed a lease to open a new location in Blaine.

Developer Mike Hill confirmed the news on March 6 to city staff and community members during a private tour of two  commercial properties he’s building on Peace Portal Drive.

The properties are located next to Hill’s Chevron, 568 Peace Portal Drive, which he’s owned for over two decades.

Hill said the new Starbucks location will encompass approximately 2,650 square feet and will feature a drive-thru as well as indoor and outdoor seating.

The building, which he’s calling ‘Skye Hill Station’ after his wife Skye, will also bear a number of distinguishing features, including a 48-foot-tall  lighthouse, an indoor spiral staircase and an outdoor fireplace, he said.

Next door, Hill is building an approximately 1,500-square-foot visitor information center, which the Blaine Chamber of Commerce intends to relocate to from its location at 728 Peace Portal Drive.

“It will look nice and it will be nice,” Hill said as he was leading the tour this week. “It’s going to be a lot different.”

Moving forward, Hill said he hopes to complete construction of the ‘Skye Hill Station’ and see Starbucks open for business before July. He said, “Starbucks is really pushing to open this thing up.”

Construction of the new visitor’s center will likely be complete as early as April, Hill said, but it’s likely to open later.