Bellis Fair Mall has served the Bellingham community for over 35 years, and upcoming additions of Chick-fil-A, Dutch Bros, and Washington Trust Bank are drawing new attention to the area. However, the Bellis Fairways Disc Golf Course may face a potential reduction in size as a result of these businesses’ arrival.
Bellis Fairways is an 18-hole disc golf course operated by the Whatcom Disc Golf Club since May 2023 but is at risk of being overtaken by new developments in the area. Particularly a proposed Chick-fil-A, Dutch Bros and Washington Trust Bank locations on or near the land.
It’s those throwing the frisbees around, however, that aren’t happy about the development proposals.
Whatcom Disc Golf Club member Mikey Vandenhaak and his friends were there when the course opened in 2023 and contributed to building the course. Vandenhaak said he would “be bummed” if a significant portion of the course was taken over in place of a coffee stand and a bank.
“There’s nothing better to do with good weather,” Vandenhaak said. “It’s nice this course is super local and easy to access … and it would suck to just see it go."
For over a year, Bellingham has been in the process of zoning and contracting a new Chick-fil-A location at 4030 Cordata Parkway, north of the mall and west of the fairways.
Dutch Bros and Washington Trust Bank have also expressed interest in building its first Bellingham locations directly on the Fairways’ site.
At this time, Washington Trust Bank has been approved, while Dutch Bros is still in the pre-application phase, said Kurt Nabbefeld, the development services division manager of Planning and Community Development for the City of Bellingham.
The latter two businesses would cut through the course as it is now, while Chick-fil-A would be a traffic booster and possibly deter recreational use. These businesses would force either significant alterations to the course or closure entirely, said Vandenhaak.
“Everyone that has come out and worked on the courses worked really hard,” said Royce Taylor, frisbee golfer and friend of Vandenhaak. “For it to get torn away would just be shameful.”
Disc golf courses in Bellingham are hard to come by — there’s Mossy Roc, a members-only course in Sudden Valley and, which has nine holes — but to Vandenhaak and his friends, those options pale in comparison to an 18-hole course.
David Prince has been the general manager of Bellis Fair Mall for two years. The mall’s new proprietor, 4th Dimension Properties, acquired the property in 2023. They’ve focused on bringing in more businesses and a lot more foot traffic, said Prince.
“[These new businesses] are going to draw people to this area. To us, that’s never a bad thing — we will in the long run benefit from more people around this area,” Prince said.
Though Bellis Fair Mall has allowed the disc golf community to use the land, the agreement is temporary “for a reason,” said Prince.
“The owners of this property are not just going to give away millions of dollars of property. They own them for a reason… Enjoy it while you have it, be thankful,” Prince said.
The City of Bellingham approved permits to build a Chick-fil-A in September 2024. Site plan reviews kept the project on the back-burner. Once permits pass, construction can begin, though it’s still unclear when that will be, said Nabbefeld.
Jerry Irwin, senior general manager of Alderwood Mall in Lynnwood, Wash., noted the mall’s addition of popular national brands like Shake Shack in 2023, a renowned New York-based burger chain, has been a successful venture for the property.
“We have been very fortunate in adding a number of great tenants recently,” Irwin said in an email statement. “All of the new tenants, as well as the re-development of the property, have generated significant traffic to the property.”
Irwin emphasised striking a good balance between national and local businesses helps to maintain a strong relationship with the community.
“One thing we do consider is maintaining some strong local tenants to give Alderwood originality. It is also important we provide the national tenants our customers have come to expect at the property,” Irwin said.
While the recreational space at Bellis Fairways has been a refreshing outlet for the community, it’s still zoned as commercial land, said Prince, and developers would be remiss to pass up a lucrative plot.
“It’s a hard decision for all involved because when the permission was given for them to use it, it was made pretty clear at the time this property is for sale — any use that it's put to is a temporary use,” Prince said.
A new location Chick-fil-A won’t be the brand’s first endeavor in Bellingham. Western Washington University once had Chick-fil-A express from 2008 to 2011, the only place in Washington where you could find the fast food giant.
“Bringing in a new place like Chick-fil-A and Dutch Bros, places that tend to be a very popular place for people to eat. It's going to draw people to this area. To us, that’s never a bad thing” said Prince.
Cameron Riggers (he/him) is a campus life reporter for The Front. He is a news and editorial journalism major. Additionally, he writes about the Western Hockey League for soundofhockey.com and can often be found at a rink around the Pacific Northwest. You can follow his work on Twitter/X @CameronRiggers and can reach him at CameronRiggers.thefront@gmail.com.
