What's New in Lake Stevens: Soper Hill Businesses, the Boat Launch Redesign, and a Rule Change for 2027

Lake Stevens keeps growing in two directions at once: new retail filling in the Soper Hill corridor, and the city reworking the rules that govern the shoreline. Here is the useful stuff from this fall, verified from the businesses and the city's own pages.

Soper Hill Center keeps filling in

Chick-fil-A opened October 30, 2025 at the Soper Hill Center on the Lake Stevens-Marysville border, and it is locally owned and operated. Panda Express followed in late 2025, joining earlier arrivals like Coconut Kenny's, Chipotle, and Starbucks. If you have not been to that corner in a year, it is a different intersection now.

Rustic Cork adds a second location

Rustic Cork, Lake Stevens' first wine bar, expanded in 2025 with a second location at the Port of Everett while keeping its Frontier Circle spot in town. It is a small sign of how the town's dining scene is maturing beyond the drive-ins and taverns.

A senior living community is on the way

Village Concepts of Lake Stevens, a roughly 125,000-square-foot senior living community with 120 independent and assisted living units plus 20 memory care units, broke ground in September 2024. For families looking at downsizing options in the area, that is capacity that did not exist here before.

The North Cove boat launch gets a redesign

The city posted 60 percent design plans for the North Cove boat launch in September and is pursuing a Boating Facilities Program grant to help fund dock placement. Preliminary field work started in February and continues on and off through spring; the launch and parking stay open. If you keep a boat on the lake, this is the project to watch.

A rule change to know about before January 1

The city's updated Critical Areas Ordinance takes effect January 1, 2027. If your property sits on the shoreline, a steep slope, or near a wetland, the update can change what you can build and what needs a permit. That is exactly the kind of thing to understand before you buy a lake-view or waterfront lot, and I am happy to walk you through how it applies to a specific property.

The takeaway

The through-line is simple: Lake Stevens is investing in its commercial core and its shoreline at the same time. New businesses and better lake access make the town more livable, and the rule changes make it more predictable. If you are thinking about a move here, that is the version of the city worth knowing.