Hope for the Stone Way pit?

[randy_byers]

Fremont Universe reports that the mud pit on Stone Way has finally been purchased by Prescott Homes of Kirkland. According to the Seattle Times article quoted, 'The Kirkland firm received a new land-use permit from the city last year for a five-story building with 150 apartments, a 15,000-square-foot “multi-purpose convenience store,” a 2,000-square-foot restaurant and a 189-stall underground garage, city records indicate.'

I'll believe it when I see it. I'm also curious what a multi-purpose convenience store is. Isn't the 7-Eleven across the street enough?

Comments

[holyoutlaw.livejournal.com]

It's not a 15,000 square foot convenience store. More square feet = more convenience!

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

I don't understand the "multi-purpose" part. Are 7-Eleven single-purpose convenience stores?

[holyoutlaw.livejournal.com]

"Multi-purpose" probably means a hot food deli or something like that. I'm thinking pizza that sits under the warming lights too long.

[wrdnrd]

How many times has The Pit been acquired in the last few years? Just recently i was riding a bus past the pit and thought, "But i thought i'd read earlier this year that it had been acquired and was under development. What happened NOW?"

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

According to the article, "The sale to Prescott, which was going to develop the condo portion of the project for QFC, has been in the works since 2007." I think the Prescott development was approved somewhere along the way, but the sale didn't go through until now for some reason. Probably had to do with the financial crisis.

[kim-huett.livejournal.com]

I thought you lot has a surfeit of housing now the housing boom has gone bust. Who needs all those extra apartments then?

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

It might be a question of location. There are probably still a lot of people who want to live in this neighborhood rather than where the empty units are. The key point might be that they're going to be apartments rather than condos. I suspect condos might be a more difficult sale these days.

Also, the state of Washington is one of the faster growing states in the country, even if we're not quite up there at the top. More people keep coming.

[kim-huett.livejournal.com]

Okay, you're point about location is a good one, especially given my impression is that the new housing was being built in progressively less convenient locations. And if the population continues to grow as you suggest then I don't suppose Seattle has nearly as many empty housing as some other parts of the country.