Family Literacy Day in the Issaquah Highlands

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Just another great reason to live in Issaquah Highlands; the community events. This Saturday, March 10th from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Blakely Hall will host Family Literacy Day. It might not be the National Holiday that gets celebrated once a year, but you can never promote reading to kids enough. There will be crafts, stories and much more. A great way to enjoy time together as a family and promote reading to the youngest members of the family!

Mar

8

A Little Dabba Do Ya!

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No matter where you live the changing seasons can take their toll on your home. A little TLC can go a long way to keeping your home in good condition. That is why spring and fall are great times to check up on your home’s health. The changing of the clocks also serves as a helpful reminder! As we are getting ready to reset our clocks once again take a weekend day (or set aside one hour each evening for a week) to check up on the following areas of your home.

Outdoor

Remove leaves and other debris away from the side of house or other outdoor structures.
Trim trees and shrubs that touch house to minimize damage to the exterior of the home.
Check for water leaks or blockages in gutters or downspouts.
Visually inspect roof for damaged shingles, tiles or shakes. DON’T GO UP THERE ON YOUR OWN UNLESS YOU ARE A TRAINED PROFESSIONAL. If any appear damaged, HIRE A PROFESSIONAL to evaluate if repairs are needed.
Check all caulk around exterior surfaces. Repair as needed.
Check for any cracks in the concrete foundation and brick or stucco siding.
Clean exterior of house. Clean mildewed areas of house and treat for mildew and fungus on decks as needed.
Uncover (if you insulated for winter), open and test outdoor hose bibs.
Inspect and replace weather stripping as needed
Examine septic system drain field for flooding, odor and have tank pumped yearly

Indoor

Check the water heater for any signs of rust or corrosion and drain 1-2 gallons of water from the water heater and the expansion tank (this helps decrease the amount of built up sediment in the tank).
Clean and service your furnace by replacing the filters if you did not already do this in the fall. If you hire this out, it is usually a little less expensive in the spring as they are not getting as many service calls this time of year.
Check your crawl space for evidence of any unwanted guests, water intrusion, or misplaced vapor barrier and address as needed.
Change the water filter in your refrigerator.
If you don’t already do this, clean your kitchen exhaust fan filters.
Clean and seal tile grout.
Inspect and clean faucet aerators and shower heads.
Clean frost-free refrigerator drain pan. Heck, while your at it, go ahead and clean the whole fridge. If your like me, it’s probably been a while.
Inspect the dishwasher for leaks or cracks in the seal.
Grind ice cubes in disposer to sharpen the disposal blades.
Clean drains with baking soda or hot water, not with chemical drain openers.
Pour water down unused drains.

Safety

Test all of your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors to ensure that they are in working order. Change the batteries with brand new ones even if they are still working as you never know when they will reach the end of their life.
Test your GFCI outlets to make sure they are functioning properly.
Inspect all combustible appliances including, but not limited to fireplace, furnace, gas oven/stove.
Replace battery in your automatic garage door opener if you have one.

Emergency

Review and practice your emergency plan. If you don’t have one, now is a perfect time to make one. Write down this important information about your home and keep it accessible in case of an emergency. If you can’t find or operate any of these items, ask someone knowledgeable to help. All adults in the home should know where these items are and how to shut them off:

Natural Gas shutoff
Propane Gas shutoff
Electrical shutoff (service panel, a.k.a fuse/breaker box):
Water shutoff
Fire extinguishers

Testing all valves and switches (turning them “off” and then “on”) to ensure that they don’t get stuck open is a good idea. Some valves are difficult to turn, so you may want to keep a wrench nearby.

In addition, with all the appreciation our area has had recently, it is a good idea to make sure your insurance coverage is adequate and up to date.

Doing these few things, while not the most fun, will help protect one of your largest investments, and more importantly will help protect your health and well being.

Mar

5

Issaquah Highlands Retail Development

Filed Under Blog, Issaquah Highlands, Real Estate, Retail Development | 44 Comments

Port Blakely and OPUS held another “Retail Task Force” meeting tonight at Blakely Hall. After attending tonight’s meeting I learned a few things about commercial and retail real estate development � primarily that it is a long, slow and expensive process.

The new Issaquah Highlands Lifestyle Center will be located on the East side of Highlands Drive between what is now referred to as D Drive and E Street. You can use the small map above to help orient yourself as to where the development will occur. It also links to a much larger map for those who need a little larger image like me.

The concept for the Issaquah Highlands Lifestyle Center is a retail space that is described as having a mixed feel and concept of University Village, Ballard Ave and Madison Park. Port Blakely is trying to draw in several types of retailers. Their target is nationally known retailers such as Crate&Barrel, Pottery Barn, Barnes & Noble as well as local or boutique retailers like Market Time Meats and Deli, Ballard Blossom and Baby & Co. The three person leasing team does not currently have any leases signed, but said that several leases are �out�, meaning that the tenant and landlord are working thru acceptable terms and moving toward a signed contract. Based on what Port Blakely knows today and has in the pipeline, the current and best case scenario at this point for the Center to open was said to be Spring/Summer of �09. While the project is still a ways out Port Blakely is moving forward with the development of infrastructure and utilities this summer. If all goes according to plan, the construction of the actual buildings will begin in early 2008.

I was interested to learn that current plans for other development in the retail area of Issaquah Highlands includes, in addition to a grocery store (more on this in a minute), a movie theatre, medical offices, some commercial offices and a full-service health club. It was specifically stated by Judd Kirk with Port Blakely that he thought it highly unlikely that a hospital facility would go in that specific location. What’s the reasoning behind that? Port Blakely would not want to wait that long to develop the space and they are already speaking with two large companies that are considering developing office space in that location.

Another topic of discussion tonight was the never ending issue of building a grocery store. I was disappointed in the non-committal answers given by Port Blakely, but with all fairness, it does appear to be a complicated process for all involved. It comes down to this question: do we as a community want to continue to hold out for a “specialty” grocer such as Whole Foods, Central Market or Thriftway or do we want to move forward with a more “pedestrian” type of vendor such as a QFC, Safeway, Albertsons, etc? Judd Kirk has expressed that we could have a QFC, a Safeway or an Albertsons tomorrow if the community wanted that - but the feedback to date has been to hold out for a specialty grocer. Unless the community changes its mind, one thing is for sure, don�t hold your breath for a grocery store any time soon.

In my opinion most of the specialty/high end grocery stores that are being considered don�t really match up with the whole concept of Issaquah Highlands. We are supposed to be a diverse community with many properties having strict restrictions on them regarding income qualification. In fact a brand new ARCH project is going in just North of the existing retail space. I think this is a perfect location for income qualified housing as it puts it in a more realistic pedestrian commute to the fantastic Issaquah Highlands Park n Ride. But shouldn�t there be a reasonably priced grocery with in that same walking distance? I understand that a store like Whole Foods or Central Market offer products that you generally don�t find at Safeway or QFC, but with that said, I have seen some really nice Safeway’s and QFC’s that have a very nice selection and variety of products. That coupled with the benefit of a larger chain is that it also provides more products at different price points, thus meeting a wider range of budgets and tastes therefore truly being a store for the whole community. Just food for thought - no pun intended.

Overall I think the concept of the retail project is exciting and really neat. I certainly hope that it does not lose its momentum. My biggest worry/disappointment was with what I felt were non-committal answers in regards to timing of the various projects. The majority of the audience seemed to concur as they are eager to see progress as well.

Mar

5

Welcome to Red Brick Blog

Filed Under Blog, Blogging, Real Estate | 3 Comments

I am excited to finally share my knowledge, information and opinions regarding real estate in the Seattle area. Because of my own natural biases, there will also be a special focus on the place i call home - Issaquah Highlands. I look forward to making your local real estate information easy to find, relevant and fun. Happy reading!

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