Jan
11
Issaquah Highlands Retail Development - Update 1/11/08
Written by: rebecca and filed Under Blog, Issaquah Highlands, Restaurants, Retail Development |
Tuesday night was another Retail Task Force Update. As usual Judd Kirk and crew did not have much new to report. They still couldn’t give us the names of the possible retailers that are coming to The High Streets. They did however, have beautiful sketches of what the area is going to look like. The plan is to break ground this Spring and is scheduled to have a Fall 2009 Grand Opening with a completely full tenant list.
They also had the person in charge of finding tenants present and while she wasn’t super transparent about Issaquah Highlands, she did point to the types of tenants she has secured for similar projects in the past. The list is quite interesting and varied. It includes the likes of pedestrian retailers such as Old Navy and Starbucks to boutique retailers such as Zoka Coffee Roaster & Tea Company and Blue C Sushi.
Some notable things from the meeting were:
- Drugstore has signed LOI.
- Oregon Company has signed lease on lot for hotel.
- Grocer is still nailing down site plans but has been confirmed. We should see a Press Release in 2-3 weeks.
- Electronics Shop has signed LOI.
- Book Store with a Coffee Shop has signed LOI.
- King County has approved the use of the Park and Ride for future Cinema parking but has not determined what the cost will be to Port Blakely for this privilege.
- 50% of the retail space is accounted for through signed LOI’s. 30% (15% of total) of that should have signed leases in the next 6 months.
- Space is being preserved for a gas station but won’t happen unless the people demand it. Port Blakely and Opus are thinking indoor/underground station like in downtown Seattle.
- Two retailers have signed leases and are now public information…but you are going to have to wait for that one to come in the next post.
I am still very excited about it because I think it is going to be a wonderful gathering place for those of us who live in Issaquah Highlands as well as a draw to those from outside our community.
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12 Responses to “Issaquah Highlands Retail Development - Update 1/11/08”
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What do we have to do to “demand” the gas station? I’d be interested in participating in a grassroots effort to make that happen.
All this sounds great! As far as hotels go I might venture a guess that it could be the Heathman hotel, they have one location in Portland and just opened their second location in downtown Kirkland last year (the restaurant-Trellis-is wonderful!) or possibly Provence hotels (operators of the Hotel Max in Seattle)…i think that the Heathman might be a better match for the highlands, but Provence could be great as well. But who knows I’m probably (most likely) off the mark anyway!
Shaq,
Last year, the members of the community put out a petition to request a gas station. As soon as that petition was started, another group of residents put one out to oppose a gas station. It ended in a draw.
If you would like to start a petition to request a gas station, I would be more than happy to help.
Just let me know.
Regards,
Rebecca
Let’s do it, baby!
A gas station? Either direction you have your pick and Old Navy? Seriously, what happened to a unique environment with small business owners bringing great food and retail opportunity? Next you’ll will want a McDonalds up here and that my friends will be the end of our neighborhood. It sounds to me which I have feared that things were built and now we are desperate to fill the retail spots. Please, please support the difference.
–Stella
Stella - what does a gas station have to do with McDonalds?
There’s nothing unique about a gas station, we have plenty, just like fast food enterprises such as McDonalds.
At some point practicality has to be a relevant consideration. It can’t just be form over function as far as the eye can see.
Actually the gas station they proposed, while not unique in the sense that it is a new concept, will be far from standard if Judd’s vision comes true. It’s will not be a standard gas station with bright colors and big signage like we are so used to seeing. It will be non-descript and might not even be seen by a passerby. He envisions taking and putting it in a parking garage of one of the retail buildings. I actually got to see the rendering of the plans with the gas station incorporated and I didn’t even realize there was one there until Judd mentioned it.
And while I am not necessarily excited about the prospect of getting a gas station up here (the one down the hill works fine for me when I don’t use Costco), seeing how this might unfold and blend in has my interest piqued. My mind is open on this one and my opinions are open to be formed and informed.
That sounds pretty cool. Are the plans for that online? Does that mean there are more location options than just the little area to the NE of the Park and Ride?
No plans online. The gas station space is saved on the block directly south of the P&R. Right by the area where the Microsoft Connector Parking Lot is now.
Shaq-
If you want to get a petition going for the gas station then a great place to start is: http://www.ipetitions.com. If you want to create a petition to bring a gas station to the Highlands, feel free to start one and I would be more than happy to post it on my blog for you. In addition posting it on the community forum would be another great place to get the ball rolling. Please let me know if you need more help in getting this going -but I think this would be a great place to start.