Kenmore Village project put on hold

Responding to a request from the developer, Kenmore City Council essentially has put on hold the proposed Kenmore Village project until at least June.

In November, Dan Rosenfeld of developers Urban Partners asked officials to extend the deadline for construction of the first phase of the work to possibly as late as the end of 2010. According to Mayor David Baker, moving certain aspects of the agreement with Urban Partners until June gives city officials time to further study the project.

Councilman John Hendrickson added city officials now have altered deadlines on the project five times.

“And they (Urban Partners) will probably ask again in June,” Hendrickson said. “With this economy, what else is going to happen?”

“I wish I had a crystal ball and could see what the economy is going to do,” Baker said.

He estimated any construction on Kenmore Village is at least a year away.

In 2007, the city chose Urban Partners as the developer of what is officially known as Kenmore Village by the Lake, a mixed-use development planned to cover 10 acres stretching from the corner of Northeast 181st Street and 68th Avenue Northeast to the nearby Park-and-Ride near Northeast 185th Street.

Urban Partners originally had planned to start construction in early 2008, with the first homes and retail spaces available this year.

“The problem is they can’t find an anchor tenant,” Hendrickson said.

In the past, Kenmore Community Development Director Debbie Bent has labeled finding the right commercial anchor crucial to the project.

Urban Partners did not return a phone call requesting comment for this article. In the past, Rosenfeld said the company has spoken with various national, regional and local retailers about Kenmore Village, but were unable to finalize any deals.

“We want to get it right rather than rush into transactions that don’t get the highest quality for downtown Kenmore,” Rosenfeld said.

Hendrickson said the city’s most recent move delayed the deadline for Urban Partners to apply for a commercial site development permit. Councilwoman Laurie Sperry said the development agreement between the company and the city had called for Urban Partners to float a proposal by the end of this month.

“Clearly, without an anchor tenant, they’re not going to be able to do that,” Sperry added.

Sperry and others insisted the project is going to move forward.

“It’s still in progress,” she said. “The timeline is just going to be slower.”

For his part, Baker said he has concerns about the businesses now operating in the area targeted for the new Kenmore Village.

Current retail operations include Grocery Outlet and Ostroms Drug and Gift. A new Ostroms location — scheduled to open in April — is easy to spot rising up on Northeast Bothell Way in the old Denny’s lot. Baker said his understanding is that even after the new store is completed, the existing Ostroms will remain open at least for a time.