For years and years, Montlake and surrounding Communities have tried to save the Montlake Blvd. Market and Gas Station. We, the Montlake Community Club, have tried every avenue available: The Courts, the State Legislature, the Governor, the Mayor, the City Council and our Federal representatives. The Neighborhood rallied around the cause to fund the attempts with a Go-Fund-Me page to chase the various prospects for change. But in the end, it is likely that our efforts were unsuccessful.
Last week, Kemper Freemans’ family agreed to sell the Market and the Gas Station to WSDOT for $16,000,000. This agreement puts complete control of the two properties with WSDOT and requires that the owners drop the outstanding Federal lawsuit, in which the Montlake Community Club is a co-plaintiff. Without the property owners financial support, it will be difficult for the MCC to keep fighting this lawsuit, but we are committed to see it through. We are also certain that WSDOT will do whatever it takes to get their way, despite how many laws they have to break to do it.
The most likely outcome is that both the Market and Gas Station will be torn down. The property will be used for storage and staging for about 5 years. The current Legislative proviso requires WSDOT to put the property up for sale after the completion of the Montlake phase of the SR 520 project. However, we have little faith that WSDOT will abide by the proviso. (They failed to abide by the last proviso.) We have even less faith that the current Legislature will hold WSDOT accountable.
The SR 520 meeting on Thursday, May 23rd, at St. Demetrios will be a waste of time. Based on what has transpired, there is nothing we can change. Our voice has been and will always be ignored. They have these meetings to check boxes. The purchase of the property is the last nail in the coffin.
Without a monumental shift in Jamie Pedersen, Nicole Macri, and Frank Chopp’s position, it is too late to save the Market. And it would take incredible courage on their part to take a stand to save the Market. You are encouraged to send them all an email (Jamie.pedersen@leg.wa.gov, Nicole.Macri@leg.wa.gov, and frank.chopp@leg.wa.gov) expressing your frustration at their collective failure to represent us. We can challenge every argument WSDOT makes with logic and data and yet their actions demonstrate that they have sided with WSDOT.
Thank you to all who have for years tried to save a valuable, cultural asset of the Community. Please consider what has transpired the next time you go to vote.
Larry Fogdall says
Many times I have read very detailed accounts about Montlake Market, etc., and its future — AND, the future for other items on that piece of real-estate. For reason(s) I do not know or understand, accounts about this subject have NOT included “radio towers” (or any similar wording) that are germane to this property, near its center. I don’t know enough to be sure about this, but commercial and other entities often have “rights” as well as responsibilities that are related to “RF” (radio-frequency) installations in the USA. Has anyone looked into whether “the powers that be” have erred, by seeming to ignore this factor?
John O'Neil says
In many ways, you are right. It may be time for others to pick up the pieces and start over.
John O'Neil says
Hans, you have been a active player in trying to save the Market. While none of us have been successful, your work was important. Thank you for your help and support.
I think there are a lot of us where the frustration with the process cannot be overstated. Kemper is just as frustrated as we are, and their issues were different than ours’s. We just had the same goal.
The key issue is the failure of our Legislature to hold WSDOT accountable. The Legislature allowed WSDOT to blow through the last SR 520 Budget Proviso. WSDOT purposely and maliciously made the demo of the Market part of the base bid. At that point, there was no chance to save the Market. If WSDOT had followed the Proviso, saving the Market would have been the base bid. They selected three of the top Civil Contractors in the Country and they would have made saving the Market cost effective. And with this experience, we have little faith that our State Legislature will enforce the current Proviso. How do they enforce it in the first place? WSDOT reports to the Governor, not the Legislature.
I always hate to say it this way but as a taxpayer and an individual who uses the bridge on a regular basis, there is no way to justify $16,000,000 to use the space for storage and staging for four to five years. Think about it. $16,000,000 for the property. Kemper offered to lease the property to WSDOT as a far cheaper solution to the purchase price. WSDOT would not even entertain the idea. All the construction issues WSDOT used to justify the purchase have gone away. Graham solved the problem with the CSO line and the water line. The sidewalk design on the north side of the property does not meet code. There are a whole host of other details that form the framework to dispel the purchase of the property, but my response would be too long.
Foods trucks are not a replacement for the services provided by the Market. It is not a practical solution. Where do they safely park? Roanoke and 24th are too busy. Lake Washington Blvd. can’t handle the traffic. You do not want to park them along W Montlake Pl. East with the day care across the street. 19th, Lynn, Boyer, etc. are too narrow.
There is little chance for us to shape the design of the site once it goes up for sale. WSDOT will look for the best possible price. They have not listened to us in the past and there is not chance they will allow us to control what might be built. We can’t even make them change the design of the current project for the project. The City Council and the Mayor will not provide the support we need to make a difference with this issue. They have not helped us so far. WSDOT will suggest that any design ideas we have will reduce the value of the property. Anyone who purchases the property will want to maximize the use of the site. A gas station and a Market is not the highest and best use of the property. We were lucky to have them.
My response reflects how I and many others feel right now. My intent was not to dispel your thoughts. Mine are just different ideas.
And one other thing. They don’t have a solution to fix the expansion joint problem just yet.
HANS KEHL says
I understand your frustrations John, and I share some of them. I also respect you a great deal. You’ve been a great community neighbor, a source of incredible knowledge on all things 520 related.
But I also believe that there were a range of possible outcomes – some of which included the market site being used as a construction staging site throughout the entirety of construction in the area (Portage Bay Phase and the 2nd bascule bridge). While the outcome we have now wasn’t our ideal scenario, it also wasn’t the worst case of 15 years with a construction site staring at us.
Where we ended up is better than where we started (I’m talking about where we started post notification of the market being condemned). That’s due to the passion and dedication of people like you, but also due to effective advocacy from our elected representatives.
Now we have a choice. We can decide that we’ve been wronged, disengage from the process, because “our voice has been and always will be ignored.”
Or we can continue to work with our elected representatives and with WSDOT to try to maximize the best possible outcomes for the community. I don’t think anyone is out to get us. I just believe that we sometimes have different objectives and different time frames in which we look at things.There will be give and take, and while it seems like we might end up giving up more than we like, I’d rather continue to have a seat at the table, and as many allies as we can get.
The next mission, should we choose to accept it, is to bring community consensus and advocate for post construction staging use of the market site. We’ll need legislative help, as well as an understanding of how our community could have a voice in influencing that decision.
Wishing you and everyone in the neighborhood a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend.
HANS KEHL says
I’ve been a strong advocate of saving the market. I’ve put a fair amount of time and money into trying to find a feasible path where it could remain. Despite my disappointment, in my opinion, Senator Pedersen and Representative Macri were strong and consistent allies of the neighborhood and they represented and advocated for us well. Copied below is the legislative proviso (lines 24-27 being the most relevant for long term livability I believe.). Ensuring that the market site was not a semi-permanent construction blight on our neighborhood was one of the more positive of several possible outcomes, and would not have happened but for them. I think they both deserve our thanks.
I think as a community we should try to come up with our view as to what the site should become post-Montlake phase construction. If we are willing to advocate for something that enhances the community, and continue to work collaboratively with our elected representatives in city and state, I believe we still have a relevant constructive role to play.
Here is a link to the Bill. The relevant portion is on page 46.
http://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2019-20/Pdf/Bills/House%20Bills/1160-S.E.pdf
And here is a copied version of that portion:
b) The department is directed to work with the operator of the
14 Montlake boulevard market located on parcel number 1-23190 to provide
15 opportunities to continue operations and negotiate a lease up to
16 January 1, 2020. Further, the department shall identify space in the
17 vicinity of the Montlake property for mobile food services and work
18 with the city of Seattle and existing permit processes to allow
19 mobile food vendors ease of access in the vicinity of the Montlake
20 property. The department shall advertise the opportunity to the
21 current operator of the market and, if needed, to other potential
22 vendors. The department shall develop a communication outreach plan
23 with the city to solicit community input as to the food services
24 provided. Upon completion of the Montlake Phase of the West End
25 project (current anticipated contract completion of 2023), the
26 Washington state department of transportation shall surplus that
27 portion of the property no longer needed for transportation purposes.