Northgate Neighbors Defy Developer, Envision Civic Center On Shopping Center's South Parking Lot

By Jeff Boone

Neighbors envision a civic campus for the south parking lot of Northgate Mall, a vision that includes daylighting Thornton Creek.

But Northgate neighbors think new city investment in the area could give Northgate the town square it needs; they're counting on a brand-new library and community center to form the core of a civic campus in Northgate's retail ghetto. And they have a site in mind.

The 13-acre south parking lot of Northgate mall, located at 5th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 103rd Street.

"If our neighborhood has to become an urban village," says Jane Lotter, a Maple Leaf resident and member of Citizens for a Liveable Northgate, "let's make a true town square for Northgate. Let's not just take the leftovers."

The south parking lot is the last undeveloped parcel of land in the Northgate area and has the space to accommodate both the library and community center. The new branch library requires 30,000 to 40,000 square feet, and the community center needs 1-1/2 to 5 acres. And the city has promised Northgate a park, compensation for Northgate's designation as an urban center, which means growth on all fronts: people, cars, buildings.

Lotter believes the city could get the parking lot for $15 to $18 million, based on a city valuation of the property and the mall owner's assessment of the value of dirt in the Northgate area. Lotter says the 13-acre site could accommodate housing, a park, a daylighted Thornton Creek, the library and the community center.

"My gut feeling," remarks Lotter, "is that the south parking lot is where the library should go. It's the right place. It just requires a little vision.

"I would love to see the library do the right thing--not plunk it down anywhere," says Lotter. "The library makes a statement. It can be the focus of the community, reflecting our values as a community.

"People," adds Lotter, "have to fight for a vision of an urban village that is not cookie cutter."

But the community's vision may be at odds with the mall owner's plans for the site. The Simon Property Group has secured city approval of an ambitious redevelopment plan for Northgate mall, a plan that includes the south parking lot. The Indiana mall developer would like to put a 6,000 seat multi-plex cinema and hotel on the parking lot. But Simon's implementation of the General Development Plan for Northgate is on hold; the Thornton Creek Legal Defense Fund has challenged city approval of the plan, and presently the appeal is in King County Superior Court. The Defense Fund seeks to daylight the portion of the south fork that flows through a culvert beneath the parking lot.

And Simon has only expressed willingness to listen to an offer for the Bon Tire site, a fact not lost on Seattle City Councilmember Richard Conlin, who has attempted to mediate the ongoing battle between the Simon Property Group and Northgate residents. (Simon chose not to comment for this article.)

"Up until two months ago," says Conlin, "I heard loud and clear that the Bon Tire site was their choice [the Northgate community], and I really put myself out to get the developer to make that site available. This is kind of new stuff."

Blame fellow Councilmember Peter Steinbrueck for the new stuff. At a recent Sierra Club forum, according to Jan Brucker, a Licton Springs resident and member of Citizens for a Liveable Northgate, Steinbruck breathed the magic word--eminent domain.

"We all got excited," says Brucker. Until then, says Brucker, Northgate residents thought the Bon Tire site was all they could get.

"It's the bone," remarks Lotter, "they'll [the Simon Property Group] throw us. You could do it, but it just isn't good enough. We can do better."

But it appears Northgate residents will get no help from Councilmember Conlin.

"When I talk to the library board, I will tell them that the Bon Tire site is the community choice. I will remind them that there are some interesting legal issues: the Northgate General Development Plan has been approved by the city, and it is in the courts. I will remind them of the difference between a willing seller versus an unwilling seller.

"I see no indication that it [acquisition of the south parking lot] would be a friendly transaction. It would have to be a condemnation, given that the developer has plans for the site."

On that point, Conlin and Northgate neighbors agree.

"They're not going to give it to us," says Lotter. "We have to fight for it."

"My gut feeling is that the south parking lot is where the library should go. It's the right place. It just requires a little vision...[but] they're not going to give it to us. We have to fight for it." Jane Lotter, Citizens for a Liveable Northgate

SET AS SIDEBAR

NORTHGATE CIVIC CENTER AT A GLANCE

Thanks to voters, Northgate gets a new 10,000 square foot library plus a 20,000 square foot community center. The $5.1 million library branch will open in 2004; the $8.2 million community center is scheduled to open in 2005. Potential library sites now number six:

The parking lot at Fifth Avenue Northeast and Northeast 103rd Street;

Fifth Avenue Northeast and Northeast 106th Street;

The Bon Tire Center at Fifth Avenue Northeast and Northeast 105th Street;

The bank ATM at Fifth Avenue Northeast and Northgate Way;

The Northgate mall south parking lot at Fifth Avenue Northeast and Northeast 103rd and the North Seattle Community College campus.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

The Library is meeting with representatives from the city Parks and Recreation Department later in May to discuss the possibility of co-locating the library with a community center. You can:

Attend the Northgate Community Design Workshop at XXX on Saturday, May 6.

Attend a public meeting on Monday, May 8 at 7:00 p.m. to discuss co-location of the library with the community center. No location yet, call the Library's Capital Projects Manager David Kunselman at 386-4096 for more info.

The Library Board will hear public comments on the Northgate library siting at its 4:30 p.m., May 23 meeting in the Lee Auditorium at the downtown library. Or fill out a comment form at the Lake City, North East, Broadview or Green Lake branch libraries, or call or e-mail the Capital Program Office at 386-4624, capital.program@spl.org

FOR MORE INFO

For the library, call Lake City Branch Manager Beth delaFuente at 684-7518, or Capital Projects Manager David Kunselman at 386-4096. For community center info, call Kate Kaehny, Seattle Parks, at 684-7165.

Or contact Jan Brucker of Citizens for a Liveable Northgate at 526-5342, or Dorothy Douglas of PONDERS at 523-4251.

Reader Comments

Discuss this article in the forums!