Bummer! Our Highlands troubles spilled over to The Landing

I will write more on this subject later, but I wanted to copy today’s newspaper article in this journal for future reference. In short, it looks like South Center Mall is going after our new “Landing” Project to protect their tenant and customer base. Unfortunately, the citizen distrust in Renton Highlands, combine perhaps with the Lipstick Caper, has produced enough “smell of blood” that the attoneys for South Center are moving in. Yikes!

I want to restore the trust of our Renton Highland Citizens (including HCA) to get us back on track in the Highlands, and then recruit all our citizens to help move forward on the Landing Project. But there is some pride and some hurt feelings standing in the way, so it looks like some rough water ahead.

Like I say, more on this later. I’ve got to get some dinner and head to the Council Meeting. I hear that South Center is sending a court reporter tonight! The excitement never ends!

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From Today’s King County Journal:

Multiple appeals might delay The Landing’s start

Harvest Partners
The Landing, a major new retail and residential development proposed for north Renton, will feature stores, a movie theater and about 900 homes, all in a setting called a lifestyle center, similar to University Village in Seattle.

By Dean A. Radford
Journal Reporter

RENTON — Five environmental appeals, including three bankrolled mostly by the owners of the Westfield Southcenter shopping mall in Tukwila, could delay construction of The Landing, a large shopping and residential lifestyle center in north Renton.

Any delays also could increase the cost of road and utility improvements the city of Renton will make at the former Boeing property, estimated now at about $19 million.

“I think that delay is the most likely result and the desired result of these appeals,” said Renton City Attorney Larry Warren, who pointed out that interest rates and the cost of raw materials used in construction are going up.

The cost of bonds, which the city would use to finance the improvements, increases when interest rates climb. The city would use tax revenue from The Landing to pay off the bonds.

However, the appellants question whether The Landing will generate enough revenue to actually pay off the debt, perhaps forcing the city into a difficult financial situation.

City officials disagree with that contention.

But the appeals won’t kill the project, according to city officials and a spokeswoman for the developers, Harvest Partners of Dallas.

“We are committed 110 percent,” said Natalie Quick, the spokeswoman. “The city knows that. The community knows that.”

She declined further comment.

The Landing would include about 600,000 square feet for retail space, a theater and restaurants, along with about 900 housing units, all packaged as a lifestyle center similar to University Village in Seattle.

A comprehensive environmental review of Boeing’s Renton property was done several years ago, before the Dallas company purchased its 46 acres.

In general, the appeals maintain that the scope of The Landing project goes far beyond what was envisioned in an environmental review done of Boeing’s property in 2003 and promised public hearings on development projects were never held.

Also the appeals claim the city didn’t follow proper procedures in approving administratively — without a public hearing — what’s known as a Planned Action for The Landing project.

The three appeals supported by Westfield Southcenter, the former Southcenter Mall, were filed late last month by Alliance for South End, which had incorporated as a nonprofit corporation the week before.

The organization describes itself as advancing its members’ interests in “Renton’s environment, land-use planning and government and fiscal integrity.”

The alliance’s attorney, Peter Buck, acknowledged in filing the appeals that Westfield’s corporate owner, WEA Southcenter LLC, which his law firm also represents, contributes some funds to pay for the appeal by the alliance.

In an interview, he said the Westfield owners are “paying the bulk” of the appeals, but declined to elaborate. But focusing on who is paying the legal bill distracts attention from the message in the appeals, he said.

Two other appeals have been filed by a Progressive Alliance for a Sustainable Southend, which describes its purpose as “ensuring sustainable and responsible development” in Renton and the Boeing property in particular.

Their attorney, Claudia Newman, wasn’t available for comment.

It’s possible all five appeals will be consolidated when they go before the Renton hearing examiner for consideration. A date for a hearing hasn’t been set.

Buck, the attorney for the Alliance for South End, said the city has yet to provide him with a financial analysis that shows The Landing is financial viable and will generate the revenue to pay off the bonds.

“Our assumption is they don’t exist,” Buck said.

An economic analysis has been done, but the question is whether those studies are public documents and thus disclosable to Buck or others, said Alex Pietsch, the city’s administrator for the Department of Economic Development, Neighborhoods and Strategic Planning.

The City Council has yet to authorize sale of the bonds for the improvements. It will receive a briefing on the bids for that work this evening.

The council also will get a briefing on Harvest Partners’ efforts to comply with early conditions the city placed on the project, which include a financing plan and letters of intent from some retailers.

Warren, the Renton city attorney, called the environmental review of Boeing’s Renton property perhaps the most complete ever done in the city.

A consultant found that The Landing fits within in the issues covered in that review, he said.

“I think we have covered our bases,” he said. Nor does he recall the city ever making promises for additional public hearings. The public had ample opportunity to comment during the environmental review in 2003, he said.

Dean Radford covers Renton. He can be reached at dean.radford@kingcountyjournal.com or 253-872-6719.

Developer report

The Renton City Council will be briefed today on The Landing development in north Renton and on construction bids for about $19 million in road and utility improvements in the area. The committee meeting is at 6 p.m., followed by the council’s regular meeting in council chambers, City Hall, 1055 S. Grady Way, Renton.

Last modified: June 12. 2006 12:00AM