Written by From: Denis Law
Sent: Monday, January 12, 2009 4:35 PM
Subject: The Landing
Council,
I have some updated news regarding leasing at The Landing. As you know, the state of the economy makes the status of these leases fairly fluid, but at least this shows a positive sign regarding some of the tenants we expected to open last month.
Daphne’s Greek Restaurant is scheduled to open this month, as well as the UPS store. Starbucks now has a tentative date of opening next month, along with Izakaya Sushi and Vino’s at The Landing. And in March, a yogust store, AT&T and a Thai restaurant are planning to open. Other stores still scheduled to open by April and May include The Rock Pizza & Spirits, a dentist, tanning salon, BECU, and a national burger chain. Gene Sens will be opening an Asian restaurant (Papaya) soon, and Key Bank and Valley Medical Center are still planning to locate at The Landing, but opening dates are uncertain. Negotiations continue with a number of other exciting tenants. I’ll keep you informed as we receive updated reports.
Denis
Denis Law
Mayor of Renton
1055 S. Grady Way, Renton, WA 98057
425 430-6500
dlaw@rentonwa.gov
thank you! haha. Though, there are absolutely no new tenants which will be announced…they need some stores! what about pallinos pastaria?
Promised Pay down of Landing infrastructure and Parking Garage Debt
Randy, when the Council committed millions of City of Renton bonded dollars to support the landing infrastructure they also included a promise to us that 75% of the tax revenues received from the landing would go directly toward paying off the debt of the City’s bonded indebtedness. I know this discussion came up with the last City Finance Director and he indicated that there was no process in place at that time to meet the promise made by you and the rest of the council. Have you (or Don Persson Chairman of the Council Finance Committee) made any effort to make sure that what you promised to your constituents to pay down this debt will actually happen?
Re: Promised Pay down of Landing infrastructure and Parking Garage Debt
I’m going from memory here, so the numbers may not be exactly right. But happy to report the we are not obligated to spend any tax money on the parking garage until the Landing is 75 percent OCCUPIED–not just leased. And we don’t have to pay the full value until the Landing is around 90 % occupied. This is really good protection in this market. Until the stores and restaurants are actually open for business, we don’t have to pay for this part of the infrastructure. Once the stores are open, the sales tax will more than pay for the garage as well as the road improvements.
We are very glad we put this provision in our contract with Harvest Partners.
LiveJournal may be going out of business:
http://valleywag.gawker.com/5124184/the-russian-bear-slashes-a-social-network
Landing vs Kent Station
Why do I feel that Kent Station has better tenants and more of a walkable atomoshpere? Maybe with the opening of the apts there will be some life brought to the Landing, but right now its just boring and uneventful. We need something interesting.
Trader Joes? Nordstrom Rack (ok prob not), El riconsito? Dukes Chowder house? book store? world market? some independant restaurants?
verizon/ups store/starbucks/panda express/sleep country/party everything: these are bland boring places.
I give credit for the Target/LA fitness they draw lots of people often.
Give it some time . . . .
Remember, we’re in a crappy economy and while a lot of the shops and restaurants are leased, they’re just not opened.
Right now in The District there’s only Red Robin and the Regal Theatres that are open (remember, while it’s all The Landing, the “walkable” part is The District). To make comparisons to Kent Station are extremely premature and the Joes, Ross, Target, etc., are not meant to be a part of the pedestrian-friendly experience.
Unfortunately the economic downturn really slowed the openings (and I believe the dates set out in Denis’ e-mail are extremely optimistic) and it’s going to take some time to get it in full swing. But take some time to take a walk through The District and you’ll get a feel for how it can become when things open (there are “coming soon” signs for the business that will be opening). It will be as good as (but I believe much better than) Kent Station.
But for now, yes, it’s bland and boring.
Re: Landing vs Kent Station
Yes, it seems rather unfortunate that they were allowed to create several pedestrian “walls of stores” and some expansive parking lots without interconnected pedestrain walkways.
TRADER JOE’S PLEASE!!!!!
I’d love a Ruby’s diner… a chain, but a fun one. Closest one is in Redmond TC.
And yes, TRADER JOE’S!
I am so disappointed with the stores that have signed up thus far with The Landing. The concept was sold to the citizens as an open air market with a boutique-y feel. It does not feel like either of those things. It hardly seems very pedestrian friendly at this point. I thought Harvest Partners and the city were trying to draw more original tenants than UPS and Sleep Country (I firmly believe Sleep Country is going to take over the world). I feel so cheated so far by the lack of interesting tenants. Add a Subway and a Schucks and it’s strip mall USA. While I love Starbucks (sorry I own stock) the one in the Landing is not even a drive thru. Something redeeming that could be done is to put in a nice play area for parents and their kids something similar to the Redmond Town Center Sensory Garden would be great but I’m sure that land has been promised to a Money Tree.
Yah, randy, can you please bring somthing up about a play area… THE LANDING NEEDS IT. if you re gonna attract family freieendly atmosphere u must put this in. PLEASE. Also, I contacted denis Law and he said Pallino Pastaria has withdrew its lease so…..NO MORE PALINOS PASTARIA….wow. I am so bummed. this seriously was the only resteraunt that the landing had going for it…i wont be going down there anytime soon.
Landing financing
Just a couple of notes for the record, the City financed the infrastructure in and around the Landing with the assumption that 2/3rds (66%) of the anticipated revenue over 20 years would cover the debt service on the bonds. The anticipated revenue was based on an assumption that only 70% of the square footage was leased and only grew at 1% each year…needless to say, these are very conservative assumptions. While things are certainly not yet where we’d like them to be, the City is and will be okay in the long run.
Also, the City is committed to purchasing the parking garage (for $10.8 million) when 70% of the square footage is open for business. Another payment of $1.7 million is due when they reach 90%. This garage actually cost about $14 million to construct, so the City is purchasing it at a steep discount. BTW, 65% of the square footage is open for business today.
Finally, a quick update, the UPS Store and Element Salon are now open. And, while it isn’t anticipated to open until April, the sign for The Rock Pizza & Spirits is now up. In this economy, we should be looking for any signs of progress.
Re: Landing financing
Element Salon is a very nice salon. I had my haircut there yesterday. It’s going to be top-notch when all finished.
Re: Landing financing
Starbucks is openiong the second week in febuary, just got the word.
do u know what that national burger chain is?
OK, first things first: Trader Joe’s is not going into The Landing — they’re going to Cascade Center in the newly-annexed Cascade neighborhood (near Benson Hill). Case closed.
Second, in case you all haven’t noticed, we’re in the midst of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Specifically, the credit market has dried up, so all those nice new-to-market restaurants and boutique stores we were expecting to see at The Landing are going to have to wait until better times, since such businesses are dependent on bank loans — loans that aren’t being made now.
It might take many years for The Landing to be fully occupied, but it will happen eventually. In the meantime, we need to be thankful that the project was actually completed, and that it’s every bit as attractive as the renderings made it out to be. We could have been left with a half-finished ghost town and unpaved parking lots, but instead we have a beautiful outdoor shopping area that’s ready for occupancy.
where did u hear about trader joes at cascade center? I knwo they are rebuilding that area….but had no idea trader joes was going in. last I heard, fairwood was concidering it….since the qfc moved.
I’ve heard from several people — including a couple of people on this blog with inside info — that TJ’s has made a decision to open at Cascade Center. I don’t have any inside information myself, however, so take that for what it’s worth. But it’s pretty clear that they won’t be landing at The Landing. 🙁
I see “reserved for transit users” over every area of the garage except for the fenced in area the apartment parking is. Where is this 150 total displayed?
Update
Looking online for a status update on these (now seemingly gone) tenants for The Landing, I came across this old post in your blog.
Judging by the state of the construction, and them being removed from The Landing’s official website, I think that both Starbucks and Daphne’s have backed out, so as a reader of this blog, and an avid fan of The Landing, I’m calling (i.e. graciously requesting) for an update on this blog post. Maybe some insider insights on what made them back out? (I really really wanted some Greek food close-by); or maybe some news of any planned incoming tenants that we haven’t heard about yet?
Looking forward for some info! Oh, and thanks a lot for a great blog!
PS: For those looking for Gyro deliciousness, I will wholeheartedly recommend Sinbad’s as an alternative. It’s in the shopping strip with the Latin market, across the street (south) of the downtown McLendon’s.