Written by The Council received an update on the Landing at our Committee of the Whole Meeting on Monday night.
Financially, the road, utilities and parking garage projects are all on track, and coming in within budget. At the same time, Harvest Partners (the owner of the Landing) has been completing lease deals on schedule, and generating the new tax revenues needed to cover the city’s infrastructure. In short, the money is working out.
The more interesting part of the presentation revolved around the new tenants that are signing on, many of whom are still maintaining some privacy at the moment.
The announced tenants are all shown on this chart: (Click to enlarge)
Ironically, the pressure that Westfield is placing on the big-name mall companies is probably helping the Landing to develop into a unique and desirable spot. We are told Westfield (which owns hundreds of malls) is pressuring it’s usual national tenants to stay out of the Landing, which leaves the Landing as a mall for smaller start-ups and high-end Northwest companies. I think this will give the Landing a unique character which will keep our project from being like “Westfield Every-mall USA,” something which may work well for Renton. Especially since we are squeezed between Bellevue Square to the North, which is one of the most successful malls in the Nation, and Southcenter to the South which is about to become the biggest mall in the state. Offering unique shops will no-doubt work well for us.
Best of all, there appears to be good progress in an area that has been the most-requested feature of all…. a high-end grocery store. We are told that a high-end store is seriously considering the location, and at the same time Harvest Partners is pursuing a “Market Hall” concept to add more variety. The Market Hall would be a shared Market Space, similar to Pike Place Market (only smaller of course), or more specifically Granville Island in Vancouver BC for those of you that have been there. The Market Hall would be a great place to buy cheese, wine, produce, tea, coffee, flowers, and similar items, but would still not provide all the staples of a grocery store.
Click the image below to enlarge it, to see the concept better:
Similarly, we are seeing some hotel proposals around the same site, and in general around the Southshore of Lake Washington.
I’ll share more when I get some more news!
Randy
Torn
It’s awesome that a bunch of parking lots will now be transformed into something new and exciting.
These “Public/Private” partnerships trouble me. The taxes “The Landing” will basically offset the improvements that directly benefit “The Landing”. So here’s the problem – Poor Thriftway/GreenFresh/Minker – their taxes go to the police and everything else. They’d love it if their taxes went to improved the streets right outside their stores. The new grocery store at “The Landing” will get fancy streets.
So ‘old’ Renton ends up funding all our necessary infrastructure to support our town.
The ‘New’ Renton winds up funding it’s own fancy roads that help it compete with ‘Old’ Renton.
…….
Anyways…
I’ve been to a few “The Rocks” – they kinda cool. They’re kinds like Billy McChale’s for the Harley crowd.
I’m sort of happy with the less “high-end” retail – these are places that are actually useful to have around. I need pet-food more than I need designer clothing.
Re: Torn
Oh boy, Billy McHale’s for the Harley crowd. I can hardly wait. Not.
Re: Torn
Give it a chance… .I hate chains, but this one is fun.
When I said Harley crowd – I meant the weekend worriers that are most likely doctors, truck drivers, and middle-ages men acting young again.
Sure… it’s not fair-trade organic tofu harvested by virgin natives and pressed in golden swiss-made forms and wrapped in recycled paper.
It’s just pizza.
Re: Torn
do u know what izakaya sushi is? never heard of it.
Re: Torn
I can’t pinpoint where I found out about it, but I remember it’s a rather classy sushi restaurant. Something to look forward to.
Re: Torn
ive looked everywhere online….cant find it anywhere. is there one around here? is it have like coctails? trendy? kinda fast like blue-C sushi? whats the vibe?
hmmm….market hall concept? just sounds like they are trying to fill out that space beacuse they couldnt lease it. The tenants they showed you is nothing really new…besides wood fire pizza…which is ok….izakaya sushu (what is that?) and UPS store…WOO HOO? i dunno….im not to confident anymore in this project. bummer.
useful
The mall is turning out to be a great reflection of our town: It’s useful.
At one time, I was excited to hear that high-end retail was going in to The Landing. It would have added some ‘poshness’ to our middle-class town.
I’m now glad the more pedestrian shops are going in – they’re places that are of real use to me right now. Maybe in a few years when I get really rich and uppity I’ll want more expensive stores 😉
Just keep this in the back of your head: “The Lansing” is better than unused Boeing parking lots!
so if the high end grocery store does go in…then there wont be a market hall?
randy do you know the answer to this?
Well, that’s nothing like Fry’s anywhere else in the state. Even though it’s not officially part of the Landing. As long as Fry’s is here, Landing will be ok.
I would love to have a Trader Joes here though.
The city should have approached Cabelas at the beginning of this project. That would have been a big winner.
I agree
I suggested the idea to city staff once. I said where else could someone gear up for an AK fishing trip and fly out in a seaplane within minutes to put you waist deep in cool AK rivers that same afternoon?
Cablelas was given their land for free in Lacey. Now they won’t build another store this close to that one.
The Landing
It would be nice to see stores go in that would promote browsing and foot traffic for more of a walk-around experience, which was originally the intention I think, rather than the typical super-mall experience. Sleep Country, Verizon, AT&T, won’t provide that ambiance. Also, some nice dinner houses would be welcome rather than the one-step-up-from-fast-food like Daphne’s. I also would like to see a Trader Joe’s. It looks like with the addition of office space and some of the recently-signed tenants it is moving in the right direction.
Let’s all repeat in unison:
“Trader Joe’s!” “Trader Joe’s!” “Trader Joe’s!”
Landing Progress
I would love to see a Trader Joes, Whole Foods, a bookstore, and a few nice dinner places. I don’t eat fast food. I would also like enough boutiques of some kind that I would find this to be a lovely place to browse through in the hopes of finding something new and interesting. Or just window shopping.
While I like the idea of it having a NW character, its current structure, with the exception of the Market Hall feature, is only conducive to running functional errands for home, kids and pets.
it’d be nice if it was more “walkable”
Unfortunately, unlike U-village, which I think has reinvented itself very well over the years, this development is so spread out, the design doesn’t support or encourage walking to shop to shop… most patrons would likely drive to Target then get back into their cars and drive to Red Robin, drive to the cinema, drive to Fry’s, etc.
Re: it’d be nice if it was more “walkable”
I agree, what happened with the orginal plans for office and hotel? the design of the theater has changed and everything…the design isnt all that great and this urban village is “so-so”. Sorry, but it is. Its nothing all that great.
R-I-F. Reading is fundamental!
So, when is a bookstore going to open up there??
-Derek Benigno
Is panera bread still planning on opening here?
What happened to the May openings?
So, it is now mid-July and the anounced openings in May are not yet open. Starbucks looks like it was probably complete in May but has been shuttered since. Daphne’s is still an empty space with a sign on it. What happened?
Also, I attempted to walk the property this weekend and realized that there are at least 3 “walls of buildings” that make it impossible to walk from one area to another without a long detour around the back of buildings, any chance some of the unleased spce could be opened up as breezeways to remedy this?
I’m still looking forward to things, but feel a bit disillusioned right now.
Re: What happened to the May openings?
yeah, randy….can you start pushing for answers? And could u answer my ? as to the market hall…and if they get a grocery store, then they wont do the market hall concept? or they will do both? I want some announcements….its so secretive…and for months they have said they have been 70 preleased or more….so why dont we ever hear anythinggggggg….
and to be honest…that market hall concept isnt really floating my boat…id rather have more useful retailers in there.