Monroe shops for big-box store for North Kelsey development

Published 10:58 pm Sunday, June 21, 2009

MONROE — Wal-Mart may be coming to town.

Monroe city leaders are talking with a developer about building a big-box store on a former gravel processing site at the intersection of Chainlake Road and N. Kelsey Street.

The developer, Sabey Corp., is considering buying the land and shopping it around to big-box retailers, including Wal-Mart, Costco and Target.

The city land is part of Monroe’s North Kelsey planned development, a shopping center north of U.S. 2 that was envisioned as a walkable, vibrant retail hub for the town.

That vision was put on hold when the economy tanked and a major developer backed out. The city is still trying to find a buyer for that land.

The big-box store would be north of the Lowe’s home improvement store on an area recently vacated by Lakeside Gravel.

Sabey is a well-respected company in the Puget Sound region and its willingness to do business in Monroe is good news, Councilman Kurt Goering said.

“You’ve got somebody at the door who is a serious player,” Goering said after the meeting. “That’s definitely something to be excited about.”

Sabey, based in Seattle, owns or manages about 4.2 million square feet of commercial real estate with an emphasis on tenants in health care and high tech. Its development projects stretch across the state and include the Swedish Medical Center’s James Tower in Seattle and the redeveloped Northtown Mall in Spokane.

Executives pitched their ideas to the City Council last week.

The company hasn’t settled on which retailer they would bring into town, but they know it’s a big-box store, said John Sabey, a senior vice president.

“We don’t know who yet, but we have a couple in mind,” he told the council.

The name of the computer file for Sabey’s presentation briefly flashed onto a screen in front of the council: It read “Monroe Wal-Mart.”

Several on the council questioned the Sabey executives about the possibility of bringing in several midsized retailers instead. The big-box stores are the only retailers doing well enough to open new stores, Sabey said. The company has already talked with potential retailers but can’t do much more than that until they seal an agreement with the city.

“It’s not a big secret,” Sabey said. “Target, Wal-Mart, Costco — let your mind go through the guys doing those things today.”

City leaders want whatever company that comes into that space to adhere to the feel and look of the pedestrian-friendly development they envisioned.

“It’s probably inevitable there will be a big box,” Hiller West, the city’s community development director said. “Our interest is ensuring it’s done in a way that is compatible with what’s on the south half.”

The city wants touches such as top-notch sidewalks, landscaping that provides a buffer and people-friendly gathering spots. The big-box store should fit with the rest of the North Kelsey development and include easy access for pedestrians.

“The extent we can avoid this being auto-centric, we are going to try and do that,” Hiller said.

Sabey hasn’t decided how much of the property they’ll buy or if they’ll buy it. The City Council and the company are in discussions now, and Hiller said he expects a decision in the next several weeks. Any actual purchase might take longer.

“If you don’t grab this, someone else will,” Dave Sabey, president of the company, told the council. “These big guys will locate somewhere. They’ll find a way to get into this market.”

Debra Smith: 425-339-3197, dsmith@heraldnet.com.