Community says bye to businesses, hello trail

Published 6:42 am Monday, March 3, 2008

SHORELINE — More than half of the businesses located on a narrow strip between Aurora and Midvale Avenue N. have been demolished to make way for a segment of the Interurban Trail.

The remaining two buildings, both under leases with Monarch Appliance, will be leveled in less than a month.

Seattle City Light owns the land where Monarch Appliance and All American Eyeglass Repair still stand, and where TriVentures, T &T Seafood Restaurant and Cigarettes Only were once located. The land is part of a power line right-of-way and although the leases with City Light are month-to-month, some businesses have been there for many years.

The notice to vacate was issued as part of the redevelopment of the Gateway Center, located just east of Midvale. As part of the plan, the businesses will be torn down, a section of Midvale will be closed, Aurora eventually widened and a section of the Interurban Trail built through the area.

The tenants were given notice a year ago they would have to move and their March 5 deadline has been extended until April 30.

John Gutierrez, owner of All-American Eyeglass Repair, will be relocating his business to Ballard, at 7701 15th Ave. NW. and has signed a lease that commences on May 1. He subleases his building from the owner of Monarch Appliance. Gutierrez, who also owns a store in Bellevue, said the moving date had been pushed back several times.

“A year ago we had to be out by January, then six months ago we had to be out yesterday (April 1),” Gutierrez said. “Then yesterday, they said we have until the end of the month.”

Alan Alseth, general manager of Monarch Appliance, said the moving date has been pushed back to April 30, as permitted by the contractor, SGA Corporation. Although the Alseth family owns the building, they do not own the property. Alseth, whose father has owned the business for 33 years, said Monarch Appliance will close shop rather than relocate.

“We have had a great response from the community, with sadness, concern and anger, ” Alseth said. “We have been here a long time, there is nothing like this in the area.”

Although Alseth said the developer will pay for the demolition work, Jim Abbott, president of SGA Corporation, which is developing the area, said the issue of who will pay for the demolition work has not been resolved with the city.

Abbott said the postponement is delaying environmental studies that need to be completed before the segment of the Interurban Trail can be built. All the buildings have to be studied for hazardous materials prior to demolition, he said, as asbestos were found in the previously leveled buildings.

“Everybody was supposed to be out by March 5 and had received notices over a year ago,” Abbott said. “Everyone complied with that except Mr. Alseth.”

Abbott expects the remaining two buildings to be demolished sometime in May.

The trail construction is part of the Gateway redevelopment as mitigation for additional parking spaces included in the site design. The Gateway project proposes to redevelop the former QFC site with 64,560 square feet of retail shops and office space. It is slated to open in the summer of 2005. The former QFC site is owned by Abbott, resident Harley O’Neil and other investors who either live or work in Shoreline.

The city’s Aurora Corridor Project manager, Kirk McKinley, said the developer has been conditioned as part of the plan approval to build the section of trail from 183rd to 185th streets, or to provide funding to the city for the completion of the project.

McKinley said if the developer passes on the responsibility, it would cost about $170,000 to build the portion of the trail. The developer can build the trail at a lower cost than the city, because they do not have to abide by bid and wage laws, he said.