North wedge to become a rectangle

SHORELINE — To make a triangle into a rectangle may require geometric skill, but that is the plan of Mordevco developer Tim Morris, who intends to redevelop the Shoreline area commonly known as the “north wedge.”

Four adjacent property owners north of 175th Street and Aurora Avenue have agreed to sell their property to Morris and will be relocating by October.

Contracts with retailers are signed, said Morris, but the deal has not officially closed.

The eventual outcome will be the reshaping of the wedge to a rectangle, with a Walgreens Drug Store and other retailers inhabiting the 400-square-foot property.

With the exception of Key Bank, located at 175th Street and Aurora Avenue, four property owners north of this intersection signed contracts to sell their property, which totals five parcels of land. Properties include Dance Workshop, Second Hand Store, Gold &Diamond and Seattle’s Finest Exotic Meats, which is two parcels.

Property owners were expected to be moved by July 30, said Seattle’s Finest Exotic Meats owner Russ McCurdy, who will soon sign papers to lease retail space in Bellevue. However, there was a slight delay, and property owners now do not have to vacate until October. This is due to the developer waiting for the red brick road, Ronald Place, to be vacated by Seattle City Light, which along with the property owners, owns 50 percent of the road.

Unlike several other property owners on Aurora, in the 18500 block, who will eventually relocate due to their leasing of property owned by Seattle City Light, McCurdy said this group of owners sold out because they were told that as much as 25 feet would eventually be taken as right-of-way by the city as part of the Aurora Avenue redesign.

When McCurdy learned that 25 feet would be taken on all property, he said he had two choices; either to find a developer or wait for the city to condemn his property and pay fair market value for it. McCurdy said it was beneficial to sell, rather than develop with less property, when he was first contacted by Morris in August.

“If we are going to be here, we would have to pay for it,” McCurdy said.

Trying to recreate the customer base will be a big undertaking once he relocates to Bellevue, McCurdy said. This is partly because he will not be able to relocate both the exotic meat shop and cold-storage freezers. To relocate both businesses would require two types of zoning, one in light industrial and one in retail.

For a short time, both exotic meat stores will be open, McCurdy said, since the lease has to be signed in the next month in order to obtain the new space in Bellevue. He did consider relocating in Shoreline, but needed a high-traffic retail area.

Since he will be leasing property in Bellevue, rather than owning it, McCurdy said he would consider relocating back to Shoreline in the future. McCurdy, who is president-elect for next year’s Shoreline Chamber of Commerce, will no longer be able to serve his term.

Once Ronald Place is vacated by Seattle City Light, Morris said it will be incorporated into the squared-off parcel. It is yet to be determined how much property will be taken from the front of the properties, but likely 20-25 feet, he said.

To preserve the red brick road, which runs behind the buildings, Morris is working with the local historical society. Morris said the goal is to create a pathway starting at the entrance off 175th street and traveling east, eventually turning north along Midvale Avenue, next to the segment of Interurban Trail that will run nearby.

A building application has not yet been received by the city, said planning director Tim Stewart, although a considerable amount of time has been spent with property owners regarding the redevelopment of the wedge properties.

Although this portion of the Aurora Corridor Project, north of 175th Street, has not yet been designed, Stewart said city staff has established the future right-of-way needs line. He also said that although this segment has not yet been designed, private property owners are not prohibited from redevelopment before the Aurora Corridor Project begins.