November 3, 1998

Developers curious about TODs

By JERRY CRAIG
Journal City Editor

Interest in developing housing at the Overlake park-and-ride lot in Redmond has been stronger than expected, according to Ron Posthuma, manager of the King County Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Program.

So far, requests for proposal documents have been sent to 60 companies, with the number about evenly divided between developers and consulting firms.

Posthuma attributes the enthusiastic response to the area's hot housing market -- particularly on the Eastside -- and the scarcity of developable land.

He also says there may be curiosity in the development community because the program is so unusual. Local governments, he explains, have actively encouraged housing development near rail transit stations but rarely at bus transit centers.

At Overlake, the county is seeking a developer to design, construct and manage at least 250 housing units in a four-story development above two levels of parking. The plan is to have the park-and-ride occupy one of the parking levels which would be maintained and operated by the selected developer after signing a long-term air-rights lease agreement with the county.

Four stories of apartments may be built above a two-level parking garage at the Overlake park-and-ride site in Redmond.

The other parking level would be used by housing residents. One of the inducements for the developer, Posthuma explains, would be to lower parking requirements for the housing because of the availability of spaces on the park-and-ride level at night or on weekends. The city of Redmond would have to agree to change the parking requirements.

The five-acre Overlake site, at 152nd Avenue Northeast and Northeast 24th Street, has 350 parking spaces serving 15 bus routes. The facility is presently under utilized, says Posthuma.

Proposals for the Overlake project are due Jan. 11. A workshop held Oct. 29 attracted more than 200 participants.

Overlake is one of four pilot projects authorized by the Metropolitan King County Council a year ago in an effort to encourage higher density housing near transit facilities. The other projects are at Northgate, downtown Renton and the Olson-Meyers park-and-ride north of White Center.

Two of the sites -- Overlake and Olson-Meyers -- are on county-owned lots while park-and-ride projects at Renton and Northgate would involve long-term leases with private developers.

• Olson-Meyers. Nintendo, which owns 45 acres just south of the lot, approached the county about developing its land in conjunction with the nearly eight-acre county-owned property. County officials had expressed interest in a co-development which would include mixed-income housing and job creation as well as maintain a transit presence.

  The 562-stall park-and-ride is considered under-used. A design workshop is planned for Nov. 23 and 24 to evaluate possible uses for the two sites.

• Northgate. The county and city of Seattle have asked Simon Property Group, developer of the Northgate Mall expansion, to consider including 1,100 park-and-ride stalls in a large garage it plans to build next to the existing transit center.

  The developer also has been asked to include more housing in its expansion plans because of the site's proximity to the transit center and the future light rail station.

  The county's current park-and-ride on Fifth Avenue Northeast, north of Northgate Way, would be sold the city and converted to a park. City action approving this plan is expected by the end of the year.

• Downtown Renton. The county and city of Renton are close to signing a letter of intent for 80 units of mixed-income housing adjacent to the new downtown transit center on Burnett Avenue South, between Third and Fourth streets.

  The two governments also have tentatively agreed to allow about 100 park-and-ride stalls as part of a nearby private development.

Consultants are presently evaluating the design of a residential/parking structure and a financial arrangement involving the county, city and eventual private developer.

Arai/Jackson architects is the county's consultant for the Overlake and Olson-Meyers projects while Merritt+Pardini is the consultant for Northgate and Renton.

Posthuma says it is possible that development agreements could be reached for all four sites by the middle of 1999.